A musical tour de force (From Worcester News)

A musical tour de force

5:07pm Tuesday 10th February 2009

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Cathryn Dew (recorder) and Micaela Schmitz (harpsichord) took their audience on a musical tour of Europe in the Baroque era in this concert.

Their command of their instruments was impressive as was their ability to talk so eloquently about the music, the composers and the instruments.

The first half consisted of short pieces from the 16th and 17th centuries by relatively unknown composers most of whom would have been working in churches with organists whose instruments were tuned differently from each other and from today’s equal temperament keyboards.

Both performers played a solo piece.

Cathryn’s recorder solo was a magnificent rendition of a piece by Jan Van Eyck which sounded as if more than one instrument was involved; Micaela’s solo was a beautiful and sensitively played Prelude by Jean Henri D’Anglebert.

The children and adults who had participated in the morning’s workshop many of whom hadn’t played a recorder for years were helped by Cathryn and Micaela to perform Variations on Greensleeves which was much appreciated by the audience.

After the interval the works were by more well known composers such as Handel, Telemann and Vivaldi and illustrated the development of the sonata form into what we know today.

All the music was beautifully and sensitively performed with Cathryn using a range of recorders including a very tiny instrument with a sparkling sound with which she played the Vivaldi. The workshop participants played another short piece and ably demonstrated the success of audience participation in a classical concert.

Cathryn and Micaela are to be congratulated on providing a fascinating day of superb music.

By Gill Miller, secretary of Worcester Concert Club

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