“Bach’s Brandenburgs” reviewed by Julia W. Rath

An animated rendition of five of six of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos took place on Sunday, October 12th, at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, in Skokie. Nicholas Kraemer took the reins as conductor and harpsichordist in leading the Music of the Baroque Orchestra through a labyrinth of Bach’s themes and variations. What made this performance outstanding was not only the high-quality of the instrumentalists but Kraemer’s detailed explanations of how and why the music is being performed in the way that it is.

Before the program began, the audience noticed that the playbill listed his Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto, No. 1 in F Major, BWV 1046, No. 2 in F Major, BWV 1047, No. 3 in G Major, BWV 1048, No. 4 in G Major, BWV 1049, and No. 6, in B-flat Major, BWV 1051—but failed to list Concerto No. 5 in D Major, BWV 1050. As we soon learned, No. 5 (being rather lengthy and “harpsichord-heavy”) will be performed this coming March by Richard Egarr, harpsichordist and conductor, in a performance entitled “Baroque Blockbusters.” As for the rest, we also could not help but notice that they were going to be performed today in the “wrong order”: The program was starting out with No. 1, followed by No. 3 then No. 2, and (after an intermission) No. 6 followed by No. 4. But switching the order around turned out to be a most excellent decision!

Concerto No. 1 is somewhat different from the rest, with lots of French horn and French horn duos (Oto Carrillo and Susanna Gaunt). This piece of music introduces us to what happens when the same melody moves throughout the orchestra from one set of instruments to another. Three oboes (Anne Bach, Erica Anderson, and Sam Waring) are featured in the Adagio section, together with cello (John Sharp) and bass (Collins Trier), not to mention that concertmaster Gina DiBello stood up to play her crisp and energetic violin solos. The oboe duet (Bach and Anderson) plus bassoon (Galina Kiep) is notable in the Menuet—Trio movement.

Between Concertos No. 1 and No. 2, Kraemer intercalated No. 3, which featured a smaller ensemble made up of three violins (DiBello, Kevin Case, and Kathleen Brauer), two violas (Elizabeth Hagen and Terri Van Valkinburgh), three cellos (Sharp, Judy Stone, and Anna Steinhoff), and one bass (Trier) plus the harpsichord (Kraemer). This time, all violinists and violists were standing. But before they began, Kraemer provided a note of explanation about the musical performance. Like a great teacher, he told us that Bach allowed for tremendous leeway regarding tempo and dynamics in the first movement of nearly all six of his concertos. With reference to an excerpt of the first violinist’s part in our playbill, Kraemer demonstrated what the traditional style of No. 3 (à la the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra) sounded like and then showed us what it might be without the vibrato. He ended with his own interpretation, having to do with the uses of cut time (versus common time), which created a change in emphasis: making the piece feel less like a gallop and more like a series of question-and-answer phrases. In addition to No. 3’s famous Allegro bookends (known by their hummable melody), the very short Adagio section in between is notable by its opening harpsichord (Kraemer) and violin solo (DiBello). “Bravo!” yelled a member of the audience at the end.

Concerto No. 2 featured a slightly larger orchestra. Here we had the introduction of the recorder (Laura Osterlund), with lots of beautiful trill work, and especially noteworthy is John Thiessen, the virtuoso trumpeter, playing in the high register with superb articulation! What a real treat to hear one of the most often-heard of Bach’s compositions upfront and in person! The opening Allegro portion featured lots of basso continuo. Following that, the Andante started out with harpsichord, then violin, and then oboe with the trumpet sitting out this portion. But it was the closing Allegro assai movement that gave me an incredible thrill throughout my body. This cannot be put into words. Such a remarkable performance!

The second half started with Concerto No. 6 and a small chamber orchestra featuring only seven players, with no violins and the highest pitches going to the two violas (Hagen and Van Valkinburgh). This smoky and almost somber rendition was quite a shift from the brighter sounds of the earlier compositions, as the ensemble gave more prominence to the mellowness of the viola da Gamba (Craig Trompeter) and the cellos and bass. Together with the harpsichord, their bowing recreated the familiar theme.

Concerto No. 4 makes perfect sense as the culmination and conclusion of the program. The addition of the violins adds to the charm and brilliance of the orchestration (in contrast to No. 6). Now the larger ensemble includes two recorders (Osterlund and Mirja Lorenz) who mostly perform as a duo, necessary for the sake of balance considering the significant number of accompanying instruments. DiBello’s solo violin in the Allegro movement is stellar (as always), but it is particularly animated in the Presto movement. Ending the entire concert on such a high note could not have been accomplished any better!

A rousing standing ovation followed the concert! So well done!

_{Photos courtesy of SnoStudios}