Miloš Karadaglić with Arcangelo Ensemble
Usher Hall, Edinburgh - 21/01/24
Miloš Karadaglić, guitar | Jonathan Cohen, conductor
The pairing of virtuosic Montenegrin guitarist Miloš Karadaglić and the Arcangelo Ensemble (named after Corelli’s first name) proved to be a highly successful one, as they completed their five concert UK tour with an inspired and inspiring concert at Usher Hall in Edinburgh, showcasing some jewels in the crown of Baroque music from Italy, France, Germany and England.
Confidently directed by founder Johnny Cohen, who also handled the harpsichord continuo, the Arcangelo chamber orchestra (founded in 2010, and focussing on music from the Baroque, Classical, and early Romantic periods) instantly shone in the Sinfonia from Vivaldi’s opera L’Olimpiade, demonstrating the essential attack and dynamic contrast it requires from the outset. A graceful slow movement was followed by the rich and vivacious allegro molto.
Karadaglić then joined the ensemble for the short Adagio from Alessandro Marcello’s Oboe Concerto. His slow, yearning performance (sensitively amplified) signalled an arresting change of tone, before segueing seamlessly into Boccherini’s boisterous and enjoyable Fandango, from his Quintet in D major.
The musical odyssey continued with a sure, beautifully arranged solo guitar performance of Bach’s subtle and powerful Chaconne from the Partita for Violin No. 2. As the guitarist pointed out in introducing this 15-minute piece, the acoustic guitar is an instrument that arises from the Romantic period; transcribing a Baroque masterpiece for its different demands requires some adjustment. But it is also illuminating of the original material in interesting and unexpected ways, as Segovia also demonstrated. This fluid performance made creative use of slides, strumming and changes of pace to bridge the centuries and bring the timeless Bach alive for a different era.
Before the interval, the Arcangelo Ensemble returned to present Handel’s Concerto Grosso No. 4 in A Minor, as jaunty, mellifluous and occasionally flamboyant as Bach is precise, complex and intense. After the break, the ensemble offered something I thought barely possible: a creative, wry, angular and surprisingly pacey interpretation of Pachabel’s Canon – a work whose ubiquity has been in danger of making it tired. This brought it to life for me.
We then had the return of the guitarist for the first of three solo pieces in which his technical dexterity and double (even triple) stopping came to the fore. The first of these was Rameau’s, presaging another shift of mood, texture and tempo. The original work was scored for harpsichord but has often been performed on piano. Next came a re-transcription of Handel’s Menuet from the Suite HMV434 in B-flat Major, which involved several tricky transitions. Last up was a lesser-known piece, the Passacaglia in D Major by Sylvius Leopold Weiss, one of the most important and prolific composers of lute music, a virtuoso lutenist, and an exponent of difficult modulations and counterpoint. Because of the difference between lute and guitar, a few more expressive steps were required to make it work. Once again, Karadaglić made everything sound very natural on his instrument.
Penultimately, the orchestra returned to present the threefold Prelude, Hornpipe and Rondeau from Act One of Purcell’s opera The Fairy Queen, together with the Curtain Tune from Timon of Athens. The finale saw the guitarist and ensemble combine again for an engaging treatment of Vivaldi’s well-known Concerto in D(again originally for lute), demonstrating once more Miloš Karadaglić’ s capacity to find a Baroque voice for the guitar which is fully rooted in tradition and yet expressively fresh. Much the same could be said of the overall approach of the Arcangelo Ensemble, which is what made the pairing so convincing. This concert was a musical triumph, and it is no surprise that both chamber orchestra and soloist are in such international demand.
