Review - The Six Brandenburg Concertos (J S Bach), Hong Kong City Hall, 5th February 2016

Members of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Directed from the Harpsichord by Benjamin Bayl

Nearly a year apart after the performance by Berliner Barock Solisten in The University of Hong Kong, another demonstration of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos was given by the members of Philharmonic Orchestra. Except the harpsichord, no other period instrument such as recorder or baroque flute was used this time, neither baroque bows for the strings. Also less vibrato in playing to aim for a more silvery and pure tone. The sequence was also in reverse order starting with the second concerto and ended the concert with the first. Strings only third and sixth concertos filled the mid section of both half, leaving the leaner structured fifth and fourth concerts before and after the intermission. I felt it was the right order for the programme with a fanfare like concerto to open the concert, the mid section being intimate and pastoral orientated, rounded off with the concerto that had the largest instrumentation of all.

Instead of an earthy and percussive sound from a period instrumental group, generally this time ensemble produced a more refine tone and being transparent in structure. It would be unfair to compare which combination is better because different sets of tone colours. Though I would prefer to retain recorders for the fourth and viola da gambas for the sixth, which was not difficult to realise the composer intended these instruments for a colourful musical texture. The variety of instrumental colours would also keep the music more interesting for the ears.

Technically this around the musicians were more even and at ease than an effortful marathon. With the conductor directed from harpsichord, the solo violinist could concentrate on playing the solo passages and avoid tiredness than performing two roles at the same time, a notable problem in period instrument performances I experienced in recent years. Jing Wang's intonation on the violin improved as the evening went on and never aggressive on bow weight in technically demanding passages especially the fourth concerto. Benjamin Bayl excelled himself in the virtuosic cadenza on the keyboard at the first movement of the fifth concerto. His approach in keyboard playing was quite swift in tempo and the phrasing had a dramatic sense for musical direction.

In terms of the quality of playing, as I was told with limited rehearsals, there were highs and lows in result. To begin the concert with the sixth concerto was a challenge for the solo trumpeter Joshua MacCluer to nail the fiendish showcase passages, not to mention playing the piccolo trumpet in F. He played most of the notes accurately despite some slips in the top and appeared rather relieved when it was over. There was also some issue with balance that the upper strings being heavy handed in volume and overshadowed the soloists. More thought on phrasing and intonation were actually put into concertos with less instruments. Exquisite playing during the trio with violin, flute and harpsichord in the second movement of the fifth concerto, particularly from the flautist Megan Sterling. The first concerto was somehow an uneven display that the wind section were far more accurate and functioned as a group than the tutti strings. Few more rehearsals would have polished the rough corners for a better impression.