MIDDAY CONCERT SERIES - ANTWERP (BE)
Shakespeare program
Half-vocal, half-instrumental, this quartet (despite its italian name) devoted itself to english music, principally that associated with two Shakespearian comedies, Twelfth Night and The Tempest. The airs, dances, and other stage music well-representative of the period, at times tinted with humor, often colorful and pleasing, at other times melancholy or tender, came from the pens of the musicians of yore: Cornyshe, Gibbons, Th. Morley, Jones, Dowland, Matthew Locke, Rob. Johnson, Banister, and even the great Purcell. The ensemble presents two excellent singers, Ellen Delahanty and Julie Comparini, lutenist Daniel Swenberg, and above all recorderist Geert Van Gele, well-known from his tenure with The Flanders Recorder Quartet, Vier op een rij, playing various recorders. There is much skill, style, and good taste in the convincing interpretations, to which the artists have added an evocative staging, including dance and amusing props. The result is well-put-together, without a dull moment. A performance which is a bit out of the ordinary, but which the audience appreciated immensely.
La semaine d’Anvers , 23-03-01
