Boston Musical Intelligencer a virtual journal and blog of the classical music scene in Boston – Robert Levin, advisor; Bettina A. Norton, emerita editor; Lee Eiseman, publisher
in: Reviews
April 5, 2013
Musical Happening at Avant Gardner – an excerpt from a review of a concert by A Far Cry, Boston’s exciting self-conducted chamber orchestra
by Cashman Kerr Prince
…”There followed a pause to re-set the performance space, before the start of Geminiani’s Concerto Grosso no. 12 in d, Variations on “La Follia.” The string players performed on a matching set of carbon fiber instruments loaned by Luis and Clark. (The company is based in Milton, MA, and these instruments are made in Bristol, Rhode Island and Luis Leguia, formerly a cellist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, is their inventor and designer.) You can read about the choice of carbon fiber string instruments for this performance of Geminiani on A Far Cry’s blog, here. Carbon fiber instruments have wonderful sound potential; in my very limited experience with a carbon fiber cello, they also have greater possibilities for projection and volume than traditional wooden instruments. The latter was the only problem in this performance of the Geminiani, where traditional wooden harpsichord met carbon fiber stringed instruments. The harpsichord playing the continuo line was overwhelmed. (Might an L&C harpsichord soon appear on the market?) As for the strings, individual notes in rapid runs were more present, clearer, than one often hears. That worked nicely in these La Folia variations, emphasizing the familiar and recurring tune and allowed for greater reverb than one usually hears—here used to great effect on some final notes of sections.”
Read the entire review here: