Naumburg Orchestral Concerts (6/28/22)

The Handel & Haydn Society
Aisslinn Nosky, Director and Violin Soloist

Concerto Grosso in D Major, Op. 6, No. 4, (1712 or before) – Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713)
Concerto Grosso No. 5 in D Minor, (after Scarlatti), (1758) – Charles Avison (1709–1770)
Violin Concerto in A minor, RV 356, (1711 or before) – Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741)
Concerto Grosso after Corelli, Op. 5, No. 5 in G Minor, (1727) – Francesco Geminiani (1687–1762)
Concerto Grosso in B-flat Major, Op. 6, No. 11, (1712 or before) – Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713)
Concerto Grosso in F Major, Op. 6, No. 9, (1741) – George Frideric Handel (1685–1759)
Concerto Grosso in D Minor, La Follia, (1732), (after Corelli, Op. 5, No. 12) – Francesco Geminiani (1687–1762) 

What a historical evening. The Handel & Haydn Society, based in Boston, has been in existence since 1814. And this is the 117th season for the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts. The group played on period instruments, and stood while playing, except for the cellists and the harpsichordist. The printed program did not list individual movements, so any references to them are purely guesswork on my part.

The first movement of the first Corelli piece had a sedate opening, but with a full sound. It then moved on to a quicker tempo, chugging along quite nicely. The second movement was slower and a little sad, while the third was quicker again and very pleasant. The fourth movement was also pleasant and lively before racing off to a very clever ending. 

Charles Avison is a composer I had never heard of before Tuesday night. The first movement, in a minor key, still had an energetic quality, and sounded to me almost as if it was a mixture of themes and variations. The second was slower, still minor, and still interesting. The third was in a triple meter, lending it a dancelike feel. 

The Vivaldi concerto’s first movement had a rapid-fire tempo from the very beginning, and the solo violin part was quite prominent. The second was a lovely slower movement that somehow put the word ‘sincerity’ in my head. The final movement sounded like a dance to me (gigue?) and had the classic rapid string writing I always associate with Vivaldi (it’s slightly trite; think Four Seasons). 

The first Geminiani piece began in a stately but not quite grand way—more like steady. The second movement had a brighter tempo and was a bit playful while staying serious. The third was slower and solid, though not somber. The final movement was brisk but soft, playful again and, with once again, a clever ending. A great way to end the first half of the concert. 

Corelli led off the second half with a minor-key sedate opening movement, while the second had a quickening of both tempo and energy. After a rare false start, the third movement was slower, with a feeling of solidity. The fourth was back to slightly brisk—an exercise in pleasantness. 

Handel’s offering had a slow, almost somber opening followed by a second movement that was brisk, quick, and delightful, with a certain fullness at times. The rest of the movements sort of blended together, so what we got was a slower section with a solid feeling, a section that opened with the violas (which seemed like a slight rarity to me) in a section for the orchestra that was bright without being pushy, and then ending brighter still, though with a subdued sense of fun. 

Geminiani rounded out the second half, just as he had in the first. Once again, movements were hard to figure, so this is a sort of stream of consciousness rambling. After a muscular minor-key opening, there was a shift to a slightly quicker tempo, still with a dense quality to the phrases and sound, and then an even more rapid tempo. There was a fun juxtaposition of tempos—possibly theme and variations again? Whatever it was, it was a heck of a lot of fun, and a wonderful way to end an outdoor concert on a pretty near perfect summer evening. I even saw lightning bugs as I left the park.

ConcertMeister