“Not one just to play Bach’s masterpieces, Tempesta in its Brandenburg series contextualizes the music within like-minded works from Bach’s time—a great practice with any repertoire. Even minor figures show how differently creative minds reflected their time. In fact, Bach’s already considerable stature, as represented by Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, was emphasized in the program’s context. What amazingly lean, dense music it is, with many potentially ill-fitting elements incorporated into logic that lets everything be all it can be. The first movement’s famously long harpsichord episode seemed wildly extravagant—and was played by Adam Pearl with virtuosity and daringly original tempo changes that felt fresh and right. Besides being fully polished, the Bach performance had an exceptional sense of chamber-music interplay between violinist Emlyn Ngai and flutist Gwyn Roberts (Tempesta co-founder). Both outdid themselves, Roberts playing with great security (especially in Graupner’s Suite in F) and Ngai handling the dance rhythms not as a restrictive means of order, but more lightly, as an emphatic highlight in a continuous musical line, particularly in Pachelbel’s Partie a 4. If you squinted a bit, you could imagine yourself in New York City’s Corpus Christi Church, home of the Music Before 1800 series—one of that city’s great musical assets and one in which an enterprising New York-caliber concert like this would be just one in a wide range of ensembles that encompass great musical centuries rarely represented in Philadelphia.” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 2009.
“You knew you were hearing Bach as soon as Tempesta launched into the bounce and drive of the first movement of the Fifth Brandenburg. Tempesta produced one of the best performances of the Fifth Brandenburg that any Baroque enthusiast will ever hear. The flute, violin, and harpsichord occupy the center of the stage in the Fifth, and Roberts, Ngai and harpsichordist Adam Pearl all delivered stellar performances. The harpsichord solo in the first movement is a wonderful example of 18th-Century schmaltz, with flashy runs and fancy embellishments, and Pearl had a great time with a part that Bach must have written so he could indulge in some good natured showing-off. The second half made a nice postlude to the first-half fireworks, with concertos that featured both of Tempesta di Mare’s directors. Richard Stone’s instrument, the lute, speaks with a soft voice that puts it at a disadvantage when it plays the solo role in a concerto, but if you listened a little more closely than you normally would, you heard flawless finger work, rolling lute melodies and the distinctive mood created by one of the most refined instruments human beings have fabricated. Gwyn Roberts switched to her other instrument, the recorder, for a suite for soloist and strings by Christoph Graupner. His Suite in F received a first-class performance that added a perfect final touch to one of Tempesta’s best concerts.” Broad Street Review, December, 2009.