Dunedin Consort Čičić directs Vivaldi Queen's Hall 16th November 2023 Review
Dunedin Consort Čičić Directs Vivaldi at the Queen’s Hall Edinburgh tonight was a chance to catch up with some of the lesser known works of composer Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) as performed by one of the world’s leading Baroque ensembles. Highlighting the solo talents of Croatian born violinist (and guest director) Bojan Čičić, the music performed this evening somehow took us all back to a time when life was perhaps a little quieter and for this concert it was possible to forget for a little while that the 21st century, with all its noise and distractions, was outside the venue.
Dunedin Consort are an ensemble that I have been hoping to put onto my review schedule for a long time now, and the wait has been worth it as, if you are a fan baroque music in general, their concerts are probably very close to what you might have heard in the 17th or 18th centuries. A big part of that authentic feel to the music tonight was that there was no electronic amplification of the instruments. Instead the always wonderful natural acoustic space of The Queen’s Hall was left to let us appreciate these instruments as our ears were intended to hear them.
What is it about Vivaldi’s music that keeps drawing us to it some 300 or so years after its creation? Perhaps it is the fact that his most famous work “The Four Seasons” is by its use in television, radio and advertising has over the years become almost a background to our modern day lives. Vivaldi is one of the few composers who are doorways to classical music. Many people who may not know even his name or even think that they know or like any classical music will instantly recognise some of his major works.
That then is maybe the answer to why tonight’s concert worked so well as, although he composed for a wide range of instruments during his prolific career, this evening’s works for solo violin, violins, viola, cello, double bass and harpsichord were all immediately recognisable as Vivaldi’s music.
Within tonight’s work there was so much variance, so many different colours to what Vivaldi gave us in his music. Yes, there was that so often associated lightness, that sense of fun to many movements but there was also that gift that Vivaldi had of suddenly and sometimes unexpectedly taking the mood and colours of his music into very different emotional spaces. In the hands of Dunedin Consort all of this plus the many compositional challenges that Vivaldi so often infused his music with were brought to life.
Shining through the music tonight and just as important as anything that Vivaldi himself wrote was the obvious pleasure that Bojan Čičić and Dunedin Consort were having playing this music. An extra mention does have to go to David Gerrard on harpsichord this evening as this instrument has such a unique sound and, for me, defines so much of the Baroque era of music.
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
Dunedin Consort are an ensemble that I have been hoping to put onto my review schedule for a long time now, and the wait has been worth it as, if you are a fan baroque music in general, their concerts are probably very close to what you might have heard in the 17th or 18th centuries. A big part of that authentic feel to the music tonight was that there was no electronic amplification of the instruments. Instead the always wonderful natural acoustic space of The Queen’s Hall was left to let us appreciate these instruments as our ears were intended to hear them.
What is it about Vivaldi’s music that keeps drawing us to it some 300 or so years after its creation? Perhaps it is the fact that his most famous work “The Four Seasons” is by its use in television, radio and advertising has over the years become almost a background to our modern day lives. Vivaldi is one of the few composers who are doorways to classical music. Many people who may not know even his name or even think that they know or like any classical music will instantly recognise some of his major works.
That then is maybe the answer to why tonight’s concert worked so well as, although he composed for a wide range of instruments during his prolific career, this evening’s works for solo violin, violins, viola, cello, double bass and harpsichord were all immediately recognisable as Vivaldi’s music.
Within tonight’s work there was so much variance, so many different colours to what Vivaldi gave us in his music. Yes, there was that so often associated lightness, that sense of fun to many movements but there was also that gift that Vivaldi had of suddenly and sometimes unexpectedly taking the mood and colours of his music into very different emotional spaces. In the hands of Dunedin Consort all of this plus the many compositional challenges that Vivaldi so often infused his music with were brought to life.
Shining through the music tonight and just as important as anything that Vivaldi himself wrote was the obvious pleasure that Bojan Čičić and Dunedin Consort were having playing this music. An extra mention does have to go to David Gerrard on harpsichord this evening as this instrument has such a unique sound and, for me, defines so much of the Baroque era of music.
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
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