VIVALDI CANDLELIGHT CONCERT, with conductor BARBARA SCOWCROFT and soloists MARTIN SHURING and RALPH MATSON. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, 8 p.m., Cathedral Church of St. Mark. Call 532-4747.
Martin Schuring is a tall, rather gangly fellow. He looks like the kind of guy who could come and competently fix your copier.But when he puts the delicate reed of his oboe in his mouth, he becomes an artist. The man produces a full, rich tone that puts pretenders to the instrument to shame.
Like other double-reed woodwinds, such as English horn, the oboe can very easily sound thin and rather tinny. But in an evening of baroque music at the Cathedral Church of St. Mark Sunday, Schuring's playing ranged from robust to ethereal without becoming pinched.
Schuring, an Arizona State University professor, was a featured soloist in three of the five numbers played by the 15-member chamber orchestra. Most memorably, he joined with Utah Symphony concertmaster Ralph Matson in Vivaldi's "Concerto in B-flat Major" for oboe and violin to begin the evening.
It has been said before, but it's worth repeating, that Matson coaxes a rare, pure -- never boxy -- tone of his own from his violin. He and Schuring blended well and were clearly having a good time playing together, especially in the lively first movement of the first piece.
During the fast fourth movement of Vivaldi's "Sonata in C minor" for oboe, Schuring had a number of very rapid passages that in his hands sounded so easy and flowing, like water over stones, as to make the listener almost completely unaware of their difficulty.
Matson joined with fellow violinists Leonard Braus, David Park and David Porter in Vivaldi's "Concerto in B minor" for four violins. While that piece lacked a bit of the cohesiveness of Schuring's featured numbers, it was solid and entertaining.
Baroque music tends to be similar in style and general impression on the audience, but Sunday's concluding number, Telemann's "Concerto in D Major" for violin and three horns, was a refreshing departure by the inclusion of French horn players Bruce Gifford, Llewellyn Humphreys and Stephen Proser. The piece was great fun, particularly during Gifford's difficult, high-range passages.
Conductor Barbara Scowcroft was crisp in her direction of the group, very often wearing a broad smile on her face.
Which brings us to the biggest drawback of the annual Vivaldi Candlelight Concert. The cathedral, the candles, the sound, the atmosphere, the reception afterward -- all are appropriate and add to the experience. But the way it's set up, most of the audience can't see the performers.
That's a shame. Perhaps some risers would be in order next year.