Friday 13 July:  Alison Bury, violin; Neil McLaren, flute; Catherine Rimer, cello; Tom Foster, harpsichord

In 1747 J S Bach was challenged by Frederick the Great to improvise on what he thought was an almost impossible theme. Not only did Bach do so immediately but soon afterwards came up with a range of works based on the theme which we know collectively as The Musical Offering.

This event made a useful hook for a concert which drew on a number of chamber works of the same date, all of which had connections with Frederick the Great, opening with a Trio Sonata by Karl Heinrich Graun. As with most works of the period, the flute and violin have the more interesting parts while the cello and harpsichord form a continuo bass. This particular sonata was probably receiving its British premier in that it had been trawled by Neil McLaren from the libraries in Dresden, now miraculously open to all via the internet. It made a lively start to a compelling evening.

A violin sonata by Franz Bender followed, allowed us to hear Alison Bury’s solo work with greater clarity and warmth. The flute sonata by J J Quantz was No 348 of more 400 which the composer completed, and demonstrated that he was not only a prolific composer but a virtuoso performer given the lighting speed of articulation needed to bring the work to life. The use of Eb major brought an added warmth to the playing which was aided by the close acoustic of the church.

A trio sonata by C P E Bach ended the first half and the second opened with the only harpsichord solo of the evening – a collection of brief dances by Johann Philipp Kirnberger. After three rather formal pieces came a delightful les tamborins with its hurdy-gurdy bass, and a final Cossack dance, which was somewhere between a rondo and a set of variations. Tom Foster had put the lid back on the harpsichord for this work and it was a pity it was not there throughout as the sound was far richer.

The evening ended with the trio sonata from Bach’s Musical Offering. If the cello had been reduced to mirroring the bass line in some of the earlier pieces, here at last was writing which enabled Catherine Rimer to show the beauty of line her baroque cello can produce. The bass line in the second movement was worthy of being heard as a solo, so beautifully crafted is it.

There are already plans for next year, and the large audience was certainly enthusiastic enough to justify it. We might tactfully ask, in the planning for that event, for a microphone to be available for the introductions, as friends towards the back of the church heard none of the them, and for a brief printed programme to be offered, even if only an A5 sheet with a list of works and performers.  No point in spoiling a fine evening when a little extra preparation could make it perfect. BH