Taking up the mantle of the late Amelia Freedman as artistic director of Bath Bachfest is no small task for Adrian Brendel, but his determination to breathe new life into the three-day festival is apparent, not least in establishing the BachFest Ensemble that unites highly talented players in the early stages of notable careers.
The energy and commitment of the younger players was palpable and, in a concert of music by Handel, Purcell, Bach and Vivaldi, their collaboration with an older cohort – Brendel himself anchoring the ensemble as cellist, together with oboist Nicholas Daniel and the American countertenor Reginald Mobley – there was a very real sense of their joy in performing together and the audience’s in being part of the equation.
