A concert devoted entirely to the music of Bach can be either a very inspiring or a very tedious experience. Monday night's concert at Sanders Theatre came much closer to the former. The Cambridge Collegium Musicum opened its eighth season auspiciously with spirited, authentic renditions of four comparatively unfamiliar works.
In his determination to present music the way it was played in Bach's own day, Erwin Bodky--conductor, harpsichordist, and co-founder of the group--has sacrificed much of the tonal richness which characterizes modern performances. Comparing the group's playing of the opening Triple Concerto with the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra's performance of the same work last May makes this fact obvious. The Collegium, by reducing the number of players from eighty to eight and by substituting a harpsichord for the piano, gave us a rendition which, although atmospheric, did not even come close to the Orchestra's full-bodied treatment. This kind of thing is fine for purists, but some of the overflowing crowd of Bach enthusiasts was disappointed.
The organization (named after the Baroque Collegia, meaning simply "a musical group") is composed of several fine artists. Outstanding Monday night were 'cellist Samuel Mayes and flutist James Pappoutsakis, both of whom exhibited technical prowess as well as sensitive, restrained interpretations.
After running through two chamber sonatas, the first notable for its sprightly allegros and the second for the beautiful canon in the third movement, the group concluded its program with another triple concerto. Played by three harpsichords (one large and two small) and strings, it was the highlight of the evening. Because of the nearly perfect blending of timbre among the instruments, this is one work which is virtually untranscribable for any other combination. Daniel Pinkham, Harvard's only representative in the group, is a very fine harpsichordist, but unfortunately he was drowned out by Bodky's overly percussive playing.
The Collegium's two remaining concerts (November 5, all-Vivaldi, and November 19, late 18th-Century composers) should prove interesting, not only because of the music itself but also as a further experience in the battle between euphony and authenticity. There is probably some satisfactory middle ground between Stokowskian lushness and Baroque severity, but so far this has not been attained.
