Purcell’s Muse

Handel, Bach and Purcell guarantee a great programme and such top-class performers made it blissful.

Ana Maria Rincon (soprano) and Julia Bishop (violin) triumphed over serious challenges from the venue’s dry acoustic which gave little or no feedback. They were also amplified to project alongside Howard Beach’s digital harpsichord, so any imperfections would show up terribly. However, all the tuning and articulation were miraculously precise and with Richard Durrant’s masterly guitar playing they form a very expressive and exciting Baroque ensemble. Kudos too to Ropetackle’s musically sensitive audio technicians. My favourite moment was the very delicate rendering of Handel’s Largo.

Ropetackle, Shoreham, 29 June 2017
Rating:
Andrew Connal