Handel in the Piazza

Waikato Times Review
Where: Hamilton Gardens Summer Festival
Who: Handel in the Piazza: Eklekktika with Anna Cors
When: Sunday February 22, 2009
Reviewed by: Andrew Buchanan-Smart
Eklekktika is becoming a regular and popular performing ensemble for the Festival, and deservedly so. This year's concert included the Spanish soprano Anna Cors.
Handel's Suite from the Water Music was well arranged by David Adlam for wind octet and double bass, which gave this perennial a new combination of hues to enjoy. The playing was generally sound, the horns were slightly weighty in the Air, and the dynamic range seemed to focus on the middle to louder end of the spectrum.
Anna Cors, looking resplendent, was in top form with three arias exquisitely executed. The first two were Handelian gems from Julius Caesar. Cors, as Cleopatra, prepared to seduce Caesar with the first aria, V'adoro Pupille, and was soulful in the lament, Piangero la mia sorte, on believing that Caesar was dead. After the interval Cors, with rich timbres, was a delightful Susanna with Dove Sono from The Marriage of Figaro. John Murray gave an informative introduction to the arias which placed the context for each.
The final item was Franz Krommer's Partita Op 57 for Wind Octet. Thi work demands virtuoso playing throughout and generally the group performed well. Individually there were some excellent performances. There were occasions when the dynamic contrasts could have been more explicit and the ensemble went from very tight and focused to being only good. There were some lovely moments of colour and textural awareness and tempi was robust. The delightful Air was beautifully cantabile. David Adlam and Eklekktika should be very pleased with the reception from a near-full house and their overall performance in the very beautiful Piazza setting.