Biblical heroines
Brighton Early Music Festival
Saturday October 31
7.30pm
St George’s Church, Kemptown
The London Handel Players
Adrian Butterfield violin
Katherine Sharman viola da gamba
Laurence Cummings harpsichord
Ruby Hughes soprano
The London Handel Players were joined by soprano Ruby Hughes in these rare and unusual performances of these two cantatas, Susanna and Judith, both of which focused on a Biblical heroine written by celebrated baroque composer and harpsichordist Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre,
The programme also included instrumental music by some of her French contemporaries including Jean-Féry Rebel and François Couperin and a superb ethereal piece from Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber; Rosary Sonata No.1 ‘Annunciation’ which started the evening off with pure, simple and refulgent tones.
Hughes has an exceptional voice that had a warmth and clarity that bellied the dreadful passions of the libretto and it’s bloodthirsty narrative, she sang these exquisite cantatas of Suzanne fighting to protect her good reputation against some rather perverted elders which results in God helping her out and the false accusers are put to death, and virtue triumphs, phew, and Judith with her wondrous pleas to god for the strength of being a good liar before hoping off and cutting off the head of nasty old Holofernes. The singing and playing combined to transport the appreciative audience into a state of grace,
Laurence Cummings on harpsichord and his solo portraits were a delightful contrast and his refined, precise and elegant playing lit up this music from within and allowed the people who had inspired these short portraits to appear once again in the blue vaults of St George’s.
In the refined acoustic of St George’s Chapel and with the BBC in attendance with their Radio 3 ‘In Concert’ broadcast this was a charming and accomplished event. I took myself up to the gallery for the second half and although the long wooden benches are a little harder to endure the view of the long blue barreled vaulted roof leading down to the staging at the far end of the chapel was worth it.
If you would like to listen to the concert you can still listen to the concern via the BBC iPlayer here:
A great collection of music and artists in a superb venue, exactly what the BEMF is all about, interesting quality music brought to us by passionate and accomplished players.
There’s still more excellent music from the Brighton Early Music Festival to come, this is the last week of a superb series of events.
For more information of this weeks and the weekends final events and to buy tickets, click here:
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