It's not often in Tucson that you find yourself standing at a chamber music concert.
But on Sunday afternoon, after every spot in the benches and every seat in the balcony were taken, and a couple dozen people were lucky enough to get seated in chairs on stage, dozens of folks leaned against the walls of Grace St. Paul's Episcopal Church for the St. Andrew's Bach Society Brandeburg Fest.Β
Some things are worth standing for, and this concert was certainly one of them.
We rarely get to hear one of Bach's famed Brandenburg Concertos, much less four of the six in one afternoon. Β Which explains why some of us stood; I was lucky to snag a folding chair leaning up against the wall moments before the concert began.Β
Society Artistic Director Benjamin Nisbet, concertmaster for the SABS Chamber Orchestra, programmed Nos. 1, 4, 5 and 2 of Bach's six Brandenburg Concertos including his rarely played and much-loved No. 2. The afternoon opened with No. 1 in F, a four-movement piece that featured a splendid solo violin role performed with personality byΒ Joseph Rousos-Hammond, principal for the Tucson Symphony Orchestra's second violin section. Β
The combination of three oboes β Rousos-Hammond's TSO colleague David Barford along with Phoenix oboists Nik Flickinger and Rachel Messing β twin horns β TSO players Johanna Lundy and Victor Valenzuela β and a bassoon β TSO's Ben Yingst β created a wonderful contrast to what we traditionally associate as music by Bach: more inclined toward strings and keyboard.Β
That's what makes the Brandenburg Concertos interesting overall. Bach didn't write spotlight roles in the concertos for one solo instrument, as is customary; he paired several instruments as concerto soloists and gave each of them a chance to carry the action.
In the First Concerto Sunday afternoon, the spotlight was shining heavily on Rousos-Hammond in the second movement and shifted to the twin horns played brilliantly by Lundy and Valenzuela in the flirty, whimsical Allegro third movement.
All eyes and ears were on TSO Concertmaster Lauren Roth, who had the biggest solo role in Concerto No. 4. But TSO principal flute Alexander "Sasha" Lipay and former TSO flutist Viviana Cumplido, who is now principal flute for the Phoenix Symphony, were also cast in lead roles.Β
Harpsichordist Guy Whatley had the closest thing resembling a traditional concerto solo in No. 5. For several minutes, the tinny sound of his harpsichord was uninterrupted, reminding us just how wonderful the historically Baroque instrument can be even in the 21st century. And Whatley is a rock star on the harpsichord. He makes a convincing argument for featuring it as often as possible.
Judging by the applause, many in Sunday's audience were most excited to see the young TSO principal trumpet Conrad Jones take on the commanding trumpet solo in Concerto No. 2. Nisbet said last week that it's always a challenge recruiting a trumpeter to play the piece because Bach wrote the role at a much higher octave than a trumpet traditionally plays. Over the summer, Jones bought a piccolo trumpet on ebay and learned the piece on it, which he said made the job a bit easier.
Jones's instrument was skinnier and longer than his regular trumpet, and he coaxed a wonderfully high-pitched sound that at times rang out above Lipay's flute and Barford's oboe. But for most of the piece, the trumpet complemented its woodwind brethren.Β
St. Andrew's Bach Society concludes its 2015 summer series with a return Sunday, Sept. 6, of Complido, who is bringing along a couple of her Phoenix Symphony colleagues for an afternoon of trios.Β
(Here's an example of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, performed in 2014 by theΒ Freiburger Barockorchester.)
