Great Barrington — The Handel and Haydn Society All-Stars (H+H orchestra’s principal players) make their Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center debut Wednesday, June 29, at 8 p.m., with the program “Glories of the Baroque: The Great Concertos.”
Lots of orchestras have brilliant concertmasters. Only the H+H orchestra has the force of nature known as Aisslinn Nosky, who will lead these “rock stars of the Baroque” in Wednesday’s performance. The Boston Classical Review‘s David Wright thinks of her as the Mick Jagger of the violin, and in Canada she has been called a “young punk” of Toronto’s neo-Baroque scene for her work with Toronto’s Tafelmusik baroque orchestra. Zoe Madonna of the Boston Globe calls her “perpetually fabulous.” Nosky was appointed the orchestra’s concertmaster in 2011.
In 1815, when the Handel and Haydn Society formed in Boston, Joseph Haydn was in his grave only six years, and Beethoven still had one symphony to write. Three years later, H+H gave the American premiere of Handel’s “Messiah.” They’ve been performing it annually since 1854 and in 1955 were the first to make a commercial recording of the piece.

In its earliest days, H+H got credit in the Boston music press for having elevated the public’s musical taste by the persuasive power of musical excellence. The H+H Orchestra and such ensembles as Apollo’s Fire are still changing the way people think about Baroque music by making it sound sweeter than anyone has ever heard it before. It’s a neat trick if you can pull it off: Give flawlessly authentic performances, and let the compositions speak for themselves.
Wednesday’s program will consist of the following: Avison’s Concerto Grosso No. 5 in D Minor (after Scarlatti); Vivaldi’s Violin Concerto in A minor, RV 356; Geminiani’s Concerto Grosso after Corelli, Op. 5, No. 5 in G Minor; Corelli’s Concerto Grosso in B-flat Major, Op. 6, No. 11; Handel’s Concerto Grosso in F Major, Op. 6, No. 9; and finally Geminiani’s Concerto Grosso in D Minor, La Follia (after Corelli Op. 5 No. 12).
“Glories of the Baroque” is a well paced program. Starting out, the ensemble gives you plenty of time to luxuriate in the magical sonorities, harmonies, and simple lines of Avison’s Concerto Grosso No. 5 in D Minor. No other piece of Baroque music will be more immediately accessible to early music newbies, and the lush sonority produced by a section of expertly played baroque violins using no vibrato has no parallel in modern orchestras.
The pace picks up throughout the program, and by the end, you will know you have heard Ms. Nosky show off her very best.
Historically informed performance aims for vocal and instrumental authenticity, not for its own sake but for the sake of sheer musical pleasure.
In 2022, the Handel and Haydn Society does exactly what the organization set out to do at their inception: play at such a high level that the public will find early music irresistible.
Purchase tickets to see “Glories fo the Baroque” here.