Suite in G - La Barre
Suite in D - Marais
Sonata in D, Op 91 - Boismortier
Sonata in E minor BWV1034 - Bach
Sonata in D BWV1028 - Bach
Trio in G (arr. from BWV1039) - Bach
The Lachrimae Consort gave an absorbing concert of late-Baroque chamber music at Birr Castle. Using modern copies of 18th-century instruments, Stephen Preston (flute), Philippe Foulon (viola da gamba) and Emer Buckley (harpsichord), played six duos and trios as part of the AIB Music Festival in Great Irish Houses. One strength was the stylistic differentiation shown between the French music of the first half, and the German of the second.
Stephen Preston's florid yet unobtrusive ornamentation in La Barre's Suite in G seemed perfect for this elegant and occasionally dotty music. In Marais's Suite in D from the 3e Livre de Pieces de Viole, Philippe Foulon's playing sounded quintessentially French - pronounced in gesture and pointed in dynamic variation. Although Emer Buckley's harpsichord playing did not always match Foulon's rhythmic spring, the performance captured the necessary mix of virtuosity and finesse.
Three pieces by Bach were played in a suitably line-driven way. The Flute Sonata in E Minor, BWV 1034, was impeccably balanced by all three players - a real challenge in such elaborate counterpoint. So was the Sonata in D for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord, BWV 1028, although the final Allegro saw one of the few lapses in the convincing ensemble which typified this concert.
The Lachrimae Consort finished with their own arrangement of the Flute Trio in G, BWV 1039. Bach reworked it for gamba and harpsichord, so this modern arrangement extends authenticated practice. One of the many rewarding results of the historical performance movement has been the growing ability of musicians to engage in such re-creation in ways which seem congruent with the original concept.
