Les Kapsbergirls

Viols, those fretted stringed instuments with a hungry need for tuning, immediately create an elegant antique atmosphere. Along with assorted lutes and a baroque guitar they accompanied two jolly French sopranos to give a stylish and refined recital.

Amorous swains and shepherdesses exchanged sweet nothings – it would have helped to have had the words, and preferably translations too, as even the limited vocabulary of pastoral courtship is difficult to follow on just one hearing. The overall sound, however, was exquisite and highly polished, evoking the prim, rococo era of the Maintenon and the roué charm of the Régence.

St Nicholas’ Church, 16 May 2018

Rating: