Collage was a bristling delight. The strings nailed the manic propulsion of its opening Toccata and the Sarabande, in which eight bars of straight Bach, with the bonus of Bede Hanley's eloquently rich oboe, are followed by eight of clustering cacophony, was seditiously chucklesome.
Part's vision of Bach as apiarist offered whimsy rather than shock tactics, ending with the older composer emerging, cool and clear, over a walking bass.
Bach himself proved more problematic, through no fault of these estimable musicians.
The vast soundbox of the cathedral, excellent for spinning warm choral singing into spectacular sensurround, was unforgiving when a solo harpsichord tried to make itself heard above a lusty orchestra.
The D minor keyboard concerto is, particularly in its outer movements, one of those scores that self-propagates with a naturalness and inevitability that is quintessential Bach.
Yet, from my vantage point in row L, Kristian Bezuidenhout's harpsichord mostly registered as decorative continuo, bursting out intermittently and brilliantly when textures allowed.
Beer set the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto off with crisp phrasing and purposefulness. However, when he turned soloist, alongside flautist Chien-Chun Hung, and Kristian Bezuidenhout on harpsichord, the sound did not match the visual energy being experienced.
The first movement's extensive virtuoso cadenza allowed Bezuidenhout to flourish his virtuosity, while the trio had the Affetuoso central movement to themselves and, with palpable panache, made the very most of it.
