San Francisco Classical Voice

It's unlikely that Bach, who died 250 years ago without hearing a complete performance of his six concertos dedicated to the Margrave of Brandenburg (nor his B Minor Mass, for that matter) ever heard the Brandenburg Concertos in the hands of such talent as comprises the English Concert under the leadership of harpsichordist Trevor Pinnock, performed under the auspices of Cal Performances at Zellerbach Hall on Wednesday night.

A program of six concerti grossi by any other composer (even Handel's Opus 3) would tax the patience of most audiences. But Bach infused his works with such individual character, instrumentation, and formal construction that their variety refreshes the listener. Was he prescient enough to envision their performance as a single program?

The program order (Nos. 1, 3, 5 and then 4, 6, 2) showed each concerto to its best advantage, as well as demonstrating the versatility of the performers. Violinist Rachel Podger was a powerful presence as soloist in five of the six works, easily tossing off the dazzling violino piccolo pyrotechnics of No. 1 and supplying a rhythmically pliant and improvisatory unaccompanied fantasia for the missing slow movement in No. 3. It also fell to her to provide most of the personality of the otherwise-dour ensemble, whose virtuosic playing was somewhat stifled by an orchestral mien.

The English Concert speaks the musical rhetoric of the Baroque period fluently, with a subtle delineation of lines and interplay of parts devoid of affectation. The ensemble as a whole undulates with the shapes of the musical figures. And the constantly shifting dynamic contours draw the listener into the musical texture. The wind section is elegantly blended, and the lyricism of Alberto Grazzi's bassoon added a genteel grace to the "outdoor" Concerto No. 1.

As a longtime fan of Pinnock's recordings, I looked forward to hearing him perform No. 5 in person. Alas, the cavernous hall and a lightly voiced harpsichord reduced much of his work to a silvery haze. Despite the discreet give-and-take of Podger and flutist Lisa Benosiuk, it was like listening to the guest of honor speak from the far end of a long dining table. Once in the clear, however, Pinnock wound up the famous 65-bar solo cadenza with such panache that one excited listener responded with a jazz-reminiscent ovation.

The superb ensemble of the group was most evident in No. 4, with a frothy exchange between Pamela Thorby and Katharina Spreckelsen, recorders. The ease with which Podger negotiated the dazzling passage work in the final movement (dubbed "the electric toothbrush" by one wag) matched the playful intertwining of the recorder lines, rather than the laborious scrubbing too often encountered at this point.

Such a polished and exciting performance made the pedestrian reading of No. 6 all the more disappointing, however. The stodgy viola solos of Trevor Jones and Jane Rogers seemed merely coincidental, never conversational. In contrast, the accompanying violas da gamba of Richard Campbell and Wendy Gillespie were doing their best to preserve the dialog inherent in the piece. Another disappointment was the breakneck finale to No. 3. Just because they can play it that ridiculously fast doesn't mean they ought to. A similar effect can be obtained by listening to a recording while holding down the "search" button on a remote control.

The final concerto, No. 2, proved the merits of performing these works on period instruments. While Bach's choice of one soloist from each instrumental family (recorder, oboe, violin, piccolo, trumpet) is a balance nightmare for modern instruments, it poses fewer problems for the instruments he had in mind. Mark Bennett, however, attacked the stratospheric trumpet part with such shrill assertiveness that there was little benefit to be gained from the valveless trumpet.

Not only did the Margrave of Brandenburg not give Bach the appointment he may have courted with these works, it's likely that he, too, never heard them performed. He surely would have envied any royal patron with the likes of Pinnock and the English Concert at his disposal, as well as the listener who could hear "his" concertos at a single sitting.

(Bruce Lamott is choral director of the Philharmonia Chorale and the Carmel Bach Festival. He is also an instructor in music and Western Civilization at San Francisco University, and conducts choral classes in the San Francisco Conservatory of Music's Extension Program.)

©2000 Bruce Lamott, all rights reserved