Youth and beauty hold sway in this musical Handelian sweetshop.

Concert Hall, QPAC, Brisbane
April 11, 2015

It’s a credit to Leo Schofield and Jarrod Carland that sandwiched between the starry twin peaks of Max Emanuel Cenčić and the international cast of Faramondo they have found room for a host of home-grown Australian talent, some of it, on the face of last night’s concert of Handelian bonbons, both fresh-faced and bursting with energy. And don’t be deceived, the programme made up from 16 of Il Caro Sassone’s greatest hits may look simple enough, but none of these items are easy. It takes skill, judgment and a dash of star quality to pull most of them off.

The modest baroque-sized subset from the Queensland Symphony Orchestra under the sure hand of Oliver Gooch ensured that youth was matched by experience, delivering solid support to soloists and relishing their chances to shine via lively excerpts from the Water Music, the ubiquitious Queen of Sheba and Music for the Royal Fireworks (with real crackers at the end). Sweet duetting in the violins rubbed shoulders with perky oboes, a very nice solo bassoon and some red-hot brass.