Review: Camerata Kilkenny
Camerata Kilkenny was founded in 1999 by Irish international harpsichordist and organist, Malcolm Proud and Swiss violist Maya Homberger. They have a very strong connection with the festival having given their debut performance here at the 1999 Kilkenny Arts Festival. Since then they have performed all over Europe and Ireland.
The ensemble played a range of works for us by German composers Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Philipp Telemann, two of the great Baroque composers.
The programme was beautiful and exquisitely performed. Bach and Telemann were contemporaries and would have played together in Zimmermann’s Coffee House in the early 18th century and their music complemented each other very well in this programme.
Paris Quartet from Telemann was particularly light, chirpy and uplifting especially the Prélude. Camerata Kilkenny played everything to perfection and were invisibly in tune with each other, something which amazes me every time I see an orchestra such as this in perfect harmony with each other.
The final piece, the Coffee Cantata, was a comic piece written for performance in Zimmermann’s Coffee House. A father begs his caffeine addicted daughter to give up coffee. When she refuses, he forbids her to marry until she gives up, something which eventually makes her stop…but not without secretly making sure that any man who does marry her signs a contract to allow her drink as much coffee as she likes.
Sung by soprano Anja Lipfert as Lieschen, the daughter, bass Benjamin Bevan as the father Schlendrian and tenor Leonhard Reso as the narrator, this was an impressive and fun way to end an evening of sparkling musical talent.
Programme:
Johann Sebastian Bach
Concerto No. 1 in D Minor BWV 1052 for harpsichord, strings and continuo
Allegro
Adagio
Allegro
Georg Philipp Telemann
ParisQuartet No. 6 in E minor for flute, violin, cello and continuo
Prélude – A discrétion, très vite, A discretion
Un peu Gay
Vite
Gracieusement
Distrait
Modéré
-Niamh
Johann Sebastian Bach
Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht, BWV 211 – The Coffee Cantata.
We're Social