Twentsche Courant Tubatia – December 5, 2003
By: Koen Edeling (translated from Dutch)
DEVENTER – Mennonit Church de Penninckshoek, Thursday evening.
Concert by Il Concerto barocco (led by Andrew Reed) and debut concert by Concerto vocale (led by Hans de Wilde)
Program: works of Buxtehude and Bach
‘The orchestra exists exactly one year this month.’, Andrew Reed, artistic leader of Il Concerto barocco, entrusted me during the break. Already then I could determine that this debut performance in the mennonite church of Deventer was a success. The audience had heard a cantate of Buxtehude and a motet of Bach.
To start with the first piece: very charming was the beautiful, airy instrumental sound of the ensemble, perfectly in balance with the vocals. For a brief moment I had to get used to the somewhat firmly stated soprano solo, but the tenor solo was again completely in style. You must have some courage: almost every choir that wants to perform a piece of Bach, throws itself on the motet Jesu, meine Freude. Hans de Wilde had done everything in his power to show that Concerto vocale was not just your average choir. Suddenly I was not hopelessly looking for the text: everything was audible by word. Suddenly I heard that the basso continuo not only accompanies the vocals, but gives them an extra dimension. Suddenly I heard a transparency and a richness of contrast I had never thought possible.
After the break it was up to Buxtehude, one of Bach’s idols, to showcase the same words, but in the form of a Cantate. The choir was thinned out, but violins were added to the basso continuo and vocal solo parts sounded. Il Concerto barocco performed a piece without choir this evening, the bittersweetly voiced triosonate in a, for violin, voila da gamba and basso continuo. A prime example of tasteful and beautiful ensemble playing. The final piece was the, according to Reed and de Wilde, most swinging motet of Bach: Lobet, den Herrn, alle Heiden. There were indeed supple springy cadence. Because of the transparent choir sound, the movement of all voice groups could optimally be followed in the short, but heavy finale.
Il Concerto barocco had already proven itself, but Concerto vocale adds more than the sum of the parts.