The Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado opened its third season Friday night with an invigorating program of works by Bach and Handel.
Infusing St. John’s Cathedral with a crisp, warm sound, the period-instrument ensemble – led by spirited violinist Cynthia Miller Freivogel – gave Bach’s “Concerto in A Major for Oboe d’Amore, Strings and Continuo” a fresh, inspired reading. Spotlighting oboist Debra Nagy, whose tone is wonderfully rich and buoyant, the performance was only slightly diminished by her uncertain delivery of some of the work’s thornier passages.
In George Frideric Handel’s “Gloria for Solo Soprano, Strings and Continuo,” Freivogel again set the bar high, persuasively conveying the work’s sparkling virtuosity alongside the equally proficient soprano Elizabeth Weigle.
It wasn’t until after intermission, however, that Weigle and Nagy found their stride in Bach’s “Wedding Cantata,” a masterful work that celebrates springtime, love and marriage in a hauntingly beautiful musical setting. Weigle was especially compelling in her vocal and emotional capacity to navigate the cantata’s contrasting dispositions, from prayerfully pure to seductive and sensual. And where her tone was arguably sometimes strained and strident in “Gloria,” she brought forth a resonant warmth throughout the cantata.
The only weak link in this selection was cellist Ann Marie Morgan’s arguably ill-prepared performance.
Saving a crowd-pleasing favorite for last, the players delved head first into the exuberant, Vivaldi-esque “Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major.” With its clean structure and energetically rhythmic framework, the concerto demands strong technical dexterity and interpretive consistency among performers. Except for a brief solo passage fumbled by violinist Stacy Brady, the players demonstrated absolute cohesion and communication among themselves – especially between Freivogel and gifted violist Tekla Cunningham – spilling over to the audience their contagious joy in music-making.
The evening closed with a soft-tempered encore, a reflective reading of a minuet from Handel’s opera “Berenice.” Throughout the program, Frank Nowell – the orchestra’s brilliant harpsichordist and artistic director – provided the all-important musical scaffolding from which the other instrumentalists took flight.
The concert repeats at 4 p.m. today at First United Methodist Church in Boulder. For more information, call 303-889-1012 or visit .
