Peter Whelan and the English Baroque Soloists at St Martin in the Fields: energy, jeopardy, and a second half worth waiting for.
Two distinctly contrasting halves, bookending Haydn’s late symphonies with his second cello concerto and a symphony by JC Bach in between. Conductor Peter Whelan brings energy to the podium — it fills the room before a note is played. What St Martin in the Fields makes of that energy is a different question. The English Baroque Soloists met him where he was: a true collaboration, with all the jeopardy live performance promises.
Haydn’s Military Symphony suffered a loss of definition, an enthusiastic percussion section, and battled with several emergency vehicles careering around Charing Cross. The acoustic at St Martin in the Fields rewards restraint; Whelan permitted the opposite. Fortissimos swallowed the details whole. Entries were in places flabby. Cohesion arrived mid-movement but was uncertain — the timpanist could have easily dialled things down to nine. Maybe eight.
In the cello concerto that followed, Christopher Coin was considered resolute and frequently self-reliant. Occasionally, the solo line was swamped. There were moments when the ensemble faltered due to a lack of connection. Coin’s sound production was still present, and the musicianship, particularly in those moments where transitions succeeded, was unequivocal. There just wasn’t a sense that he was especially enjoying being in the room. This stuff makes a difference – the rest of us listening are sitting on wooden benches for goodness sake.
An entirely different orchestra appeared to be present for the JC Bach, where the acoustic had been mastered. This afforded dramatic dynamic contrasts of the kind Whelan likely sought in the first half. Drier articulation in the strings and a consensus on balance meant that detail surfaced not only in the score but also in the direction given to string players. Right from the start, there was energy and heart in this, with a taut, exhilarating articulation that served up grit, growls and passion. A musical act of redemption.
The return of a considerably more tamed timpani line made Haydn’s London symphony easier on the ear. Trumpets sometimes dominated the mix, particularly in the later movements. Still, the opening started strong with a fresh palette in the strings that made for a good contrast with plump, voluptuous woodwind. There was poise, elegance and maybe even a coquettishness in the second movement, though here the definition started to slip as dynamic control was lost. A shaky start to the third movement suggested direction was indistinct where it really mattered; this reflected in timpani and brass crescendos that felt ill-judged for the acoustic.
Credit to English Baroque Soloists for a small but well-judged gesture: a QR code in the programme linking to a Spotify playlist of recommended recordings of the same works we’d heard in the programme. A modest act that also turned out to be the most satisfying — frictionless– way to re-experience the concert. Someone knows what they’re doing. And who their audience is. And that’s endearing.
