Hot on the heels of Norrington’s Water and
Fireworks music comes a generic baroque compilation from Virgin,
this time with the Taverner forces under the direction of Andrew
Parrott. They’re a year or so “fresher” than the Norrington-Handel
performances, both deriving from the mid-1980s or thereabouts.
I had some qualms
about some of Norrington’s editorial work in the necessarily
congested waters of the Water Music; no such problems really
attend this selection of favourites. Everything sounds naturally
done; sonorities are spruce and not over-articulated; solo winds
are distinguished; the string playing has plenty of snap and
sensitive incision. If you want a compilation of theatre and
choral favourites you could really do little better than acquiring
this hour long conspectus and giving in to its very real charms.
The Arrival of
the Queen of Sheba is supremely spruce and not overdone
either in relation to tempo or articulation. The rhythm is brilliantly
sprung, the resilient dynamism of the playing undeniable. Andrew
Lawrence-King is the soloist in the harp concerto, otherwise
known as one of the Op.4 organ concertos and he displays very
considerable qualities of expressive control, delicacy and warmth.
His articulation is at all times superior and the performance
as a whole is sympathetic, engaging and predicated on sure ensemble
and fine balance between the solo instrument and the accompanying
orchestral figures.
The virtuosity of
the Consort can readily be gauged from the Purcell Ground –
as one would expect of so august a pairing of talents; John
Holloway, Alison Bury, Elizabeth Wallfisch, Jakob Lindberg and
Andrew Parrott himself. The suite of Theatre Music comes as
rather more relaxed far; a quartet of pieces deriving from The
Indian Queen, the Rondeau from Abdelazer (better
known in its guise in Britten’s Young person’s guide to the
orchestra), the Chaconne from The Gordian knot
untied and the symphony and second act dance from The
Indian Queen.
Invariably we get
the Pachelbel Canon and Gigue which is about as far as one can
reasonably get from Karajanisation in this repertoire – it’s
lithe traversal strong on flair, and moves with grace – dance
rhythms are very much to the fore. The Bach extracts are warmly
done – full of eloquent solo playing, especially from the late
oboist David Reichenberg in the Sinfonia of Cantata 156. But
really all the solo contributions, all duly noted in the booklet,
are expressively done not least the vocal quartet in Herz
und Mund und Tat und Leben.
This is something
more than a starter pack for baroque newcomers; a finely nuanced,
well compiled and finely played selection.
Jonathan Woolf
See also Review
by Michael Greenhalgh
Andrew Lawrence-King
(harp) 
