<< -- 2 -- Malcolm Miller VENETIAN SPLENDOUR
Trevor Pinnock's pointed projection of two harpsichord solos by
Giovanni Pichi realised the contrapuntal Pass'e mezzo with remarkable
resonance and clarity, and the dance-like Ballo all Polacha, and
then directed the English Concert in a moving account of Marini's Passacaglio,
with every ounce of expressive nuance, particularly in the chromatic inflection
of the bass theme. Two more Monteverdi madrigals concluded the first half,
Chiome D'oro from Book VII , one of the lollipops of the repertoire,
in which tripping ritornelli for two violins, eloquently embellished by
Walter Reiter and Catherine Martin, contrasted with lithe shading of the
two tenors' verses. And in Lammento della ninfa, also from Book
VIII, Carolyn Sampson's freshly attractive soprano conveyed the suffering
of the love-lorn nymph in caressing phrases against the chromatic inflected
refrain for the male voices which frame the monologue.
A brittle, robust account of Marini's 'Balletto Secondo',
op.22, with subtle imitative textures and a very quirky final harmonic progression,
offered a preamble to the concert's climax: a riveting performance
of Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, in which all three soloists,
Paul Agnew, Richard Edgar-Wilson and Carolyn Sampson excelled. Here was
a memorable performance rife with tension and passion, the erotic imagery
of the battle conveyed in vivid word painting, the protagonists' 'heavy
treads' as they approach one another, the 'stile concitato'
of the battle itself, the poignant pauses as the fighters rest before starting
again. Paul Agnew as narrator took lion's share of the expressive monody,
beautifully eloquent stylised decorations and supply paced tempo changes
creating a wonderfully rich expressive canvas.
Carolyn Sampson brought a gentle intensity to her final, prayer-like
arioso Amico hai vinto and her angelic, dying, valediction S'apre
il ciel' io vado in pace. It is that expressive quality, a relatively
recent ingredient in 'early music' interpretation, which lends
the style such power and may account for its popularity. Certainly the sheer
immediacy of Monteverdi's language, as Trevor Pinnock observed, still
speaks to us with contemporary directness as it did to listeners four centuries
ago, and was here conveyed in a performance of exemplary taste and conviction.
Copyright © 13 January 2001
Malcolm Miller, London, UK
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