Tafelmusik, with guest leader and soloist Christopher Coin. Wednesday, October 5 at Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St Paul’s Centre. Repeats to October 9. Tickets are available at Tafelmusik.org
Tafelmusik Orchestra’s long, international search for a new music director is down to the final season. Not only are audiences getting portraits of different musical personalities, but also of the different eras and styles of music that the period-instrument ensemble calls its own.
This week’s treat is French gamba player and cellist Christophe Coin, a French period-performance veteran who has had a versatile career so far, as a soloist, chamber musician and ensemble leader.
The programme doesn’t play nationalistic favourites with the leader’s French heritage, focusing on a rich vein of Viennese-centric music from the Classical period.
At Wednesday night’s opening performance at Jeanne Lamon Hall, both guest and resident players were in top form in works that showcased the orchestra’s fine technique and tight ensemble playing whipped into compelling form by carefully wrought interpretations.
The evening opened elegantly with what can truly be called the sound of liquid velvet as a full complement of strings and woodwinds, including French horns, deployed the Symphony No. 4 by Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739-1799). One of a dozen symphonies he wrote to depict tales from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, this one veered dramatically from its dulcet opening (which included concerto-like interventions from oboist John Abberger) to a rollicking final movement capped with an elegant minuet.
It was a bit disconcerting to have Coin lead the orchestra seated, cello between his legs, with his back to the audience, but the playing was seductive and tight.
Coin turned himself forward in a D Major Cello Concerto G.483 by Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805), in a nicely polished performance. This composer did much to advance cello playing in the mid-17th century, but he placed equal demands on the other players, requiring a high degree of ensemble finesse. Tafelmusik surpassed the occasion, while Coin delivered an intricately nuanced reading. His use of vibrato was restrained, coming across as neatly interjected ornamentation.
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788) was represented by a Symphony for Strings in B minor. I have to confess to frequent disdain for this son of J.S. Bach’s, because he sometimes over-uses a very limited amount of thematic material. But this Symphony was short, and made fine use of contrasting moods and tempi navigated by the players with a big dash of panache.
Here, as in all of the playing on Wednesday night, the balance and blend of the orchestral sound was remarkable.
The highlight of the concert was the familiar C Major Cello Concerto by Joseph Haydn (1732-1809). It was fascinating to listen to Coin and the other orchestra members push their instruments to their limits without ever losing proportion or balance. Coin’s technique sparkles, but what made this a particularly memorable interpretation was his attention to the details in phrasing and intonation.
All the music on Wednesday night displayed a deep level of care and craft, delivered with passion and poise. It was the sort of concert one might expect from a group that has spent years working with its leader, not from someone making their debut visit. I can only hope that, in Coin’ case, this is the first visit of many.
Performances continue at Trinity-St Paul’s Centre until October 9.
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