Handel: Overture II Pastor Fido
Concerto Grosso in B flat Op 6 No 7
Concerto Grosso in D Minor Op 6 No 10
Apollo e Dafne
The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment is perhaps the period instrument orchestra for those who normally don't like period instrument orchestras. No one surpasses their polish and technique, and there is always a wonderful warmth and variety of tone - all the old-fashioned expressiveness without any of the old-fashioned mannerisms. They relished the dark sonorities at the start of the B flat Concerto Grosso (the two double basses making a particular impression) but the playing always had the alacrity and transparency associated with the best period instrument ensembles.
It was nice to see players so obviously taking pleasure in each other's playing (for instance in the delightfully muzzy-toned period bassoon in the overture, which is really a concerto in itself), and it was also nice to see such a non-hackneyed programme. The concertos are acknowledged masterpieces but the overture and the cantata, both early works from Handel's Italian period, were real finds. With such variety, one didn't mind the programme being restricted to one composer.
Apollo e Dafne shows that Handel's real genius lay in dramatic music, and the singing of Nancy Argenta and Michael George was as characterful and expressive as the playing. Credit must be due above all to the lively and sensitive conducting of Nicholas McGregan.