By Daniel Buckwalter
The comfortable sounds of Baroque-era music played on period instruments filled Jaqua Concert Hall at The Shedd Institute over the weekend, just as the chilly rainy season began its seemingly yearly, months-long stay in our area.
In other words, those sounds came just in time.
A Baroque Autumn — microphilharmonic’s annual tribute to Baroque music and the delicate, sometimes fussy instruments that make the music glorious — was played with grace before appreciative audiences on Nov. 2 and 3, and now all of us can say we are ready for the autumn chill.
The seven-member microphilharmonic ensemble, led by artistic director and violinist Alice Blankenship, explored the short, spritely and sweet works of well-known composer Antonio Vivaldi as well as works by fellow Italian composers Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi and Mealli Arcangelo Corelli.
It also introduced a Swedish element to Baroque music, something most Western classical music fans perhaps don’t think of when Baroque-era music is discussed and played.
Johan Helmich Roman was a Swedish Baroque composer. He has been called “the father of Swedish music” and “the Swedish Handel.” He led the Swedish Royal Orchestra during the first decades of Sweden’s Age of Liberty, a period in the 18th century when the monarchy’s power was limited by a new constitution.
His piece for the weekend concerts — Assaggio, composed in 1740 — is a lovely solo violin work that was performed with charming grace by the Swedish guest Baroque violinist Alison Luthmers, herself a much sought-after Baroque soloist in Europe. That was a joy.
The violinists — Blankenship, Luthmers, Emma Simmons and Dana Rokosny — were the stars, but harpsichordist Joyce Chen also was splendid, and Titus Young on the Baroque violoncello and Sean Peterson on the Baroque bass offered strong support.
We can now tune in to autumn in all its stormy grandeur.
