Instruments of Time and Truth have based their name on an Oratorio by Handel which (translated from the Italian) is The Triumph of Time and Truth. Tonight’s concert of mainly J S Bach’s music for harpsichords was indeed a triumph.
Both of Bach’s concertos for two Harpsichords in C Minor (BWV 1060 and BWV 1062) were originally written for different solo instruments: BWV 1060 possibly for violin and oboe and BWV 1062 for two violins. The first concerto played, BWV 1060, starts with a brisk allegro; the second movement is gentle and lyrical, with the strings mimicking the harpsichords with their plucked notes; this is followed by an allegro played at a cracking pace, faster than usual but with great panache.
The Concerto in C Major (BWV 1061), unlike some of the other pieces, was actually written for two solo harpsichords with the orchestra (2 violins, viola, cello and double bass) only added later.In this concerto, there are more solo parts for the harpsichords, the tune being gently tossed from one instrument to the other.
After a short interval, during which both harpsichords were tuned, we were regaled with a rendition of Telemann’s Overture – Suite Les Nations.Telemann, a contemporary and indeed friend of Bach’s, is usually considered a less subtle and inventive composer but thispiece rather gives the lie to that idea.The overture is in a grand French style (think of a nobleman strutting past the majestic buildings along the Champs Elysées), followed by a stately minuet.Then come les Turcs, les Suisses, les Moscovites, les Portugais,the music whirling round you or slipping gently along depending on the traditional view of the music of those nations.Then there is the contrast of the last two movements – Les Boîteux (the lame) limping heavily along followed by Les Coureurs (the runners), with all the players playing fast semiquavers together to show the speed of the runners.
The last Bach concerto was BWV 1062, again in C Minor and again originally written for, and probably best known for, double violins. In the two transcribed concertos in C Minor, the differing advantages and also limitations of the instruments are clearly shown. A violinist can only play one note at a time but this note can vary in intensity and length: a harpsichord player can play many notes at once but their sound cannot be extended, fading quickly. To counteract this, Bach added ‘ornaments’ to the music which are not in the original concerto as written for violins.
The works chosen highlight the passion of harpsichordist Christopher Bucknall to bring seventeenth and eighteenth century music alive and this, together with Tom Foster, the other harpsichordist, he certainly does. However good a recording of Bach you may have, there is nothing like a live performance: the way the different instruments talk to each other, wait for each other, join together is magical and the obvious pleasure that the players had in performing the music was a joy to see as well as hear. We should not forget Dan Edgar and Florence Cooke (violins), Jane Rogers (viola), Andrew Skidmore (cello) and Judith Evans (double bass).
Instruments of Time and Truth, who have been described as ‘an absolutely superb band of instrumental soloists’, was founded to provide a platform for international performers in and around