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CHAMBER ORCHESTRA REVIEW
December 19, 2002
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By Jeff Rosenfeld
New Century Chamber Orchestra, like nearly everyone else, aimed for a holiday experience this month. But “A Baroque Christmas,” its Thursday concert at Berkeley's St. John's Presbyterian (and in a program repeated around the Bay this weekend), wasn't particularly seasonal, music-wise. Nor did the selection of pieces from one era utilize this group's versatility. If this was a musical holiday for loyal subscribers, then why did all the presents under the tree need to be so similar?
Actually, the only true “Christmas” gift under New Century's tree was Arcangelo Corelli's Concerto Grosso in G minor, “Fatto per la Notte di Natale,” written for midnight mass on Christmas Eve. The piece is typical of Corelli's Opus 6 Concerto Grosso set. It features a trio-sonata group of two violins, cello, and keyboard continuo with the full string orchestra joining in frequently for full-throated effect. I often feel that the soloists in such works are not really set off from the group in a very striking fashion, though New Century's sound had enough clarity to realize the effect reasonably well. Perhaps the most interesting part is the “walking bass” in the solo cello, which was played at a delightfully light but breathlessly running pace by Robin Bonnell. The six movements alternate fast and slow at first, but the final three are “Vivace” and “Allegro” followed by a peaceful “Pastorale ad libitum: Largo”. On Thursday, this concluding largo was appropriately delicate and hushed — any babe would have slept soundly — but it seemed too long.
The Corelli began with a nice effect. The strings temporarily eschewed vibrato for cool, bracing sound. As the piece wore on, however, it had a sameness of pleasing tone that marred much of the otherwise-pleasing concert. The sound varied little, and attacks were unanimous but not always energetic. The dynamic range, too, was modest.
New Century took better advantage of the opportunity for color contrast in the opening work on the program, William Boyce's Symphony No. 4 in F major. This trifling piece has two sprightly outer movements with strings and oboes; in the middle is a “Vivace ma non Troppo” darkened with the two horns, as the oboes sit out. New Century's horns played splendidly, matched in color by the lower strings just as aptly as the oboes and violins had matched in the opening movement. I wished for more of these subtleties of light and shade throughout the concert. Instead, solo playing was the feature of the evening. In the first half Dennis Godburn's warm-toned (but thoroughly modern) bassoon was highlighted in Antonio Vivaldi's Concerto in E minor for this instrument. The piece is not one of the prolific concerto master's most remarkable creations — the accompaniment in particular is relatively ordinary — but Godburn's playing had a comfortable yet assertive nature that made the potentially dour solo part quite captivating. While Godburn has performed here as a visiting member of the Philharmonia Baroque, this was his debut here as a concerto soloist, as far as we know. Principal bassoon with the Orchestra of St. Luke's since 1976 and a member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Godburn has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, at major festivals, early music and otherwise, and has recorded for most major labels. It was also a treat to have Godburn play as a member of the orch for those pieces in which he wasn't the featured soloist.
The second half also featured some remarkable musicianship. The “Overture and Entrance of the Queen of Sheba” from George Frideric Handel's Solomon boasted some of the best solo and duet oboe playing one could imagine, courtesy of Gonzalo Ruiz and Bennie Cottone. They were steady, balanced, and zesty in the tricky unison tonguing passages that bejewel Handel's splendid scene with glitter and exoticism. Again in Vivaldi's Concerto for violin, oboes, and horns, “For the Feast of San Lorenzo,” Ruiz's handling of the blur of tricky articulations was dazzling. But here, in a concerto in which so many fine solos were heard, the standout was New Century's leader, Krista Bennion Feeney. Her violin was by turns lustrous and intimate, her handling of the extended cadenzas of the last movement mesmerizing with lightness and radiant color. Even a few of the other string players could not help but break into a smile as this magical moment unfolded. The audience, too, seemed to know that the best present had been saved for last.
(Jeff Rosenfeld is an oboist with the Kensington Symphony, West County Winds, and Pacific Wind Ensemble. He is a freelance science journalist and author of the recent book, Eye of the Storm: Inside the World's Deadliest Hurricanes, Tornadoes, and Blizzards.)
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Dennis Godburn