Early music royalty in a program of English music to raise the spirits.

City Recital Hall, Sydney

November 18, 2013

It took a little getting used to at first, seeing the 15 musicians of the Academy of Ancient Music trooping onto the City Recital Hall stage decked out in full tails. Somehow one has come to expect a little less formality in period instrument performances. It took very little time, however, to realise we were in the presence of early music royalty and so if the atmosphere was more Royal Ascot than brown rice all was pretty much as it should be.

Leading harpsichordist and conductor Richard Egarr was our genial host, regaling us with useful information (and the odd anecdote) in an engaging and light-hearted manner. We were warned, for example, of the “thorny counterpoint” that we might expect from Matthew Locke’s suite from The Tempest. The warning proved unnecessary I’m pleased to say as the orchestra launched into an evening of highly attractive music played with enormous style. The AAM are impeccable of intonation (which cannot be said of all such bands) and very, very stylish. Ornamentation is effortless and executed with precision and a sense of total ensemble....