The Rhythm of the Seasons
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons for Percussion & Strings
Figure Ensemble, James Larter, Frederick Waxman
The Great Hall, Barts North Wing. 25 June 2026

This was Vivaldi, but not as you know it – an arrangement by James Larter and Frederick Waxman for a small Baroque orchestra and an impressive array of percussion instruments. It was first performed last year and has been recorded for release next year. As well as the music, I was also attracted by the chance to see the newly restored Great Hall of Barts North Wing and its spectacular Hogarth staircase, part of a 1730 redesign by architect James Gibbs.

The instrumentalists of the Figure Ensemble were strings (3,3,2,2,1) and harpsichord, with George Ross taking the key role of continuo cellist and Frederick Waxman playing harpsichord. The percussion consisted of a tuned vibraphone and marimba together with a battery of eight drums and bongos, cymbals, gongs, woodblocks, cow bells. triangles, castanets and one of those scrapey serated frog things which I gather is called a güiro.

Although obviously very well known to the audience, I did wonder if it might have helped to include the sonnets (possibly written by Vivaldi himself) that accompanied the original publication, describing the contents of all 12 movements of the four concertos. The rather sparse programme just gave the names of the individual movements for the four concertos. As it was, the gaps between movements gave the pause for breath that is often missing in performances of the Four Seasons.

It opened with a hectic rendition of the opening bars on a series of drums, led by the prominent snare drum, but with the melodic line clear. Some of the most attractive moments for me were the quieter slow movements played on the vibraphone, including the Largo of the first, Spring, concerto, and the Adagio of the Autumn concerto, which also featured jazz-like twiddles from the harpsichord. The Largo of the final concerto was based on a cello solo from George Ross, one of the few moments any of the instrumentalists had a chance to show their wares. Some of Vivali’s special effects were aided from the band, including the bird whistles in the Summer concerto.

Summer was in the minds of many as London’s heat wave entered its fourth day, one result being a wet-shirt look from James Larter, who perhaps should have checked what his white shirt would look like in a shower.