Allegro’s Season-End Concert Combines Lively Music, Dance

Allegro’s “Dance Baroque” Tuesday, March 7, The Met

Allegro wrapped up its season - directors Beverly Biggs’ and David Dutton’s silver anniversary of making music in Spokane - with a lively selection of dance-inspired music from the Baroque period.

With the aid of additional double reeds - an extra oboe and a bassoon, and some supplementary strings (two violins, a viola and a cello) - they formed a cheerful band. The large ensemble played suites from Henry Purcell’s “Fairy Queen” and Andre Campra’s “L’Europe Galante.”

Dancers from the Ballet Arts Academy joined in both of these numbers with choreography by Margaret Goodner. Stephanie Booth, Sara Gilpin, Jessica Hilt and Sara Radmaker were poised and polished in everything they did. Reflecting the styles and ideals of the 18th-century court, they eschewed the contortions and sudden aggressions of modern dance in favor of restraint and elegance.

Purcell, the fountainhead of English style, could certainly turn out the singable tunes, and nearly all of them long to be danced. With a jig, two hornpipes and a “Dance for the Haymakers” listed in the program, I was hoping for plenty of activity on the stage.

Of the nine movements, though, the only one to include the dancers was the last, a Chaconne. Nevertheless, it was beautifully done, achieving the order and balance of the time period by paralleling the cyclic nature of the music.

Fortunately, the Campra involved the dancers to a greater extent. Many of the movements chosen from his opera-ballet suggest rustic village dances as seen through the eyes of the aristocracy.

The dancers captured the music well, gracefully hinting at the footstomping and partner-swinging which would have occurred in the village version, without ever breaking their courtly composure.

The musical ensemble for these selections created a happy, energetic sound. If the interpreter is too careful, this starched-collar music can be refined to blandness. But the musicians appeared to be infected by Dutton’s effervescent affinity for the style. Precision suffered minor losses at the hands of enthusiasm.

The other selection danced last Tuesday was Rameau’s Suite in A minor. Biggs’ introspective solo at the harpsichord was complemented by Radmaker’s dainty solo dance. Biggs’ playing was not flashy but was precise, musical and rock-steady.

The other selections for the performance, a Handel trio sonata and a Schickhardt sonata, were Allegro’s compulsory oboe features.

Oboist Ben Fitch seemed to be the odd man out in the Handel. His sound seemed thinner and less present than the big, warm sound of bassoonist Susan Wadsworth and Dutton. The group overcame most of the piece’s difficulties, flying through some fairly fretful finger work to a jubilant result.

Dutton and Biggs lent plenty of nuance to Schickhardt’s pure and uplifting work. One would think from listening that they have, indeed, collaborated for quite some time.