One might be forgiven for thinking that two harpsichords playing together in a resonant acoustic would just produce a mass of sound, especially when realising the complex layers that comprise the music of J. S. Bach, but here in St Peter’s Church, Stockbridge it could not have been more different. Two beautiful double-manual instruments, one from Somerset maker Andrew Garlick and the other from Tennessee maker Keith Hill, complemented each other perfectly as the contrapuntal strands in the music unfolded.
David Hill (returning to an area of Hampshire that he knows so well) and David Ponsford played works by Bach and Vivaldi, all in arrangements made by David Ponsford, ably demonstrating the contrasts between the busy, energetic movements and the slower, more lyrical ones. Two concertos from Vivaldi’s fabulous collection ‘LEstro Armonico’ bookended the first half of the concert, containing excellent interplay between the two harpsichords with absolute clarity in the fugal passages. Vivaldi’s signature string-writing effects were brilliantly transposed onto the keyboards, a feat that is not always easy to achieve. The same virtues also applied to Bach’s famous ‘Double’ Concerto for two violins: here the two harpsichords provided rhythmic energy in the outer movements while cleverly managing to persuade us that the sustained lyricism contained within Bach’s original slow movement could work beautifully on a plucked keyboard mechanism. The judicious addition of ornamentation to Bach’s flowing violin lines created a singing line that genuinely complemented the original.
The other three works in the programme were arrangements of Bach’s own Trio Sonatas for organ. In the C major trio BWV 529 the opening fast tempo masked some of the intricate passagework, but in the slow movement a slightly faster tempo helped to disguise the harpsichords’ inherent lack of sustaining power. Brilliant playing nonetheless and the last movement had real spirit and verve. Of the two sonatas in G major the first (BWV 1038) revealed how expressive the harpsichord can be in the right hands, while the final work (BWV 530) used all the power of the instruments to magnificent effect. The slow movement of this work has a chromatic intensity that requires some emotional relief and the last movement definitely provided this with a splendid sound from the two instruments. The two Davids then delighted us with an encore of the first movement of the trio in E flat BWV 525, the first piece they recorded as a duo. Wonderful playing and, of course, the audience were fully appreciative.
Reviewer: Duncan Eves
