Symphony Review: Early holiday cheer with "A Baroque Christmas"

It might seem counter-intuitive for a concert billed as “A Baroque Christmas” to feature only 20 minutes or so of actual Christmas music, but as far as I’m concerned, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra concert last Saturday (December 7^th) fully lived up to the spirit of the season.

[Find out more about the music with my symphony preview.]

Christmas is, after all, only one of many festivals that owes its existence to the winter solstice. In the northern hemisphere, at least, late December is when we experience the shortest days and the longest nights. Back when nocturnal darkness was absolute and cold could easily kill you, that was reason enough to gather together and celebrate light, warmth, and a sense of community.

Which is exactly what “A Baroque Christmas” brought to the Lee Auditorium at Washington University’s 560 Music Center. Guest conductor Patrick Dupre Quigley led the SLSO in a celebratory night music of Bach, Telemann, Corelli, and Vivaldi guaranteed, in the words of the old carol, “to drive the cold winter away.”

Alejandro Valdepeñas Photo courtesy of the SLSO

The opening work, the Sinfonia from the second of the six cantatas that make up J.S. Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio,” got off to a slightly ragged start but quickly came together. Both here and in the next piece—the Sonata from Bach’s appropriately titled Cantata “Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret” (Heaven laughs! Earth exults)—the double reeds (English horns and oboes d’amore) sounded especially clear and bright. Slightly larger and darker in tone than the standard oboe, the oboe d’amore is rarely heard these days, so it was a pleasure to hear it played so well by Xiomara Mass and Principal Oboe Jelena Dirks.

Next was the Concerto grosso in G minor, Op. 6 No. 8 by Arcangelo Corelli (1653 – 1713). It’s known as the “Christmas Concerto” because the first page of the score bears the inscription “Fatto per la notte di Natale” (“made for the night of Christmas”). In pre-performance remarks, Quigley went to some effort to tie some of the six short movements back to the Nativity story, although to my ears the only real connection is the final movement, marked Pastorale (Largo). It’s a gently rocking 12/8 “cradle song” that could easily be a lullaby for “le devin enfant.”

The entire concerto, though, was a wonderful showpiece for the SLSO strings, along with continuo players Andrew Cuneo (Principal Bassoon) and guest keyboardist Mark Shuldiner on harpsichord and portative organ. The organ was an especially welcome addition in the final movement. My only complaint is that the physical setup at the Lee Auditorium made it difficult to hear the give and take between the ripeno (ensemble) strings and the concertino (solo) group of Second Associate Concertmaster Celeste Andrews, Principal Second Violin Alison Harney, and Principal Cello Daniel Lee. Which is a shame since it was all done with superb precision and joy.

There was plenty of precision and joy in the next two works as well—the Viola Concerto in G Major by Georg Phillip Telemann (1681 – 1767) and the Piccolo Concerto in C Major, Op. 44 No. 11, by Antonio Vivaldi (1678 – 1741). You rarely encounter concertos for the former and almost never for the latter.

Ann Choomack Photo courtesy of the SLSO

Indeed, the Vivaldi concerto specifies the solo instrument as a flautino which, back in his day, probably meant a sopranino recorder. In any case, Ann Choomack (the SLSOs primary piccolo player for over a decade) gave us a performance Saturday night of jaw-dropping virtuosity—and without a score, no less. I’m still amazed that she found time to breathe during the aural acrobatics in the score.

Associate Principal Viola Alejandro Valdepeñas played the Telemann concerto with just the right mix of virtuosity and emotional warmth. Both he and Choomack had a nice rapport with Quigley and a fine time was had by all, it seemed to me.

The evening concluded with Bach’s lively Orchestral Suite No. 3, composed around 1730. This ingratiating collection of an Air (often played by itself as the “Air on the G String”) and four dances preceded by a short "French overture" (the name referring to the form's origins in the ballets of Jean Baptiste Lully) was an appropriately cheerful way to end this celebration of light in the darkness. The bright trumpets and tympani the final Gigue sent us out into “the bleak midwinter” (yes, another Christmas carol reference) with a nice shot of holiday warmth.

Seasonal events by the SLSO continue for the rest of December, culminating in the annual New Year’s Eve concert at Stifel Theatre. Visit the SLSO web site for more information.