JBOPurcell, Handel & Co.YMCA AuditoriumJerusalem, February 23Purcell and Handel were the center of interest in the Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra’s recent concert, preceded by their lesser known predecessors and contemporaries Schmelzer and Biber.Conductor/solo violinist Walter Reiter elicited abundant subtle nuances of dynamics from the orchestra such as one hardly ever encounters there. In particular, sounds gradually diminishing to an almost whispering piano were a rare treat.In Biber’s Passacaglia, Reiter proved that he is capable of producing such delicate nuances on the solo violin no less than with the orchestra, or even more so. In arias from Purcell’s Fairy Queen and Handel operas, Revital Raviv’s appealing, friendly, though not very sounding soprano was restrained and more pathetic than dramatic as opera requires. Reiter’s no-doubt valuable comments before works would have served their purpose to better advantage if the use of a microphone would have enabled the back rows not only to see but also to hear him speak.
(photo credit: The Jerusalem Post)