An Evening of Bach

Last Saturday, Thomas Dunn conducted the first of three evenings of Bach in Sanders Theatre. Precise, but not pedantic, exact, yet exuberant, he and the Festival Orchestra of New York danced through the dance movements of the rarely performed Suite No. 1 in C major.

With Charles Bressler as tenor soloist, Dunn and the Festival Orchestra recreated Cantata 55 ("Ich armer Suendenknecht") and three arias chosen from other cantatas. Bressler, who might be called a coloratura tenor, apparently found no difficulty in notes an octave above middle C; lower, however, his voice was so mobile that it seemed thin at any one instant. Dunn chose slightly strange tempos in the closing work, Brandenburg Concerto No. 5: the second movement was faster, the third slower than usual.

In the next concert (October 21), the New York Chamber Soloists will join Dunn and the Festival Orchestra to present The Musical Offering. Even at the Dunn's interpretation of this musical retort to Frederick the Great should be worth hearing. Certainly Dunn's first batch of Bach last Saturday was.

In the next concert (October 21), the New York Chamber Soloists will join Dunn and the Festival Orchestra to present The Musical Offering. Even at the Dunn's interpretation of this musical retort to Frederick the Great should be worth hearing. Certainly Dunn's first batch of Bach last Saturday was.