PBO Brings Herbst Theatre Back to Life

Last night the gradual “return to life” of the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center continued with the first performance in Herbst Theatre since lockdown conditions were imposed roughly sixteen months ago. Last night the Philharmonia Baroque Chamber Players, all members of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale (PBO) presented a program entitled PBO is Bringing Back Baroque! (Note that the exclamation point was part of the title.) The concert marked the debut of Augusta McKay Lodge as leader of the Chamber Players. The rest of the ensemble consisted of violinists Carla Moore, Noah Strick, and Katherine Kyme, violist Aaron Westman, cellist William Skeen, David Tayler on theorbo, and Hanneke van Proosdij on a harpsichord generously lent for the occasion by John Phillips.

The program featured three of the “usual suspects” from the PBO repertoire: George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi, and Georg Philipp Telemann. The Handel selections framed the entire program, which included three Vivaldi compositions, one of Telemann’s orchestral suites, and an introduction (for most of us) to the music of Giuseppe Valentini (born in the same year as Telemann). All of the offerings were ensemble pieces, with the exception of Vivaldi’s RV 565 concerto in D minor for two violins (Lodge and Moore) and cello (Skeen).

However, given the reduced resources of the entire ensemble, there was a sonorous transparency to the overall performance through which one became aware of each of the players as an individual. I have to say that I was particularly impressed with Westman’s viola work, since he was playing the one line that was not reinforced by another instrument. He never showed any difficulty with audibility, presenting that “inner voice” of the polyphony with all the consideration it deserves and no sense of overplaying his part.

The plan of the overall program provided enough diversity that no selection ever evoked a here-we-go-again response from the attentive listener. The Telemann suite was centrally situated and constituted the longest of the offerings. It was given the title La Bizarre; and, over the course of its eight movements, one could detect a healthy share of eccentricities to justify that title. (Since Telemann was composing for the “general public” of Hamburg, rather either chapel or court, he was more aware of the need for “customer satisfaction;” and his capacity for “entertainment” is frequently encountered in his catalogue.)

The entire program ran for about 90 minutes, which was just about right for an attention span not given time for an intermission. There was also an encore; but Lodge’s introduction was, for all intents and purposes, inaudible. She would do well to take some lessons from PBO Music Director Richard Egarr. Those of us who have heard his introductions know that he has impeccable clarity of speech, not to mention an amplitude that can probably be heard on the other side of Van Ness Avenue on the steps of City Hall!