New Trinity is a Baroque Treat

New Trinity Baroque is a musical experience not to be missed. You can’t help but feel the passion of this Atlanta-based group as they play. They are wedded to their instruments, engrossed in the music, and painstaking about the slightest nuances of sound. Sunday at First Scots Presbyterian they put on an impeccable performance of five Vivaldi concertos entitled “Venice in Storm.”

Violinist Adriane Post

The original instruments they play don’t have the crisp, clear sound we’ve come to expect. At first the playing sounds squeaky and muffled. But once your ear gets accustomed to the sound, something nice happens. The music starts to exude rich, warm tones. Sort of like the depth of black-and-white photographs compared to color.

The ensemble (6 members of the group on this day) plays with a silky smooth style and in effortless unison. They come across as musical connoisseurs as well as virtuoso performers, yet they communicate extremely well with the audience. I felt like a welcome guest—which is not common at large public performances. Meanwhile the church setting added to the visceral sense of Vivaldi, conveying the joyful, spirited, and often sacred quality of his music.

Carrie Krause, violin and William Bauer, viola “plucking”

By design, the program grew stronger and stronger as the ‘storm’ gathered. After an opening piece, each of the four soloists highlighted their skills in a series of concertos. Carrie Krause (baroque violin), William Bauer (viola d’amour), André Laurent O’Neil (baroque cello), and Adriane Post (baroque violin) were each a delight to listen to in a program that concluded with a stirring rendition of ‘Winter’ from the Four Seasons.

As I stepped out of the church into the balmy afternoon light, I suspected that the effect of this concert might linger for the rest of the day—which, happily, it did. ¶

Read more about this group in Lindsay Koob’s review for the City Paper.