BREMF: The Forgotten Scarlatti – Armonico Consort

What an excellent match for BREMF! Armonico Consort has an inspirational director; an accomplished choir, in this case four solo quartets; a band of virtuoso players with a deep understanding of authentic performance (I particularly loved the blend of the Baroque oboe and Baroque trumpet); and a persistent scholar or two ferreting out forgotten, lost or overlooked scores. These are the perfect components for a lovely BREMF concert.

I would have liked a bit more separation between the choirs to have given that wide-spaced Italian antiphonal effect, especially as St George’s has balconies either side and is no wider than any opera stage so experienced singers would have no difficulty keeping together – that is a very minor quibble but it would have helped when the vocal texture was at its thickest in the Dixit Dominus, an exciting addition to the repertoire. The Scarlatti Mass has even more to offer. It is a lush Baroque work, somewhere between Monteverdi and Vivaldi, full of invention and contrast, showing the four quartets off at their best.

However, the lovely concert was not even half the story. Armonico Consort went a step or two further. Peppered throughout the audience were enthusiastic folk who had made the most of the earlier workshop on Vivaldi’s Gloria. An audience who are primed to appreciate the best moments in a concert raise the stakes for the performers. The expectations are high.

But that is not all – there was the ripieno choir of conscientious young singers from Eastbourne and Varndean who joined in the Vivaldi. They really had done their homework. There were no eyes stuck in their copies; they were all fully on the conductor, Christopher Monks, and they coped with the speed and syncopations with confidence, accuracy and obvious enjoyment.

I first sang Vivaldi’s Gloria when I was their age, sixty years ago, along with Colin sitting behind me and Gavin two rows in front, although he was playing the trumpet as he is very much more talented. The point is, you remember every note of great music that you learn when you are young and the joy stays with you your whole life. This fine concert will mean so much to those dozens of young singers for decades to come when they recall the support they received from the experienced voices behind them and the encouragement of their meticulous conductor. Many will become addicts of Early Music. Soon they will be branching out into Bach and Monteverdi – some may already have persuaded their parents to escort them to next week’s Hildegard concert – who knows? In short, BREMF and Armonico Consort have done a sterling job.

St George’s Church,
12 October 2024

Rating:

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Francesco Scarlatti – Dixit Dominus

Antonio Vivaldi – Gloria

F Scarlatti – Messa a 16