Ronen Ensemble: January weather blew ill, but May winds were good

Everyone remembers the one spate of really bad winter weather we had in January. Whether or

Natalie Debikey Scanio, Ronen guest

not you have wiped away that snowy spell from your memory, Ronen Chamber Ensemble is making up for interruption in what has turned out to be its season-ender. "Brilliant Winds" came to fruition Monday and Tuesday at the Jewish Community Center and Indiana History Center, respectively.

Two-thirds of Ronen's artistic leadership, Jennifer Christen and Alistair Howlett,  play wind instruments in the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, so it was fitting that once this season's Ronen showcase for music activated by breath had to be postponed because of inclement weather, it would be rescheduled for a couple of cool, seasonable spring evenings. 

The crowning achievement came with Francis Poulenc's droll, sparkling Sextet for wind quintet and piano, which I heard Monday evening in the JCC's Laikin Auditorium. The performance had the sheen of fulfillment all about it, especially since finding a place four months after the original dates when nine musicians could reconvene to do the program twice was remarkable. 

The program's guest, a member of the flute section of the Buffalo Philharmonic, headed the ensemble for the 20th-century French master's unique "Sextuor." Natalie Debikey Scanio, originally from Indianapolis, was joined by ISO musicians Jennifer Christen, oboe; Samuel Rothstein, clarinet, Mike Muszynski, bassoon, and Alison Dresser, horn, in addition to the group's third artistic director, pianist Gregory Martin.

The three movements cover most of Poulenc's characteristic wide spectrum, perhaps the religious side least of all.  But there is plenty of wit, especially in the bouncy finale, and the kind of ease with his inspirations that reassures the listener that the mere oddities of phrase and sonority are only apparent. The reality is that the unforced lyricism and the spirit of the boulevardier are authentically expressed in his writing for wind instruments, with  piano as the foundation. 

The ensemble was well-balanced, though I didn't mind the degree to which one of the ISO's newer members, Alison Dresser, stood out in this piece beyond her function in the ISO's horn section. It didn't have anything to do with imposing herself on the group sound, but the horn's assertiveness in Sunday's performance was completely appropriate to this buoyant work. 

Scanio's performance in the Poulenc delivered on the promise before intermission of her playing in a duo with Howlett:  Franz Doppler's Andante and Rondo. Accompanied by Martin, the two flutists sounded perfectly synchronized, with tone and phrasing neatly matched. Virtuosity was consistently put to good expressive purpose, with lively support from the piano.

The program opened with transcriptions of three arias by J.S. Bach. Most impressive to me,  was an aria from the cantata "Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen."  The entire solo cantata caries out the theme of devotion to God via the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, meaning that the believer can hardly wait to symbolically carry the cross himself and looks forward to the end of worldly suffering and toward heavenly bliss. 

That mood comes to the fore in the aria played in transcription with flute carrying the baritone line and the oboe playing the obbligato as Bach designed it. I will always treasure the interpretation by baritone Mack Harrell on a 1960 LP with Robert Shaw conducting the RCA Victor Orchestra and the superlative oboe soloist (uncredited).  I was charmed by what Christen and Howlett made of it, with Martin deftly executing the continuo role in place of Shaw's string ensemble. Then, in an aria from the Saint Matthew Passion,  the oboe took on the function of the soprano soloist and the flute played the obbligato, as in Bach's setting.

For  a light-hearted contrast, the ensemble's audience was treated to a side of Bach many were undoubtedly unfamiliar with:  jocular North German commentary on stubborn fathers and willful daughters. In the C'offee Cantata, the authoritarian dad says he will block her access to a husband unless she gives up coffee. In "Ah, how sweet coffee tastes!" (to use the program's translation) she celebrates her pleasure in the beverage, the vogue for which spread over Europe in the 18th century. 

The  three artistic directors had a chance for fun with this selection. When the flute obbligato was waxing fancy, the oboist had the opportunity to pick up a large mug and feign lipsmacking enjoyment of a cuppa joe. The aria is delightful and never gives a hint that Bach was slumming when he turned his attention in text-setting away from holy matters.