With the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra taking us on weekly trips to Italy, France and Germany to discover the splendours of the Baroque, the final of the orchestra's Twilight Chamber series was devoted to smaller canvases of the period.
Popular conductor Roy Goodman took on harpsichord duties - "somebody
playing the chords" was his jocular description of his role - joined by visiting soloists and two of the orchestra's principal players in a procession of works by Bach, Handel, Tartini and Marais.
Australian Laura Vaughan was inevitably the drawcard with her viola da gamba and she lavished her considerable artistry on Bach's D major Sonata.
Throughout, there was a sense of innate partnership between her and harpsichordist James Tibbles, especially in the exchanges of the opening Adagio and the later Siciliana. Her ability to make the instrument bare its soul did not preclude a joyous ramble in its final movement.
In the second half of the concert, with Goodman at the keyboard, she gave Marin Marais' rather mournful Le Badinage the gravitas that earned Marais his contemporary reputation of establishing the empire of the viol.
Luigi de Filippe's Tartini Sonata would also have pleased its composer for its devilish Allegro, its Gondolier's Song with wisps of melody rising into dying trills and a wild Furlana.
The violinist also tackled a Bach G major Sonata with Goodman and Vaughan, who contributed sympathetic support.
An occasional suspicion of edgy tone was masked by the lingering rubato that De Filippe brought to slow movements and the stark momentum of the short fast ones. Some pieces featured a fuller sound, with cellist David Garner replacing Vaughan, and Dimitri Atanassov adding a second violin to the mix.
A Handel Trio Sonata was positively punchy and even a touch of scruffiness in its Allegro non presto did not seriously detract; the players certainly conveyed their pleasure in riffing through the work's final Passacaglia.
By the end, a Bach C major Trio Sonata seemed heavy on the ears after the gamba selections, although its Gigue, whisked off with daredevil speed and bravado, proved, sans repeats, to be the perfect encore.
