Brighton Festival –  William Christie with Les Arts Florissants

Handel always sounds stately and special, especially when played by six such superlative musicians.  Directing with gracious elegance from the harpsichord, maestro William Christie wove the clear melodic lines of violinists Augusta McKay Lodge and Sophie de Bardonnèche together in the ornate musical tapestries of two exquisite Trio sonatas. Their music danced lightly over the elaborate bass and continuo parts, the third element of the trio. This Sunday afternoon concert began with such chic formality, pared back and austere, an academic treat, yet between the two enchanting instrumental works came a spirited duet.

Christie broke that formal spell with a sly glance at his wrist watch (remember, his hands and timing are the very essence of this performance). You see, there was a delay between the music stands being set up for the singers and their hurried appearance on the stage – of course we noticed his gesture and chuckled.

You didn’t need to be a Handel scholar to find this duet familiar – he used the same tunes again in Messiah, written just a few months later, but No, di voi non vo’ fidarmi (No, I don’t want to trust you) is in translation and musically so very different from For unto us a child is born and All we like sheep. Portuguese soprano Ana Vieira Leite and Israeli mezzo-soprano Shakèd Bar blended perfectly together over the rich accompaniment, delivering the rapid passage work, perfectly synchronised trills and mercurial changes of mood most beautifully.

After a short Glyndebourne interval in unsteady Spring sunshine, we were treated to the pastoral cantata Aminta e Fillide, that Christie says the 23-year-old Handel wrote in a sober style – well, so it was momentarily in the overture until Bar, playing the flighty nymph Phyllis, dashed across the stage, straying among the music stands and players – and then she was gone! The rebuffed shepherd, Amyntas (Leite), anxious, cautious, possibly angry appeared to plead his case, to demand his due, to berate his infuriating lover. All this too could have been just an hour of scholarly early music appreciation, and indeed in many ways it was, but it was also very entertaining and such fun. The diction was so clear that it was easily possible to follow the intricacies of their tiff by reading the translations in the programme. However, this wasn’t really necessary, the acting and delightful stagecraft told the story so well. Cellist Félix Knecht was fully in the moment and clearly enjoying every minute. I wondered why the dignified viola player, Simon Heyerick, had been moved to the front – well, that inconstant Phyllis took to flirting with him, and with grandpa on the keyboard too! Hugo Abraham carried on playing his double bass and keeping the music flowing. Happily, after many spats and recriminations, it all ended well and the ripples of spontaneous applause finally broke out into a well deserved, fully operatic ovation.

The encore, Per le Porte del Tormento, from Handel’s mature opera Sosarme, made a most beautiful conclusion to an intoxicating afternoon.

Glyndebourne Opera House,
4 May 2025

Rating:

–

Handel
Trio Sonata in C minor HWV 386a
Duetti da Camera
No, di voi non vo’ fidarmi HWV 189
Trio Sonata in B-flat Major HWV 388
Aminta e Fillide, HWV 83

William Christie director/harpsichord

Les Arts Florissants:
Ana Vieira Leite  soprano, Aminta
Shakèd Bar mezzo-soprano, Fillide

Augusta McKay Lodge violin
Sophie de Bardonnèche violin
Simon Heyerick viola
Félix Knecht cello
Hugo Abraham double bass