The Dome, Brighton, 3 November 2013

A Bach concert, but not quite as one might expect. Opening with J S Bach’s Orchestral Suite No3 we then moved to J C Bach for an overture and finally to C P E Bach for a setting of the Magnificat.

We have become so used to original instrument performances that it is something of a novelty to hear Bach on a modern symphony orchestra. The slow opening of the Ouverture with its mellow trumpets set the tone. Barry Wordsworth moulded the suite as a whole, moving effortlessly into a more extrovert and dynamic intensity, concluding with a lively Gigue.

J C Bach’s Sinfonia in B flat is actually the overture to his failed opera Lucio Silla. However one would not know this from the three delightful movements of the work itself. There are hints of Mozart in the Andante and a bouncy folk-dance to finish. A pity the rest of the opera is not of the same quality.

C P E Bach may have written a large amount of fine music but he was unfortunate in never being as good as his father, and surrounded in adulthood by Haydn and Mozart. His Magnificat gives dramatic, often overtly operatic, music for both soloists and chorus, and the forces on this occasion relished the opportunity to explore it.

The four soloists are given one solo each and there is a duet for tenor and alto, all framed by massive choral writing. With the smaller orchestra in place, Barry Wordsworth had moved the Brighton Festival Chorus forward onto the main platform with immediate impact on their volume and richness of tone. The final chorus, which if we are honest, overstays its welcome – there is only so much one can do with Amen as even Handel accepted – was given with great panache and vibrancy.

Soprano Lucy Hall gave us a plaintive Quia respexit and Catherine Carby a moving Suscepit Israel. Tenor James Edwards threw himself at the score rather over-enthusiastically in his solo but was more relaxed in duet. Baritone Alexander Robin Baker proved suitably operatic and lively for his solo.

While this proved to be a very satisfying programme with some fine music-making, it had obviously not impressed the audience on paper, as they were thinner than usual. A pity, for they missed an unusual aspect of the Bach family and one which is worth further exploration. BH

The next concert brings works by Tchaikovsky and Humperdinck on Sunday 8 December. www.brightonphil.org.uk