Christ Church Baroque/Mark Duley Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Martin Adams
Concerto Op 6 No 7 - Handel
Concerto for Violin and Oboe (from BWV1060) - Bach
Concerto Op 6 No 9 - Handel
Dixit Dominus - Handel
Christ Church Baroque could become the shot-in-the-arm which early music in Ireland needs. Its second concert, given in Christ Church Cathedral on Saturday night, seemed animated by that prospect. Since the first concert, in 1996, the Arts Council has boosted the rising financial support by allocating £80,000 for the purchase of historical instruments.
The ensemble's director, Mark Duley, can call on a core of about 13 string players, led by Therese Timoney, plus wind players and the cathedral choir. Some players have experience in British and continental early music groups, though for now they use modern-style instruments.
On Saturday the most obviously historical playing was in Handel's Concertos Op. 6 Nos. 7 in B flat and 9 in F. Experience, both as individuals and as an ensemble, should make historically informed style sound less obvious and more spontaneous. It should also improve balance and ensemble between first and second violins.
The soloists in the reconstructed original version, for violin, oboe and strings, of Bach's Concerto in C minor BWV1060, were Therese Timoney and Matthew Manning. The latter's playing was a highlight of the concert - not particularly historical, but so completely musical that I, at least, could not worry.
Handel's Dixit Dominus swept all before it, thanks to an astonishingly spunky and sometimes risky performance. Christ Church Cathedral Choir sang their socks off. The soloists - Gillian Keith and Helen Parker (sopranos), William Purefoy (a delightfully strong-toned countertenor), Nicholas Hurndall Smith (tenor) and Philip O'Reilly (bass) - were very good, and in the soprano duet the singing and playing were riveting.
Christ Church Baroque's main challenge will be to make the most of its proposed education programme. Time will tell if it can run with ideas after the visiting teachers have flown home. In the meantime, this concert was an encouraging start.