Fabio Biondi and Europa Galante

Fabio Biondi & Europa Galante
Vivaldi Sinfonia in C (from La Senna Festeggiante)
Purcell Suite in D Minor from Abdelazer, or che Moor's Revenge
Vivaldi Concerto for Violin and Strings in A Minor, RV357, La Stravaganza, Op. 4, No. 4
Vivaldi The Four Seasons

9th Nov 2008, HKCH

My first time going to a concert of period instruments is probably also my last time. Period.

Not that there is anything significantly wrong about the concert, it was just not my cup of tea. Performing 17th century music with 17th century instruments and technique sounds reasonable enough, but whether you would prefer ice cream made in the way 300 years ago to Hagen Daaz is another thing. To some it is authentic, pure, heavenly. To me it is dry, coarse, and scratchy. I guess I am just a modern man with a modest taste.

Granted, there are moments of remarkable music making. Such as the concerto from La Stravaganza, and part of the Summer and Autumn, where the fast passages with impressive unison ensemble sparkle. Yet, not infrequently the inaccuracy of tone and the harsh timbre of the period instruments prevented me from enjoying the music.

Apart from the instruments, the way they interpret The Seasons was also very much atypical, to say the least. Reduced ornaments, displaced accents, some strange sounding phrasing and the rather irritating pianissimo passage, where the scratchy sound of strings was louder than the music intended to come out from it. (In cantonese, the sound of slaughtering a chicken)

That said, it was nevertheless interesting to hear the Seasons live. Certainly an experience to have, hearing period instruments and music, not that I would pay for another try though.

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The time was early and my date was late,

why not have a walk? I'd say

I passed by a beggar, a couple and a group of maids,

begging, kissing, and dancing gay

the very same streets of the money slaves

and what a different place!