London Handel Players' pieces explore world of two Bachs and Telemann

The Herald Scotland

2 days ago

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A MILE or so on the Scottish side of the border, the London Handel Players brought a programme to Music at Paxton's Summer Festival that contained no Handel, but explored the world of two Bachs and Georg Philipp Telemann.
The pieces by Johann Sebastian and his son Carl Philipp Emanuel were rooted in Germany, while two Telemann Quartets were linked by the composer's visits to Paris and his seizing control of his work from pirated publication there.
In these performances, with the variations in dynamics second nature to the players, it was easy to hear why the music was sufficiently popular to make stealing it worthwhile.
The following evening's clever concert by the Chloe Piano Trio then demonstrated how philanthropy sustained a flowering of musical talent in the French capital nearly two centuries later.
The ensemble playing of the LHP quartet, led by violinist Adrian Butterfield, was superb, from the opening arrangement of a Bach organ trio through to the opera aria that gave a brief nod to the composer in their name as an encore.
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The singer's role in that was taken by flautist Rachel Brown and her playing on a baroque instrument provided the recital's standout moment in JSB's Flute Sonata in E Minor.
On Saturday evening, veteran actor Maggie Steed turned Paxton's exquisite Picture Gallery into the Paris salon of Princesse Edmond de Polignac, the married name of sewing machine heiress Winnaretta Singer, whose 'at homes' featured new works by Satie, Stravinsky, Faure, Ravel and Debussy alongside classical chamber music.
Festival director Angus Smith's script gave Steed a platform to create a vivid picture of the colourful American music-lover and the young Chloe Piano Trio one to showcase their individual and collective virtuosity, ranging from Beethoven to Lili Boulanger via all five of those listed above and closing with the unfairly neglected Cecile Chaminade.
Perhaps the precise chronology of the evening's narrative would not stand close examination, but no one would have dared to contradict Steed's assertive American princess.
The musicians - Dutch cellist Jobine Siekman and Romanians Maria Gilicel and George Todica on violin and piano - are a very fine group indeed, who presented their own programme of complete works on Music at Paxton 2025's closing day.