A collage of Baroque dances and celebrations
Jonathan Cohen and the Handel and Haydn society perform various Baroque suites and opera excerpts
Handel’s Coronation Anthem No.1, Zadok the Priest and Water Music, Suite No.1, selections from Lully’s Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, Bach’s Contrapuncti 1, 4, and 7 from die Kunst der Fuge and Brandenburg Concerto No.1 in F Major, selections from Rameau’s suite of instrumental dances and overtures
Handel and Haydn Society
Conducted by Jonathan Cohen with Anthony Trecek-King conducting the Youth Chorus
Boston Symphony Hall
April 12, 2026
On April 12, the Handel and Haydn Society returned from an unusually long silence with an afternoon of royal pageantry, court dances, and polished playing, but the program’s identity proved more elusive than its execution. Although nominally centered on Handel’s Water Music, the concert ultimately felt less like a showcase of a single major work and more like a curated collage of Baroque pieces loosely tied to themes of dance and celebration.
The opening Zadok the Priest was led by Anthony Trecek-King, who conducted the H+H Youth Chorus as part of their Chorale Festival. Considering the ensemble consisted of high school singers, the performance was impressive. The chorus blended well with the orchestra, and the anthem’s grandeur and jubilance resonated throughout the hall. Performing in such an environment is no small feat, and one hopes many of these young musicians will continue their choral journeys.
As a comédie-ballet, Lully’s Le Bourgeois gentilhomme offered the program’s first clear link to dance music. A highlight of this piece was the contrast of each movement, ranging from the French overture to the Chaconne. Though Cohen mainly conducted, the harpsichord was conducted by associate conductor Ian Watson, a sensible choice that supported the performance’s balance. Nevertheless, as a historically informed performance group, incorporating the historically documented conducting style of using a large baton would have added an extra layer of theatrical authenticity. Given the suite’s brief duration, this visual element could have made the performance even more engaging.
The three excerpts from Bach’s Art of Fugue were string orchestral arrangements with the bass part doubling the cellos. The ensemble displayed strong internal communication and cohesion, resulting in a polished and enjoyable performance. Still, the contrapuntal clarity might have been better executed with a harpsichord or string quartet arrangement. Additionally, Cohen’s decision to add basso continuo on the harpsichord was puzzling because it felt like an unnecessary intervention, especially considering Bach’s original concept for the Art of Fugue. These excerpts as a whole also felt out of place for this concert, given that they are pure abstract fugues that were unrelated to the main theme of the day.
Handel’s Water Music is an orchestral masterpiece, but also a remarkable achievement for the horn repertoire. Among the various pieces presented, this was the most successful due to both the consistency and the soloist-orchestra balance. The horn players navigated demanding parts with remarkable ease, even in the more challenging higher registers. Elsewhere, the suite was shaped with care: the famous “Air” carried a regal elegance, the “Bourrée” was light and playful, and the outer movements conveyed their fitting grandeurs.
The prominence of horns continued into the second half in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 1. Unfortunately, some of the problems from last year’s performance persisted as the horns overpowered the rest of the orchestra, particularly in the first movement. Balance improved in the second movement, especially in the dialogue between solo violin and oboe, and was further refined in the third movement. The final movement, with its unconventional ritornello structure incorporating minuets, trios, and a polonaise, provided the clearest link to the concert’s dance theme. In addition, the horn soloists excelled in the virtuosic trio sections, evoking the atmosphere of an 18th-century court.
The program concluded with selections from Rameau’s operas and opéra-ballets, reflecting the evolution of French Baroque music roughly 60 years after Lully. When heard beside Lully, Rameau’s overtures and chaconnes revealed just how far French Baroque style had evolved. The tambourine stood out, achieving an ideal balance between percussion and orchestra. It was surprising, however, that the well-known Danse des Sauvages from Les Indes galantes was omitted, as its Rondeau form would have aligned perfectly with the concert’s thematic premise.
Overall, H+H’s performances were consistently strong and highly enjoyable on an individual level. However, the overarching theme, either framed as dance or celebration music, was unconvincing. Some works were explicitly meant for dancing, while others merely adopted dance forms and a few bore little connection to either concept. Still, these concerns are minor when weighed against the pleasure of an afternoon filled with high-quality performances.