FROM NAPLES TO PARIS: A BAROQUE JOURNEY / Hyunkun Cho & Gerald Lim / Review

 

FROM NAPLES TO PARIS:

A BAROQUE JOURNEY

Hyunkun Cho, Cello

Gerald Lim, Harpsichord

Chamber @ The Arts House

Wednesday (27 May 2026)

Authentic concerts of baroque music in Singapore are rare enough (we have to thank Red Dot Baroque for the precious few) but a baroque cello recital is unprecedented. Almost every single serious professional cellist in Singapore was present at the recital by Korean-Spanish cellist Hyunkun Cho and Singaporean harpsichordist Gerald Lim. For almost 90 minutes, they sat transfixed by the sheer artistry on display.

The matinee opened on solo harpsichord with Corrienta Italiana by Valencia-native Juan Cabanilles (1644-1712), a short series of variations on a dance theme. The title shares the same root word as the fast courante baroque dance (corrente), which opened in moderate tempo and later upped in speed, before long Cho move almost imperceptibly to his cello.

The Sonata in G minor by Domenico Gabrielli (1651-1690) came attacca, and the singing began. Not to be mistaken for the much older Venetian composer Giovanni Gabrieli, Gabrielli from Bologna is credited for raising the cello from that of an accompanying (basso continuo) instrument to one of a leading virtuoso role. His sonatas were thus the first proper cello sonatas, vehicles of musical expression which Cho exploited to the full.

The four movements heard, were in the sonata da chiesa form, alternating between slow and fast. Cho’s gut strings were mellow yet resonant, allied by impeccable intonation, pure pleasure to listen to. The slow movements were contemplative, preludes leading to the allegros that came, the last being a very jolly jig (gigue) marked Prestissimo.

Giovanni Baptista Pergolesi (1710-1736) was all too short-lived, but his Stabat Mater from his final year was a classic. Several themes would be heard in his Sinfonia in F major, another four-movement sonata da chiesa masterwork. If the Presto finale sounded familiar, this was because Stravinsky gave it new life for trombone and double bass in the comedic Duetto from his ballet Pulcinella.

Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Barriere (1707-1747) was another of the cello greats, at the period of time when viola da gambas were predominant. His Sonata No.6 (from Book Two) in C minor opens with much sombreness and gravity, perfectly captured by Cho, contrasted with the virtuosic swiftness and repeated notes of the consequent Allegro. A touching Larghetto was completed by another jig (Giga), another jolly one at that.

A keyboard interlude was provided by the excellent Lim in the form of La Morangis ou La Plissay by Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Forqueray (1699-1782), its unusual title not being a designated form but named after a patron he was courting. The actual form was a chaconne with a series of virtuoso variations that were perfectly whipped off.

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), of Four Seasons infamy, was the only known name for most (excepting the baroquists and specialists) in the audience, yet his Sonata in A minor (RV 44) would still be unfamiliar. One might already be accustomed to the four-movement sonata da chiesa form that is the recurrent feature of this concert, but why stop there? Especially when the music is so inviting? The contrasts between moods were also palpable here, from sadness to exhilaration.

Giacomo Facco (1676-1753), born in Italy but later moved to Spain, is likely the most unknown composer on show. Yet his Sinfonia No.9 in A minor deserves to be aired, its four movements encompassing a warmth and richness of both Mediterranean states. Cho and Lim are a well-balanced and sensitive duo partnership, bringing this work and the entire programme of not too well-known vistas of baroque music to the best possible light.

Their encore was also a cunning one, a reworking of the slow movement from Schubert’s Piano Trio in E flat major (D.929) for cello and harpsichord in the style of Barriere. Naughty but nice!

It is ironic to think that this wonderful concert was held in The Arts House, the home of the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA), yet was not part of the nation’s supposed premier arts festival. This is the sort of musical programme the festival needs, but music has been woefully neglected. That is why SIFA means little to nothing for lovers of good music.

One cannot help but admire the gilded chinoiserie
in this Andrew Garlick harpsichord.