After singing at St. Paul’s, I decided to go to Florilegium’s all-Bach programme at the Wigmore Hall. I haven’t been to a concert there for a few years, and the building has been refurbished in the meantime. One change (which I’m told is more recent than the refurbishment) is that the cafeteria which used to adjoin one of the bars has now been replaced by a restaurant with waitress service. You are asked to place your order at least half an hour before the performance starts, and I arrived in time to do this. However I failed to catch the attention of any of the staff (although others arriving after me succeeded). Perhaps table 24 is ‘starvation corner’ or maybe a woman on her own is just not as lucrative for the restaurant as a man or a party.
The concert itself was enjoyable, though nothing really stood out for me. The programme was built around a complete performance of the Musical Offering, something I learnt about in detail for A-level (along with Bach’s other major works) but which I haven’t paid much attention to since. Probably the part I know best is the Ricercar – in the arrangement by Webern! I wasn’t totally convinced by the combination of cello and viola da gamba in some parts, but I’m not an early music expert so I’m willing to be persuaded that that is how it should be.
I returned home in reasonable time to find a hot supper waiting for me, and will look out for other places to eat nearby on a future visit.
My father-in-law tells me that the pub just east of the Wigmore Hall does acceptable food and is well used to serving concert-goers.