Back for More Baroque

New Trinity Baroque is simply fun to watch and superb to listen to. So back I went to First Scots Presbyterian Church for their final Piccolo Spoleto performance and another all-Vivaldi program that more than met my expectations.

New Trinity Baroque ensemble

The five concertos they played made for such good listening partly because they are not too long. As musical director Predrag Gosta (at far left) pointed out, Vivaldi wrote many of his concertos for church services so the pieces had to subscribe to a defined time limit—a restriction that seems to have brought out the best in Vivaldi’s already compact style of composing. A good example was the Cello Concerto in D Minor which featured André O’Neil. The second movement in particular contained hauntingly beautiful passages, the likes of which I have not heard from Vivaldi before. In this case, I wish the movement had lasted longer, so captivating it was. Equally interesting was André himself who plays with a self-contained, almost monastic poise that belies his passion for the cello.

violinist Carrie Krause

Contrastingly, violinist Carrie Krause plays with innocent exuberance. The instrument floats on her shoulder—she appears barely to hold it at all—as her fingers and bow romp across the top of it with liquid ease and expertise. Her obvious pleasure in performing also carries (no pun intended) over to the audience.

Especially nice was the final piece of the day—Concerto in E Minor—when she and fellow violinist Adriane Post had a whimsical musical ‘conversation’. Their mutual playing brings a lightness to the group, as does their clear and delicate sound—both of which were appropriate to the piece itself. Written late in Vivaldi’s life, it evokes an endearing tenderness.

For many years, Antonio Vivaldi composed pieces that were performed by teenage girls under his musical tutelage at the Ospedale ‘orphanage’. It seems fitting then that two female violinists are presenting these delightful works with this extremely gifted ensemble. ¶

Learn more about New Trinity Baroque and their recordings.

Learn more about Antonio Vivaldi.