The subtitle was ‘Beg, borrow or steal’ and we started with one of Telemann’s Paris quartets, pirated by a French publisher, causing Telemann to make a visit to Paris and write a further set of quartets! In general the balance between the instruments was excellent throughout but I felt that here Rachel Brown’s flute was a little overshadowed by Adrian Butterfield’s violin. He then performed with great panache a lively sonata by the French virtuoso, LeClair, with an independent part for the violoncello piccolo of Katherine Sharman. Then Elizabeth Cragg (soprano) joined the group for a cantata by André Campra. This highly ornamented French vocal music is a taste I am still acquiring but one could not help but admire the skill with which the voice and flute matched each other perfectly as they interwove their lines in what was effectively a duet.

Elizabeth Cragg’s singing of Bach’s tender prayer for forgiveness – Bete aber ich dabei – was a wonderfully moving start to the second half. Then Rachel Brown took up the treble recorder, the mouthpiece of which had been kept warm within her dress, to play a Vivaldian sonata now known to be by Nicholas Chédeville. She left us in no doubt that she is a skilled player of this instrument too, fully in control of both a fluid legato and a breath-takingly agility. Two further arias by Handel concluded the programme before a Handel encore – ‘As steals the morn’ from Il moderato – delighted the King’s Hall audience, revealing the versatile Lawrence Cummings (harpsichord) as having a pleasing tenor voice!

CJS