Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra: Bach’s Third Orchestra Suite

The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra closed out the November 21-22 weekend concert series to a sold-out crowd at the Ordway. Concertmaster Steven Copes kicked off the evening by introducing the program and highlighting the British theme.

A small ensemble of six strings, two horns, and a flute gathered on stage for Bach’s Canon and Fugue from The Art of Fugue, arranged by George Benjamin. The first movement was upbeat and allowed the strings to showcase their skills. The piece felt very baroque and the French horns demonstrated excellent skill by mimicking the sound of a pipe organ. The second movement featured several pizzicato sections and allowed the horns to shine again, this time sounding like French horns rather than an organ.

William Byrd’s Sellinger’s Round was next on the program and kept the tempo upbeat. The instrumentation of the piece was even smaller than the first piece, with only two violins, one viola and cello, and three percussion instruments played by Steve Kimball – first the finger cymbals, which made the audience giggle, then the tambourine and lastly a traditional renaissance drum. Introduced as an Irish jig, the music lived up to its description with grace notes sprinkled in anywhere they fit. The musicians settled into a groove, and it was clear to see how in sync they were. At the conclusion of the 5-minute piece, the audience gave a thunderous applause.

Rounding out the first half of the concert was 20 th century British composer Michael Tippett’s Divertimento on Sellinger’s Round. It was the most modern piece of the night and sounded like it too. Through five movements, the audience heard the piccolo, horns, and trumpets highlighted at various points.

After playing the he first half of the program without a conductor, harpsichordist David Belkovski joined the orchestra onstage for Henry Purcell’s regal Ceremonial Music arranged by the founder of the SPCO, Leopold Sipe. Immediately the music gave the feeling of being in a palace in Britain. It was fun to see the call and response interplay between the strings and the winds. While not written by Bach, this piece sounded like it could have been. The final movement was the familiar “Prince of Denmark March” and if you looked closely, you could see a few members of the orchestra bopping their heads along.

The last piece of the evening was Bach’s Third Orchestral Suite. David Belkovski introduced the piece as one of the “hippest” pieces of music that would be heard in Germany at the time it was composed. Belkovski was super energetic in conducting the piece and pulled every ounce of energy he could from the musicians resulting in an upbeat interpretation that was a fun ride for the audience. The well-known Air was played beautifully by the orchestra and one audience member couldn’t contain their appreciation and said “Wow!” when the movement finished. The conclusion of the suite again featured the trumpet section with an impressive fanfare. The audience leapt to a standing ovation at the end of a fun night bookended by Bach.

If you are interested in learning more about the SPCO’s theming around Bach’s Orchestral Suites for the 2025-2026 season, read our interview with the SPCO’s Artistic Planning Director, Jonathan Posthuma.

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