Festival Music

Richard Egarr

St. Cecilia’s Hall

Hazel Rowland

three stars

RICHARD Egarr must be one the best advocates for early music. For while his recital of 16th-century English keyboard music may not sound all that approachable, his affable manner and enthusiasm did much to disprove such expectations. Egarr did not assume that his audience would be well-versed in the music of William Byrd, John Blow and Henry Purcell. He also eagerly explained the ins and outs of the three rather special, centuries-old harpsichords from the St Cecilia’s Hall and Museum’s collection assembled on stage, and took obvious delight in the prospect of playing them.

Keeping listeners engaged for the entire recital would nevertheless remain a challenge. Byrd’s Fantasia in A minor, which opened the concert, was initially interesting for its intricate passagework and scrunchy tuning. But this unstructured piece became monotonous, admittedly partly owing to modern audience’s penchant for the dramatic contrasts and dynamic range available to modern instruments. Yet as the concert progressed, and listeners became more attuned to these instruments, subtle contrasts sounded more prominently. In Blow’s Chaconne in Fa-Ut, for example, the appearance of thick chords, as opposed to lighter passagework, was striking. But Egarr’s decision to play the recital’s three final pieces by Purcell without a break did not work to his advantage. The result was that they sounded rather samey, with the three pieces merging inside the listener’s head.

Egarr had greater success in speaking to 21st-century ears in other works. Byrd’s "The Bells" was exceptional proof that not all early keyboard music consists of abstract fugues. Centuries before 19th-century programme music, Byrd had already demonstrated that the harpsichord can depict something more tangible – in this case, the peeling of bells on a pleasant Sunday morning.