RDS Concert Hall, Dublin

This Baroque gala concert by the Irish Chamber Orchestra (ICO) made intriguing comparison with recent performances by the Irish Baroque Orchestra (IBO) which has included some of the same pieces.

Whereas under Monica Huggett the IBO’s readings tended towards the fantastical, under British guest director Matthew Halls the ICO moderated resourcefulness with impeccable taste.

Directing from the harpsichord, Halls secured string playing that was stylish in its tuning, bravura, and vibrato-free incisiveness. The differences between the instruments of the ICO, which sound at modern pitch, and those of the IBO, which are tuned a semitone lower, were nonetheless felt, particularly in two items by Bach.

With string vibrato in abeyance, ICO leader Katherine Hunka’s contributions to the Brandenburg Concerto No 5 were a tad less colourful than those of flautist Fiona Kelly, while in the Wedding Cantata BWV 202 oboist Dan Bates couldn’t avoid a tone quality richer than that of Catalan Baroque soprano Nuria Rial. The almost folksy purity of Rial’s voice was more easily audible in two arias with pizzicato accompaniment from operas by Telemann and Handel. Yet, while there was charm in her deft delivery of Handel’s decorations, the German-texted items were noticeably lacking in verbal savour.

Halls, though, in addition to his keenly supple account of the Brandenburg harpsichord cadenza, seemed to thrive on the challenge of infusing mainstream instrumental practice with historic spirit. Thus it was that in Telemann’s

Don Quixote Suite

the ultra-vivid representation eclipsed all technical considerations.