Baroque star violinist Lina Tur Bonet stirs Perth Concert Hall with Musica Alchemica’s early music charms

A lone violin wove a spell over Perth Concert Hall as Spanish virtuoso Lina Tur Bonet stepped delicately through the stalls to channel the angelic spirit of the Virgin Mary’s Annunciation. Lavish lyrical phrases captured a heady moment of mystery and charm over taut chords from cello (Marco Testori), archlute (Giangiacomo Pinardi) and harpsichord (Kenneth Weiss). Friday’s final Musica Viva recital before three years of renovations at the Concert Hall proved a poignant send-off; the elemental claims of early-modern music a reminder of the essential humanity behind the art. Dance measures set up more florid violin as Tur Bonet took her place on stage with generosity of expression and technique over deft harmony, rising in ethereal rushes to evoke the limitless challenge of divine revelation. The religious inspiration of Heinrich Biber’s 17th century “Rosary Sonatas” bookended a first half that sketched the first stirrings of the Baroque revolution. It was music from a time of troubles but also of flourishing art and science, Tur Bonet noted; perhaps a clue to her ensemble’s title, Musica Alchemica. Giovanni Cima’s Sonata a 2 (1610) led out simple melody and light counterpoint giving Tur Bonet scope to elaborate; duetting with her colleagues but always leading, ever in the moment yet true to the theme. Relaxed lute broached Johann Schmelzer’s Sonata Quarta in D Major (1664), with a questing, exploratory line from violin as cello and harpsichord chimed in gently. Violin held sway, the first among equals shaping as the king of instruments in its day, and Tur Bonet made the most of it. Rolling to the beat, all but dancing to her own tune, she unleashed astonishing flurries of artistry alternating with quiet contemplation, tapping a vibrant, bubbling stream of creativity. A harpsichord solo, Georg Muffat’s Passacaglia in G minor (1690), cooled the room with dulcet tones; Weiss’s quiet mastery of the keyboard an apt foil for Tur Bonet’s restless energy. When the maestra returned she had adjusted her violin strings to Biber’s “scordatura” scheme; each of the 15 Rosary prayers having its own tuning regime. Turning to the Crucifixion, the quartet rolled out a soundtrack of hammer blows and fury in harsh chords and jagged rhythm; poignant passion in rhapsodic passages; and the chaos of an earthquake in driving melody, frenzied bowing and percussive harmonies. After the interval, Arcangelo Corelli’s own revolution bracketed the action, with sonatas from 1700 settling the genre in a more even temper. Cello began to blossom, with polyphonic effects in the mix, while a violin-harpsichord duet harked back to a simpler soundscape, meditative and mournful, before the quartet erupted again in dance to close with a sense of stately formality. Violin dropped out for Georg Philipp Telemann’s Cello Sonata in D major, exploiting Testori’s rich tones, agile and expressive in rapid finger work and bowing over measured lute and harpsichord. The Largo third movement asked more of lute to match mesmeric solo playing, the two teaming well in tone and dynamics before another virtuoso romp from cello to close out in a deft dismount. Pinardi’s lute opened a conversational line in Alessandro Piccini’s Toccata, venturing phrases and pausing as if to invite response. Nimble and articulate playing seemed to personalise the performance, even in a major auditorium, with staunch bass and featherlight treble caressing the air before fading to an infinitesimal cadence. Tur Bonet joined Pinardi for Johann von Westhoff’s “Imitation of the Lute”, a brief pizzicato duet that proved the sincerest form of flattery. Piquant delicacy hallmarked both players exploring common ground in an unusual but effective combination. Returning at last to Corelli, the earworm “La Folia” sonata led out a well-worn air before Tur Bonet shredded the first of many variations. There was also time for deliberation, though not for long, as each turn built energy; ebbing and flowing with feeling and purpose in a kaleidoscope of tone and colour. In encore, a Fandango saluted Tur Bonet’s Spanish heritage, fitful and febrile with cool bravado down to a bravura final flourish.