On Wednesday evening I got at Sonore the
autumn programme of Finnish Baroque Orchestra (FiBO) and noticed that I had
somehow totally missed their Thursday’s concert at the Helsinki Music Centre.
So, naturally I had to buy a ticket, since the programme contained music from
my big favourite Georg Friedrich Handel. Despite the last minute purchase, I
managed to get a quite nice seat and I was happy.
The first part of the evening consisted of orchestral
music. First some delightful suites from Handel’s operas “Ariodante” and “Alcina”.
After Handel we heard Pietro Locatelli’s Concerto grosso in E Flat Major and
Francesco Maria Veracini’s Overture No. 6 in G Minor. I didn’t really get turned
on by Locatelli’s concerto. It was a bit bland, but Veracini’s overture was
good and I wouldn’t mind hearing more music from him. He has composed operas,
too, so it would be nice to hear at least one of them one day, if possible. I
especially enjoyed the wind instruments that played an important role in the overture.
Nice work!
All in all, it was a pleasure to listen to
FiBO – as usual – and I it was great fun to watch the work of Georg Kallweit,
who was the visiting leader/violinist for the evening. He was living the music
with his whole body and spent a considerable part of the concert on his toes
(literally!).
The second part of the concert was the highlight
of the evening – Handel’s cantata “Apollo and Daphne”. The god Apollo falls in
love with the nymph Daphne, who is not at all interested in him. Apollo keeps
on harassing her and finally she turns into a laurel tree to avoid his ardent love.
The role of Daphne was sung by Silvia
Frigato and the role of Apollo by Gyula Orendt. I have to admit I absolutely
fell in love with Orendt. Such an expressive way of performing and what a voice!
When he was singing about the rose with thorns, at one point I just stopped breathing
for a minute. Unbelievable! And even though Silvia Frigato sang nicely, somehow
in comparison she felt lifeless.
A special mention goes to the unknown light
designer, who changed the orangish colour tone of the concert hall walls to
green to mark the transition to a laurel tree in the end. Nice touch!
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