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In a delightful programme entitled ‘Christmas Pastorale’ the Denner Ensemble, a five-piece band playing copies of period baroque instruments, provided the perfect introduction to the Advent season in their concert at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor on Friday 27th November. Modern ears can be spoilt by hi-fi systems offering the option of amplifying at will, so it was good to have to acclimatise to the gentle and subtle timbres of the 18th-century sound palette; indeed to become, if you will, subtle listeners. With beguiling music from Bach, Handel, Vivaldi and others, this was a pleasant task.

In his genial and informative introductions oboist Mark Baigent helped to give the repertoire a context, and some of his most interesting remarks were devoted to one of the least known of the featured composers, Michel Delalande. After many struggles this gentleman became music tutor to the daughters of Louis XIV, and his ‘Suite de Noël’ was designed to accompany a royal banquet and last an hour and a half or more. Spared the whole and treated to just a few movements, this Dolgellau audience could enjoy the pleasant illusion of being royalty and commanding entertainment of the highest quality for their own private enjoyment.

Visual appeal was added by the beauty of Karen Glen’s reproduction harpsichord (Alan Gotto - Norwich 1996), whose mellow tone supported the ensemble throughout, and had a few (perhaps too few) opportunities to show off its range of colours. The bassoon provided nimble dexterity in its underpinning of the counterpoint, and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s animation was a key ingredient in the group’s dynamic. Above these Mark Baigent, Ben Sansom on violin and Rebecca Prosser on recorders and violin played their melodic lines eloquently and with evident affection for the repertoire, which supplies delicacy and robustness in equal measure.

Handel’s ‘Pastoral Symphony’, Corelli’s ‘Christmas Concerto’ and Bach’s ‘Sinfonia’ from the Christmas Oratorio are firm favourites, and with players such as these, could hardly fail to please. Vivaldi’s drive and melodic invention made all three of his programmed items instantly accessible; lesser known pieces such as those by Delalande or the ‘Pastorale’ by Pieter Hellendaal were also characterful, and deserve to be heard more often. Enthusuastic emand for an encore showed how much listeners had enjoyed this rare opportunity to hear a first-rate line-up of baroque specialists, whose expert knowledge and technique did not preclude that most important essential - the power to entertain.

Many thanks to Guinevere for sponsoring this concert. The season resumes in the New Year with a piano recital on Friday 15th January, to be given by Robert Chesters.

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