Making its UK debut under founder-conductor Laurence Equilbey, the French period instrument Insula Orchestra brought along the choir Accentus (which Equilbey also founded in 1991) for performances of two unusual choral works.
The first was a setting of the Miserere by baroque Czech composer Jan Dismas Zelenka, who spent the bulk of his career at the court of Dresden as second string to other musical figures more greatly admired by his contemporaries. There has been renewed interest in his work of late on account of its harmonic originality and contrapuntal dexterity.
The dramatic opening of this 1738 motet is certainly striking, but its fugal continuation is less so. Both sections needed tauter readings than they received to make their proper marks. Here and throughout, the choir could have done with a keener attack and clearer consonants. The orchestral support, meanwhile, maintained solidity and strength.
The second half of the programme consisted of the Bach Magnificat – not the well-known version by Johann Sebastian, but one written a generation later by Carl Philipp Emanuel, arguably his most talented son. Straddling the divide between the baroque and classical styles, the material and manner of this 1749 work is attractive, even if its final fugue is long-winded.
The Accentus sopranos found some of its high notes taxing, but plush-toned contralto Wiebke Lehmkuhl and the buoyant bass-baritone Andreas Wolf delivered imposing solo contributions. The other soloists were less consistent. In the famous soprano solo Laudate Dominum in Mozart’s Solemn Vespers, K339, Judith van Wanroij remained earthbound, while tenor Reinoud Van Mechelen had moments of tonal insecurity.
Equilbey maintained light but effective control over all three pieces, encouraging her orchestra to display its range of colour with skill and confidence.
