An unforgettable concert combining Bach's music and world

Johann Sebastian Bach, the composer who never fails us, was celebrated by the Tafelmusik Orchestra in an unforgettable concert combining music, choreography, projected images and a narrated discourse on the fabric of Bach’s instruments and the fibres that made up his clothing, the paper he composed on and the implements he used to record and notate his musical ideas.

Those who may have read my reviews in the past would know my suspicions about musical productions that combine multimedia and drama with chamber music, but in this case the blend was perfect. Alison Mackay, the double bass player, was also responsible for the concept, program and script for the performance.

Narrator Blair Williams led us into the philosophical and artisanal world of Bach’s Leipzig. His descriptions of the textile trade were linked to explicit dress-codes for each level in the class system of the era. Bach, the musical genius we revere, was a fourth-class citizen, permitted to wear not a scrap of colour - only locally produced silk and dark woollen jackets with silver buttons.

The relationship between Bach and Hoffman’s musical instrument manufacture was illustrated by a series of images showing the process of selecting the correct timber for a cello and patiently carving the top and back plates, neck, scroll and bow, cutting the purfling, varnishing the finished instrument and setting it up. The artistic process of instrument making was intimately linked to the creative process of musical composition. Each narrated excerpt corresponded with the recreation of a musical work, beginning with the Sinfonia from Cantata BWV 249a and concluding, appropriately, with Sinfonia after Cantata BWV11:1 Lobt Gott in seinen Reichen – Praise he Lord in His Realms.

Just as Bach’s music reflects a divine order and perfect balance, so the arrangement of the music played by the Tafelmusik orchestra was founded on each musician taking their equal share of responsibility with moments in the limelight. Particularly moving was the Partita for Solo Violin in D minor, shared by three musicians: one playing first on stage, then one each side of the auditorium at the rear. Ironically the musicians playing at the back of the hall produced the richest sound, confirming once again that the Llewellyn Hall stage is an inferior venue for baroque music unless acoustic panelling is properly installed for the performance.

Bach’s delight in encouraging improvisation over a bass line was demonstrated beautifully in the three treatments of the Goldberg Variations. The sacred opening phrase has an extraordinary power to calm the mind and soothe the spirits. Olivier Fortin on harpsichord anchored the performance with a moderate tempo, allowing the delicate ornamentation breathing space.

Musical director Elisa Citterio must be well pleased with the accuracy, mobility and unity of the ensemble in this demanding program played entirely from memory. By eliminating music stands and having musicians freely moving to create and recreate partnerships and trios within the larger composition, Tafelmusik gave us the experience of Bach’s music and Bach’s world embodied. What a great pleasure!