San Francisco Classical Voice

What did not make the transition to the new location for the main concerts this season were the popular festival frills and conveniences — wine, refreshments, the boutique, English supertitles, easy parking. Patrons have had to reach the hall by shuttle buses from the lower parking lots of Monterey Peninsula College. The traditional tower music and pre-concert activities have been taking place at the Del Monte Golf Course nearby, also served by the shuttle.

Weil's four concerts at the Performing Arts Center delivered the dependable, well-honed artistry of the festival orchestra, chorale, chorus and soloists, including a new elegantly-voiced mezzo, Sally Anne Russell. But most of the heart-stopping moments were to be found in other venues this year. On Thursday nights (July 18 and 25), Elizabeth ("Libby") Wallfisch's small hand-picked Baroque orchestra worked its electrifying magic in the school's 200-seat chapel, playing well-known concertos of Vivaldi and Bach. On the other hand, Weil's admirable presentation of the Mozart orchestration of Handel's Messiah Tuesday evenings has been poorly attended.

The new managing director, Willem Wijnbergen, created several new series under the umbrella title, Guests of the Fest. These one-hour noon and evening candlelight programs by soloists, duos and small ensembles take place in the All Saints Episcopal Church in Carmel, as well as three concerts last week at Pacific Grove's Asilomar Conference Center.

The piano has returned to the Carmel Bach Festival in this new cycle of concerts. Absent for most of music director Bruno Weil's tenure, the modern keyboard hasn't been heard since Canadian pianist Janina Fialkowska last played for the festival in the early 1990s. The decision to remove the piano from festival music came about as a side effect of a new emphasis on 18th-century instruments and historically sophisticated styling.

Wijnbergen added these single-performance opportunities to showcase many fine and in some cases little-known musicians from Europe, the Los Angeles area and elsewhere. He gambled that these new concerts would complement the festival's repeating core programs and build new audiences. Though not consistently exceptional in quality, most of these have had some value.

Of the solo performances I attended, East Coast pianist Andrew Rangell (July 15) and L.A Philharmonic violinist Lyndon Johnston Taylor (July 20) proved especially exciting. The L.A. Phil's principal cellist Ron Leonard, giving perfunctory and uninspiring performances of two Bach Suites and one Suite by Max Reger, July 19, turned out to be the biggest disappointment of the guest sampling. Guitarist Paul Galbraith, the first of the candlelight artists, barely nodded to Bach on July 12, offering instead a dreamy, French impressionistic program. An odd way to begin the Guest series.

The Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, led by violinist Jan Willem de Vriend, wowed audiences in the Carmel Mission Basilica (July 22), at All Saints and at Asilomar with exceptional Baroque styling as well as the spontaneity and joy in their playing. The sound textures created by this magnificent Dutch ensemble in the resonant basilica seemed to build a time bridge to an earlier era.

For Combattimento each note contains a meaning. You hear it in their tone, phrasing and articulation, and you can see it in their intently focused bodies. Combattimento's radiantly innovative and precise interpretation of Vivaldi's well-known "La Notte" concerto captured the imagination and hearts of the audience. These musicians revealed themselves to be master storytellers keeping listeners thralled to the last phrase.

Billed on the Asilomar series, violin legend Ida Handel played a surprisingly bland rendering of Bach's Concerto in E Major for Violin BWV 1042 but redeemed herself with a Paganini encore. She appeared on July 24 with the ensemble I Palpiti, a group of gifted young musicians from around the world, conducted by Eduard Schmieder. This concert, prominently featuring music of Shostakovich and Hindemith, seemed only marginally appropriate for the Carmel Bach Festival.

The traditional afternoon Intermezzo recital series maintained a welcome continuity from other years, showcasing members of the festival ensemble in little-known works. A particularly beautiful one was the Saturday presentations (July 20 and 27) of two solo Bach cantatas sung by soprano Kendra Colton, accompanied by Roger Cole, oboe, and a handful of festival instrumentalists. Wednesday's Treasures of the 17th Century Virtuosi and Friday's Mozart program also rank high.

This has been a challenging year for the Carmel Bach Festival, beset with troubles and confusions. Even so, the music has continued to reward its loyal followers. Tickets are still available to most of the concerts this week, including the B-Minor Mass on Sunday, the Wednesday Mission concert and Friday evening's program of symphonies.

(Barbara Rose Shuler is a writer and broadcaster in the Monterey-Carmel area. For over a decade she was a senior program developer and announcer on the region's classical music station KBOQ-FM. She covers the performing arts for the Monterey County Herald among others and is a public radio personality.)

©2002 Barbara Rose Shuler, all rights reserved