The Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO) put on a show to remember on Saturday as the Music Hall in Aberdeen resounded to the daring and inventive melodies of Bach’s famous Brandenburg Concertos.
The concert was devoted entirely to the splendours of Baroque music, focused around the richness and dancing energy of some of JS Bach’s most iconic orchestral music, alongside an elegant sonata by his friend and colleague Georg Philipp Telemann.
The evening was advertised as Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, though as well as Concertos No. 1 and No. 4, the SCO played Bach’s Sinfonia to Cantata No. 174 and Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, as well as Telemann’s Sonata in E minor.
The SCO were led by one of today’s leading authorities on Baroque music, British violinist Rachel Podger, herself a superbly eloquent performer.
Her enthusiasm for the music of this period is clear, particularly the Brandenburg Concertos – widely regarded as the greatest orchestral compositions of the Baroque era.
SCO have brought the greats to Aberdeen in recent times
She spoke before the concert of the “virtuosity” of the pieces, which are “thrilling to play”.
And although somewhat overshadowed by his contemporary Bach, Telemann is one of the most prolific composers in history, and a great musical figure in his own right.
Podger herself said: “Telemann wrote a hugely prolific amount of instrumental music, and on listening to this sonata you know you’re in the hands of a composer whose immersion in the musical language of different national styles of the time, with all its varied gestures and forms it has to offer, is utterly compelling.”
The SCO have held the Music Hall enthralled in recent times, with magnificent performances of Grieg, Sibelius, Vivaldi and others.
It was high time The Old Wig got another airing at the Music Hall, after the Aberdeen Bach Choir performed Mass in B Minor in April last year.
And the packed auditorium were left more than satisfied by yet another sterling performance by arguably Scotland’s most impressive performing company at the moment.
There wasn’t a weak link in the orchestra, despite the challenging nature of the pieces.
From Podger herself and Afonso Fesch on violin, to the swaying principal flute of André Cebrián, close your eyes and it could easily have been a recording.
Concert made free for under 18s
Kudos to Aberdeen Performing Arts not only for again bringing the SCO to the Granite City, but for their initiative of making the concert free for under 18s, and just £6 for under 26s.
The lack of empty seats in the Music Hall showed that there is undoubtedly an appetite for this sort of thing in Aberdeen.
As much as talent such as the SCO needs remunerated appropriately, too often I’ve heard from people that they’d love to partake of so-called ‘high brow’ culture but are put off by the cost. So more of this, please.
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