One of the more inspired ideas for this festival is that the evenings are all themed around different countries and styles. Last night's spotlight was on the Italian Baroque, and with the Aradia ensemble tuned down to a comfortable pitch, the splendour of a Golden Age wasamply revealed.
Among the better-known composers were Vivaldi (of course), the cosmopolitan giant Handel, and Caldara, who carried the Italian Baroque into imperial Vienna, and whose closing "victory" ode set a seal of triumph on the concert itself.
The stars who really lit up the evening were the Swedish soloists Maria Keohane (soprano) and Niklas Eklund (baroque trumpet). Together in Handel's famous Let the Bright Seraphim they echoed, pointed, trilled and decorated in a flamboyant yet effortless manner that reminds us that the Italian Baroque is not so serious and determinedly "authentic" as we sometimes think, but highly theatrical and showy.
Keohane's voice combined purity of tone with occasionally voluptuous colours, and her instant, top coloratura notes, though dazzling, never undermined the continuous rhythmic energy in her phrases.
Eklund followed her faithfully yet created his own subtle effects through a hauntingly beautiful tone that brought voice and trumpet so close they often sounded like one instrument.
Strangely, his solo concerto by Telemann (whose Italian roots are obscure) was restrained and somewhat disappointing.
Of the little-known composers, Francesco Farina's "extravagant caprice" was a treat, with its unbuttoned imitations of animals, armies and amateurs.
The Aradia ensemble seems best from the top down, with fine violins and a splendid violist, but a somewhat uninspired bass section that occasionally keeps the music from taking flight.
On the other hand, the continuo player amazes all by appearing to be in the background yet animating the whole with that spirit of dance which is so important in Baroque music.
