Apeiron Baroque was founded by its directors John Ma and Marie Searles in 2022 to present Baroque chamber music played on period instruments in a relaxed and conversational setting. So it is for this concert of (mostly) lesser-known composers, with Ma introducing each piece with a light-hearted profile of each composer in their historical setting, often with a mischievous anecdote or two.  

First, two Concertus – numbers four and six from Horae Pomeridinae (Afternoon Hours)  – by Jan Brenter set the afternoon off, with Sally Walker’s Baroque flute leading the conversation with stings and continuo, swapping with each successive phrase.  

Apeiron Baroque: Afternoon Hours. John Ma and Sally Walker. Photo © Peter Hislop

The flute is a touch flat against the violin (Ma) and viola (Brad Tham) at the outset, but this resolves as the instrument warmed up on the chilly Canberra winter afternoon. The Allegro from Concertus six finishes mid-rollick, in a very jolly flourish.

In his time, and apparently for years afterwards, George Philipp Telemann’s chamber works were sometimes misattributed to Bach. Yet his Trio for Flute, Viola dámore and continuo is quite distinctive, setting a breathless pace in the Adagio and Presto before slowing right down going into the final movement.

Seeing John Ma play the seven-string viola dámore (which includes an additional vibrating sympathetic string underneath each bowed string) with such comfort and ease is intriguing.  

Apeiron Baroque: Afternoon Hours. John Ma, Marie Searles and Henry South. Photo © Peter Hislop

Marie Searles then performs a luscious solo piece on harpsichord – L’Aimable by Joseph Royer, a French composer who taught the children of King Louis XV. This has the feeling of a piece for solo guitar, with exaggerated push/pull tempos and melodic passages ending in paused chords.  Searles, freed from continuo duties for a moment, is masterfully expressive and technically perfect.  

Continuing through Sammartini’s Sinfonia in F major (with its false finish, catching the audience out) and Graupner’s Flute Concerto in D major, the afternoon’s other highlights include Joseph Bismortier’s Sonata for Violin and Flute where Walker and Ma are perfectly in sympathy with each other in phrasing and balance.  

Giovanni Pandolfi’s La Viniciolina has a gorgeous folk-gypsy feel to it, with assertive statements followed by more considered reflections.  Perhaps fittingly, the ensemble finishes with the Allegro from Vivaldi’s Concerto in G minor, allowing an unbridled – even over-the-top – finale to a thoroughly entertaining program by seven masters of their instruments.

Not everything is perfectly precise, but that is almost the point. The sense of freedom and enthusiasm projected by seven very fine instrumentalists is the more special experience.  

For more information on Apeiron Boutique in 2026, visit apeiron-baroque.com