March 2, 2024
First Baptist Church of Decatur
Decatur, Georgia – USA
“The Golden Hour”
Evan Few, guest director and violin; Janice Joyce, flute; Erin Ellis, cello.
W.A. MOZART: Flute Quartet in D Major, KV. 285
Johann Friedrich PETER: String Quintet no. 3 in G Major
Luigi BOCCHERINI Flute Quintet in G minor, op. 19, no. 2 (G. 426)
Michael HAYDN: String Quintet in B-flat Major, MH 412
Mark Gresham | 7 MAR 2024
This past Sunday afternoon, a half dozen members of the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra presented a chamber music program entitled “The Golden Hour” at First Baptist Church of Decatur. Led by guest director and violinist Evan Few, the six musicians performed a group of quartets and quintets by Johann Friedrich Peter (1746–1813), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), Luigi Boccherini (1743–1805), and Michael Haydn (1737–1806), all of whom flourished during the Classical era of Western music, roughly from 1750 to 1820, an era that emphasized clarity, balance, and form ina move away from the complexity of the Baroque era.
The concert opened with Johann Friedrich Peter’s String Quintet No. 3 in G Major. Peters was an American composer of German origin who first brought the music of Joseph Haydn to the United States. This quintet, one of six string quintets he wrote for two violins, two violas, and a violoncello, is characteristic of the musical tradition that flourished in early America in Moravian communities like Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Salem, North Carolina. With its elegant melodic lines and balanced structure, it reflects the influence of the Mannheim school. The ensemble highlighted its genteel charm, warm phrasing, and subtle dynamic contrasts.
Mozart’s Flute Quartet in D Major, KV. 285, which followed, featured flutist Janice Joyce, a founding ABO member, playing a wooden transverse flute of the kind commonly used in European classical music from the early 18th century through the early 19th century in both the Baroque and Classical eras. As metal concert flutes with the Böhm fingering system became standard in the 19th century, the use of wooden flutes declined. However, with the rise of historically informed performance practices in the late 20th century, the Baroque transverso experienced a resurgence of interest.
Made of wood rather than metal and with a conical rather than cylindrical bore, the transverse flute used in the Baroque and Classical eras produces a softer, more nuanced timbre. It also has a conical bore, meaning it tapers from a wider diameter at the head joint to a narrower diameter at the foot joint. This design affects its tone, giving it a warmer, more subdued sound than the modern metal transverse flute, which has a cylindrical bore (consistent diameter throughout most of its length). On the downside, the tapered bore and limited keying system make it more challenging to play in tune, and the softer, hooty timbre makes it easier for its sound to get lost in the music’s texture versus the strength and brilliance of the modern flute.
Unfortunately, that was the case with both Mozart’s Flute Quartet and the work that followed, Boccherini’s Flute Quintet in G Minor, Op. 19, No. 2 (G. 426), which brought a more dramatic flair to the program. Boccherini was known for his idiomatic string writing, incorporating expressive suspensions and delicate textures, which the ensemble navigated with a degree of clarity and poise.
Closing the concert was Michael Haydn’s String Quintet in B-flat Major, MH 412, a work demonstrating the composer’s close stylistic ties to his more famous brother, Joseph. The ensemble emphasized the work’s playful charm and ingenuity. ■
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Atlanta Baroque Orchestra: atlantabaroque.org
Read more by Mark Gresham.
![l-r: Evan Few, [name], Erin Ellis, [name], and [name] perform a chamber concert under the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra banner at First Baptist Church of Decatur.](http://www.earrelevant.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/ABO-IMG_20250302_150947497_Gresham-150x150.jpg)
