BREMF – Medicine and Mortality – Ensemble Molière

Harpsichordist Satoko Doi-Luck, a BREMF regular, adapted works by various Baroque composers to follow on from Marin Marais’ gory musical depiction of surgery to remove a bladder stone. What a gruesome hour this could have been, except Nigel Pittman’s sympathetic narration, illustrated by such charming music, drew us deeper into the poor patient’s tragic condition, coughing, gasping and ending up happy in heaven.

The effective combination of flute (Flavia Hirte), violin (Alice Earll), viola-da-gamba (Kate Conway) and bassoon (Jakab Kaufmann), supported by the steady rhythms of the harpsichord, extended Marais’ extraordinary experiment in programme music into an entertaining music drama.

Friends’ Meeting House, 5 November 2016

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