Freed from constraints, Tafelmusik delivers
J.S. Bach: The Circle of Creation
(out of 4) Music by J.S. Bach. Conceived and scripted by Alison Mackay. Tafelmusik Orchestra. Until March 18 at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. tafelmusik.org or 416-964-6337
Concerts focus on the music. That observation seemed ridiculously obvious until an encounter on Wednesday night with Tafelmusik Orchestra’s J.S. Bach: The Circle of Creation, which included the means of making the music happen within its charmed mandate.
This is the second Toronto outing for this multimedia program conceived by longtime Tafelmusik bassist Alison Mackay three years ago. Like several of the pieces in its growing roster of themed concerts, The Circle of Creation includes a large video projection behind the musicians, who play from memory, as well as a limited amount of movement around the stage. There is a narrator, also working off book.
Freed from the constraints of music stands and enlivened by the need to tell a broader story, Tafelmusik’s period-instrument-playing string, woodwind and harpsichord musicians delivered lively, engaging performances.
Having a full, two-hour presentation (including intermission) devoted to the music of one composer may seem like a recipe for monotony. But Johann Sebastian Bach was no ordinary artist. He had a distinct musical style, rendered in seemingly endless variety: a richness nicely reflected in Mackay’s 21-piece patchwork quilt of a program.
It’s a program that not only delivers a cross-section of Bach’s inventiveness with a variety of solo and ensemble genres, it also gives each mem- ber of the orchestra a moment in the spotlight. And despite the occasional ragged entrance and tuning problem, Bach’s music was played with verve as well as fine nuance under the direction of violinist Elisa Citterio.
What makes The Circle of Creation really stand out is the con- text provided by Blair Williams’ animated narration and Rafa Javanfar’s evocative video projections.
Not only was the German city of Leipzig blessed with an exceptional musician and composer in Bach at the start of the 18th century, we learn, it had all the means to support a particularly rich culture of paper- and instrument-making, as well as the bustling commerce at the intersection of two major trade routes to finance a flourishing musical culture.
With the help of Glenn Davidson’s lighting and Opera Atelier co-artistic director Marshall Pynkoski’s subtle choreography, the program delivers a fascinating, multi-layered musical as well as anthropological entry into Bach’s world.
It is a nice surprise to be educated as well as entertained.
Classical music writer John
Terauds is supported by the Rubin Institute for Music Criticism, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation.