Never enough

Lauren Davis convenes the Limestone Consort. They play Bach and other composers of the period but also, if less frequently, from other periods. This concert featured Telemann, Albinoni and two works by JS Bach. Someone had said they can never have too much Bach. I feel it too. Obviously it's a function of Bach's brilliance, but I wonder if it's also a musical style that suits our times. After all, he was lost at one time to be revived by Mendelssohn, his son JC was more popular in his time and his cellos suites, now considered great masterworks, were also little known before being repopularised by Pablo Casals in the 1936. So Bach has had his forgotten times. But for us and our time, he's a sublime genius. The two works here were his double violin concerto and his Brandenburg concerto no.3. Both are instantly recognisable for several themes even if you can't name them. I'd played Brandenburg 3 so wanted to hear it again, and I was again amused by that diminutive second movement, but this day I was most taken by the double violin concerto. It was a thing of sublime beauty so I could have had more Bach. But the other two were interesting. Lauren had likened Telemann/JS Bach to Art Deco/Nouveau. I guess in that order, even if it's out of precedential order. I think Bach would be the mellifluous one (Nouveau) but then the dignity and order (Deco) might also be with him. The Telemann was his Burlesque de Quixote, a suite of 8 movements telling the Don Quixote story which seemed pretty ordered and simple against the Bach. You could hear amorous breathing and horse galloping and otherwise but it didn't cut to either intellect or heart like the Bach. But then I also have respect for quantity as well as quality and Telemann is apparently the most prolific composer in history: 1,043 church cantatas and 43 passions amongst the rest. Albinoni was no slouch either, penning about 50 operas alone, although many are lost. All interesting and all worthy enough, but Bach remains supreme. The playing was great. I thoroughly enjoyed the pairing of violins in the concerto; Kyle laid down some outstanding bass lines and quick, quippy fills; we were sitting right next to Lauren and could enjoy her lead and phrasing and bowing and the rest. That intimacy is a thing I also greatly love. Give me a decent player in an intimate setting anytime. So, a lovely concert with some outstanding music from one of my favourite ensembles around town.

Limestone Consort performed Telemann, Albinoni and JSBach at All Saints Ainslie. LC comprised Lauren Davis, Michelle Higgs, Claire Phillip and Matthew Witney (violins), Iska Sampson and Elysia Fisher (violas), Clara Teniswood and Nicole Wang (cellos), Kyle Ramsay-Daniel (bass) and James Porteus (organ).

The joy of visitors

It's fun to have visitors. We've just had Chicago and Somerset and Norway for dinner. Limestone Consort had Pennsylvania and CSO (local, but again a visitor) for their last concert. It's intriguing how the differences are so minor these days; the discussion and experiences so shared. For Limestone, it was JS Bach Cantata 51. So beautiful and so international and even so perfect. They did it justice, too. Limestone were the best ever. This was a stunner. The Bach sang of "Jauchzet gott in allen landen" (Praise ye God in all land). The rolling phrases and the glorying joy that is Bach. Anne Gross is a friend of LC leader and one-time fellow student, Lauren Davis. She sang the soprano part with smiles and blissful joy. How could you not? The other visitor was from closer at hand, the Canberra Symphony, but Justin Lingard's piccolo trumpet sang with majestic glory and surprisingly controlled volume. This was a rewarding program, with a lovely string serenade from Kalinnikov (G minor), an Avison Concerto grosso (D minor) and Mendelssohn String symphony no.10 (B minor). All impressive and satisfying. But the work that particularly surprised me was Heinrich Biber's Battaglia à 10 (composed 1673) that used paper under strings to simulate a snare drum rattle, snapped strings for cannon fusillades and a fascinating movement that layered numerous songs to represent soldiers singing before battle. Lauren spoke of modern composers revisiting early periods but this was a composer, 350 years back, predicting the most modern conceits of today's music. Breathtaking! This was a particularly satisfying and challenging concert from Limestone Consort and I can only look forward to more.

Limestone Consort comprised Lauren Davis (leader, violin), Alison Giles, Michelle Higgs, Michael Horsley (violins), Hannah Keese, Elysia Fisher (violas), Poppea Dorsam, Clara Teniswood (cellos), Kyle Daniel (bass), James Porteus (chamber organ) with guests Anne Gross (soprano) and Justin Lingard (trumpet). They performed at All Saints Church, Ainslie.