Classical review: Back Collegium Japan, Perth Concert Hall

For that’s where you’ll find the svelte, sophisticated players of the Bach Collegium Japan, the specialist Baroque ensemble founded by harpsichordist Masaaki Suzuki, who directed them last night in the first of the three concerts.

They are a tight-knit ensemble with a generous demeanour, creating performances that combine pristine detail and delicious warmth. Both qualities coloured the opening account of Telemann’s “Overture in A minor” – a misnomer for what is really an 8-movement suite - featuring the delicate virtuosity of recorder player Andreas Böhhlen.

But it was in the genuine concerto works that a true sense of the group’s versatility and virtuosity emerged. In Handel’s “Organ Concerto in F”, Suzuki’s son Masato took the solo role, delivering it with ultra-crisp articulation, and a subtle sculpting of the phrases that gave rich expressiveness to their inherent rigidity. What’s more, his presence at a small chamber organ in the midst of the ensemble gave the performance a focused resilience.

That same sense of unified purpose ignited Bach’s famous “Concerto for two violins”, allowing soloists Ryo Terakado and Yukie Yamaguchi ample opportunity to faze in and out of the main ensemble, and when they did emerge as dual protagonists, to realise Bach’s sinewy counterpoint with a heady mix of intimacy and panache.

The programme ended with a joyous pre-Lenten Bach cantata – Ich bin vergnügt mit meinen Glücke – featuring the British soprano Joanne Lunn, whose silken, lustrous voice rang out with bell-like clarity. More to come tonight and tomorrow.

Rating: ****