A concert of the 18th century’s greatest hits may seem an unlikely project for an ensemble as distinguished as London’s Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Reprising Johann Pachelbel’s famous Canon and Antonio Vivaldi’s equally familiar “Spring” from The Four Seasons, as well as a baker’s dozen of other Baroque chestnuts, veers close to the kind of easy-listening playlist one might pull up on Spotify as background music while making dinner.
But in the hands of the OAE at Cal Performances on Sunday, Jan. 19, these pieces seemed both familiar and startlingly new. Sure, all of us have heard “Spring” ad nauseam in elevators and by phone when put on hold. But for me, it has never conveyed so much infectious joviality and inventive playfulness as here, with Kati Debretzeni, one of OAE’s fine principal violinists and leaders, playing the solo part.
The audience in Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall on Sunday afternoon laughed out loud during the moment in the second movement when the soloist (in the role of a shepherd) tries to take a nap but is constantly interrupted by the barking of his faithful dog (a violist, of course). Surely laughter is what Vivaldi intended.
Research into the way Baroque music was originally performed has led some ensembles to play without a conductor, a position that was essentially an invention of the 19th century. In this vein, the OAE’s playing radiates not from a podium but from the collaborative nature of the group itself. That paid off in this concert. Energy came from all over the stage — the cellos, the oboes, even the second violins had their say in the mix. It was a joy to watch the orchestra play J.S. Bach’s familiar Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, the transfer of tunes from violins to violas to cellos and back again as smooth and exciting as the baton handoff in an Olympic relay race.
The collaboration went further when soprano Julia Bullock joined the OAE onstage for arias by George Frideric Handel, among others. Bullock lives in Germany and is well known to Bay Area audiences through residencies with both the San Francisco Symphony and Cal Performances. Here, her rich, passionate voice reminded us of the depths of melancholy, such as in “Verdi prati” (Green pastures) from Handel’s opera Alcina, and the heights of joy, such as in “Da tempeste il legno infranto” (The storm-beaten vessel), Cleopatra’s magnificent aria from the composer’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto.
Bullock is also known for her work in the operas of John Adams, including the 2017 world premiere of the Bay Area composer’s Girls of the Golden West at San Francisco Opera, as well as for her interest in music outside the classical repertoire, which she showcased to profound effect on her 2022 debut solo album, Walking in the Dark. At Sunday’s concert, she seemed somewhat less comfortable with the Baroque idiom and not wholly familiar with these pieces in particular, at times singing with her face buried in her music.
Nonetheless, her indomitable spirit, rich inflections, and generous character brought vitality to the songs, especially in a smoky rendition of “Che si può fare?” (What can be done), a dramatic monologue by Barbara Strozzi, a Baroque composer famous in her own time and only recently being rediscovered.
The program did give us some less familiar pieces as well. In the hands of trumpeter David Blackadder, Henry Purcell’s Trumpet Sonata was soloistic and virtuosic. Similarly, in a nod to the important influence — but perhaps not household familiarity — of Georg Philipp Telemann, the OAE gave a spirited performance of excerpts from his Water Music (no, not Handel’s) in praise of the harbors of Hamburg. Maybe this too will become a Baroque chestnut?
It doesn’t hurt that the musicians of the OAE are upfront about the fun they’re having. Smiles and nods pass around the orchestra when everyone’s playing, as well as when members take the microphone to introduce the music with a combination of anecdotes, dad jokes, and wry British humor. With the encouragement of percussionist Adrian Bending, the audience was invited to participate in the fun, adding some well-timed foot thumping and clapping to theatrical pieces by Jean-Baptiste Lully and Jean-Philippe Rameau.
A gorgeous rendition of Bach’s “Air on the G String” was dedicated to the victims of the current fires in Los Angeles. It was an apt reminder that this mostly festive concert, and the tour that follows to other U.S. cities, comes amid grim times for the state and the nation.
The concert ended with Handel’s “Let the Bright Seraphim,” the magnificent duet for soprano and trumpet from his oratorio Samson, a number that envisions a collaboration of heaven and earth. Maybe that quality of insight is part of why Baroque masterpieces still matter in our times.
This story was first published in Datebook in partnership with the San Francisco Chronicle.
