20 February 2010

Consort 1700 - A European Grand Tour

Concord College, Acton Burnell

Hotteterre was a flautist at the court of Louis 14th.  As a composer he is a man of unsurprising anonymity so the choice of a suite by him was a strange choice to open the programme called "A European Grand Tour" by Consort 1700 at Concord College as part of the excellent season provided by Shropshire Music Trust.

The four members of Ensemble 1700 are young, bursting with talent and vitality which is sensed instantly by their audience.  Martyn Shaw plays a baroque flute, Emma Dixon plays a modern facsimile of a baroque cello and Charlotte Wilson plays the harpsichord.  For some of the programme they were joined by soprano Jenni France.  Besides being superb musicians in their own right, the ensemble is a tight-knit group who, from the opening bars, found a perfect balance between the instruments, no mean feat.

A cantata by Monteclair was by turns dramatically operatic and sublimely elegant.  This was the first number on which Jenni France was heard.  Her voice is beautiful - long, sustained lines, firm control throughout her entire range and real expressive powers of communication.  All these qualities were apparent on her singing of a cantata by Vivaldi about love and jealousy.  By comparison, a sonata for flute and continuo by Handel showed Martyn Shaw’s flute at its lyrical best.  The musicians provided welcome introductions which helped place the music in its historic context, to the approval of the audience.  The audience appreciated hearing the soloists describing their instruments with such passion and eloquence.

Although this concert was a slight departure from the Music Trust’s programme, it was an event of real quality provided by a superb ensemble.

Andrew Petch

Last Updated : 24/02/2010