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Musica Gloria is feeling joyful in Ostrava.

4 weeks ago

We got a very beautifully written review from our concert in Ostrava. As most of our Facebook readers don't understand Czech, we added an English translation below, made by DeepL.

Review:
The St. Wenceslas Music Festival prepared an exceptional artistic experience for the audience on 8 September. The Belgian music ensemble Musica Gloria presented the music of Georg Friedrich Händel at an early evening concert and with its well thought-out dramaturgy, energy and interpretive authenticity with clear direction, it completely captivated the audience. The young vocal-instrumental ensemble under the direction of the two artistic directors Nele Vertommen and Beniamino Paganini thus brightened up one of the last summer evenings in Ostrava.

The concert opened with Chandos Anthem 10, HWV 255 "The Lord is my light" and the musical entry of a festive nature really shone. Handel's Chandos Anthems, which framed the ensemble's concert, were composed for the smaller church of St Lawrence in Whitchurch, so the composer opted for a smaller orchestra. It makes sense, then, that the performance was also set in the smaller St Wenceslas Church as part of the St Wenceslas Music Festival. Right from the opening bars of the instrumental Sinfonia movement, the ensemble impressed with a sincere interpretation with heartfelt and sung embellishments and inventive articulation. The second movement, Sinfonia Allegro, introduced a pregnant theme that became the unifying element of all the cycles presented in the concert. The solo vocal entries delighted with thoughtful interpretations using various expressive elements to underscore the meaning of the text. Among the most outstanding solo singers were Maria Ladurner and André Pérez Muíño with convincing emotional contributions. Oboist Nele Vertommen was brimming with fresh energy and melodic poetry. The ensemble built the choral movement "Though a host of men were laid against me" with a noticeable gradation to the climax, the decisive conclusion of the psalm "... yet will I put my trust in him." Throughout the movement, both chorus and orchestra strongly portrayed the contrast between the text-bound motifs of "yet shall my heart not be afraid" and the pregnant rhythmic motifs. The choir gave a very impressive rendition of the changing sixth movement of the cycle, colorfully rendering the meaning of each psalm according to its content. The opening questions "For who is God but the Lord: or who hath any strength save the Lord?" left a powerful impression in the silence and tension of the verses. When the earth trembled in the psalm "The earth trembled and quaked", the instruments and the singing trembled with excitement. When God sent forth lightning and thunder in the psalm "He cast forth lightnings", all the musicians as one directed the accented climaxes and heightened the tension, bringing Handel's sound design to perfection. The painful descending chromaticism and the hope of rising were portrayed by the ensemble in the section "They are brought down and fall'n: but we are risen" perhaps most believably of all the psalms. The expected climax came in the final movement of the cycle, "Sing praises into the Lord", Musica Gloria showed a sense of form construction, all sequences had development, musicians and singers worked well with the tension, all in perfect sonic harmony.

The second entry of the concert was a lovely performance of the Organ Concerto "The Cuckoo and the Nightingale", HWV 295 under the clear and confident leadership of the soloist organist Beniamino Paganini. The ensemble kept the solemn character and tempo of the first movement Largo, yet took a very playful approach to expressing harmonic changes and ornamentation. The joyous second movement Allegro, with its cuckoo cues and witty responses from solo and orchestra, brought a sense of freshness to the performance, particularly through its work with agogicism and the element of surprise. During the solo organ passages, an acoustic imitation of birdsong was heard, which may have disconcerted some more conservative listeners. From a purely musical point of view, the birdsong did not disturb the piece, but it is nevertheless a pity that, due to the acoustic layout of the church, the sparkling organ sequences in the fine register were not sufficiently audible over the imitation. The touching third movement of Larghetto moved the listener, especially thanks to the soft entrances of the strings, and special mention should be made of the performance of violinist Tomoe Badiaro, who managed to communicate the musical ideas in a truly evocative way with her instrument. The final fourth movement was a joyful conclusion to the whole organ concert full of musical humour.

The following selection of movements from the three suites of Water Music, HWV 348 - HWV 350, only underlined all the artistic qualities of the ensemble, which properly portrayed the contrasts between the dances. Artistic Director Nele Vertommen even changed instruments several times during one piece, almost singing on oboe and recorder, both with equal conviction. Personally, I would like to single out the poignant treatment of the Adagio et staccato movement, with its impressive tectonics and beautifully sung melodic lines. The ensemble's performances of the Gigue, Rigaudons and Minuettes were extremely entertaining and colourful; none of the virtuosic passages of minor values were mindlessly 'played out', the musicians constantly modelling and articulating them singingly. In the Sarabande, Beniamino Paganini swapped the keyboards for traverso and delivered the melodic solo part in exquisite fashion. His playing was delicate, elegant and full of deep feeling, all over an orchestral accompaniment that carefully respected the laws of style.

The concert concluded with Handel's Chandos Anthem 6, HWV 251b. In the opening two-movement Sonata, the virtuoso first violin part was once again brilliantly taken by Tomoe Badiarova. In the following movement, "As pants the hart for cooling streams", the singers and instruments managed to expressively present and feel the second passages belonging to the text "my soul". The following solo was taken by singer Sophia Faltas in the expressively deep and demanding part "Tears are my daily food". The theme of streaming tears contrasted against the excited question "Where is now thy God?" could have been more heartfelt in this aria, but Faltas kept to a more economical expression. The duet "Why so full of grief?" was exceptionally musically communicative, the questions of singers Pieter De Praeter and Adriaan Koster were asked with the necessary gravity, and it must be added that the excellent accompaniment of the instrumentalists completed the desired dark atmosphere. The final movement, "Put thy trust in God", built up to a choral climax with dignity and solemnity, and the fugato Alleluia closed the concert.

After thunderous applause, the audience was treated to two encores, again hearing parts of Chandos Anthem 6 in perhaps an even more evocative performance than the first time.

Review written by Magdaléna Hrudová ... See MoreSee Less

Belgická Musica Gloria nadchla v Ostravě. Promyšlené, energické, autentické

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„Sólové pěvecké vstupy potěšily interpretací s použitím rozličných výrazových prvků pro podtrhnutí významu textu.“ „Umělecká vedoucí Nele Vertommen stříd...