Above: Recorder players Anna Stegmann, Sally Melhuish, Alana Blackburn and Alicia Crossley. Image: supplied. Featured image: Anna Stegmann joined Salut! Baroque members for this concert. Image: Marco Borggreve
Salut! Baroque’s thirtieth anniversary year is over, but they have entered 2026 in great sytle. The new concert series, titled The Best of Baroque, promises music from a range of seventeenth and eighteenth century composers demonstrating the ‘Power, Passion and Politics’of their target time.
The events in this series, curated by Artistic Directors Sally Meluish (recorder) and Tim Blomfield (cellist), are attractively named, featuring ‘Invitation to the Dance’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘Charms in Musick’ to come. This opening concert, titled ‘Concord of Sweet Sounds’, was especially excellently named, and delivered all the treats and satisfaction this quote from The Merchant of Venice alludes to.
‘Concord of Sweet Sounds’ as a concert event in a full-to capacity Customs House’s Barnet Long Room contained many aspects of the Salut! Baroque brand that audiences always enjoy. One was the attractive physical programme with notes including plenty of musical explanation, social, composer profiling and historical context, penned in colourful, enlightening detail by Tim Blomfield. Another was a programme with a comprehensive swoop through the Baroque era from very early works to music from the late Baroque. (this afternoon gave us sounds from 1545 to 1740.)
Thirdly, as a very welcome return, was the collaboration with Anna Stegmann, London based recorder professor, performer and influential part of the European and global early music scene. Rallied around her to perform in recorder quartet moments and as a lush early-wind heart to the dozen-strong ensemble were popular local recorder players and Salut! Baroque regulars, Sally Melhiush, Alana Blackburn and Alicia Crossley.
This was a beautifully balanced, diversely articulated, authentic and intricate recorder quartet sound, featuring more than once across the span of the concert. It was a joy to delve deeply into the sound from the Baroque of the numerous sizes and registers championed by the skilled players here.
The variety of texture, sound and instrumental plus player profiling here also benefitted from switches to the perhaps more familiar string team here. Four violins (John Ma, Sarah Papadopoulos, Jared Adams and Brad Tham switching from Baroque Viola) featured in two works with great affect. This we enjoyed firstly in Guiseppe Valentini’s Concerto in A minor, Op 7 No 11 (with continuo) from 1710 then violins alone for Telemann’s later Concerto in D Major for 4 violins TWV:202 (from 1740). These moments continued the fine, precise and warm blend of the recorder troupe, and was an intimate showcase of the upper strings, including leadership of all strings from Salut! Baroque’s regular John Ma.
The final work presented especially showed Ma’s passionate and grainy string gesturing and commendable shaping of the complex episodes of filigree. One other collaboration with the final storytelling moment of the afternoon. Ma exchanged gestures and charismatic, dramatic playing with Anna Stegmann, in an introduction for us to the music of Venetian Nicola Fiorenza (his exciting recorder concerto in F minor).
This potpourri of sparkling lines and a myriad of unexpected or misshapen pearl effects was perfect Baroque period fare. It was an was a excellent conclusion to the event, and take-home. It made me crave more recorder music and to become keener to listen to more of this lesser-known late Baroque master.
Equally a shining pearl in the programme’s nine items was exposure to composer Johann David Heinichen, colleague at Anhalt-Cöthen of JS Bach, and composer of the Concerto à 8 in C major, SeiH 211 (1730). Movements in this work were nicely contrasted, the ‘Pastorell’ being especially well characterised.
As well as the German or Italian Baroque accent, Spanish music or works with a Spanish feel from this ensemble’s focus era made a welcome, well sung and danced return. With fine support from bassist, Jude Hill, guitarist George Wills and kaleidoscopic keyboard versatility from Monika Kornel music from an anonymous source and from Caresana danced a chacona as well as a cosmopolitan tarantella into our hearts.
The recorder quartet and continuo also extended our love of the Greensleeves tune with mellifluous via some smooth and carefully contained variations, the contouring and chordal support featuring all recorder players equally.
Salut! Baroque brings its enthusiasm and Baroque expertise to Sydney next (with ‘Invitation to the Dance’ ) on Sunday April 26, 3pm at Verbrugghen Hall, Conservatorium of Music. Until then, the ensemble’s twelfth CD, Musica Poetica (of vocal and instrumental music and featuring soprano Jane Sheldon) is now available for purchase as a CD or a digital album, via this link: https://salutbaroque.bandcamp.com/album/musica-poetica
[…] Read the review by Paul Nolan in the Sydney Arts Guide, February 4, 2026. […]