Trevor Pinnock is one of Europe’s most respected performers of Baroque music. I purchased one of the few remaining tickets for this performance before I left Texas in April.
The concert is in an old church two blocks from the sea – again, I can’t resist going down to the water.
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| One of the "banjos" on Brighton's beach |
I have an unreserved seat in the gallery that was advertised as having practically no view of the performers, but I arrive early and the usher tells me, “Actually, the view’s quite good if you sit on the front row.” He is right!
“Trevor Pinnock and Friends” opens with Airs and Dances from Purcell’s The Fairy Queen and then moves onto J. S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5. I teach the flashy first movement every semester, so it’s a great treat to hear it live. Bach wrote it to show off his employer’s new harpsichord and himself. Pinnock plays it with spritely ease. It’s also wonderful to hear and see the communication amongst the performers, especially during the more delicate and introspective second movement and the ebullient third.
The organizers allow audience members to come up during the intermission and look at the harpsichord. I feel sorry for the poor tuner, but he doesn’t seem to mind.
The second half emphasizes that the concert truly is Trevor Pinnock and Friends. It begins with Harpsichord Concerto in D minor (with that great unison opening!) and closes with the Suite No. 2 in B minor, both by Bach. The flautist, not Pinnock, takes the spotlight during the encore. She plays a haunting melody I recognize but can’t place (one of the Bach flute sonatas?) while the rest of the ensemble plays pizzicato accompaniment to bring the evening to a graceful, gentle close.
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