While I've no talent at betting on odds, I hope that this auspicious beginning results in the long-term presence of a new, vibrant ensemble on the HIP music scene in the Washington DC area. The O17, led by Director Michael Holmes, had its debut concert yesterday afternoon in the small circular sanctuary of the Paint Branch Unitarian Church in Adelphi, Maryland. For this concert, they were joined by the vocal group Carmina (dir. Vera Kochanowsky). Perhaps taking its name from the cue given by Frans Brueggen's Orchestra of the 18th Century, the O17's intended concentration on works from the 1600s has the added attraction of re-creating music from a time when the "orchestra" was in the process of evolving to become what we know it as today. After all, in the early 1600s a large "orchestra" might have been similar to the ensemble Monteverdi specified in "L'Orfeo", whereas by century's end the basic foundation of today's orchestras was being set in place to play Purcell, Lully, Charpentier, and Corelli. In between, the 'idea' of the orchestra (in both size and instrumentation) was probably in a much greater state of flux than afterwards, so the promise of the O17 lies in its future efforts to show us how that evolution took place. The program was devoted to music from Louis XIV's France, not exactly the easiest repertoire to do in terms of instrumentation and especially the more elaborate ornamentation that French Baroque music demands. Certainly, it is not music that I would expect a modern-trained symphony orchestra to handle well by simply plunking a harpsichord in the middle of the string section and carrying on business as usual. So all the HIP-styled instruments were there in force. My 10 year old son (starting his 3rd year of violin lessons) immediately noticed that the string players used different bows, and held them farther up, not down by the frogs. He also noticed that the 6 violinists had no chin rests on their instruments, and most of the strings had no shoulder rests, save a handkerchief or towel. The 3 cellos had no floor pegs, and were augmented by a viola da gamba. Of course, the strings were all gut, all the time. Added to this were a full continuo ensemble (harpsichord and organ, two theorboes with nearly 2 meter long necks, a Baroque guitar, a bassoon and the bowed bass instruments); Baroque oboes and recorders; three Baroque trumpets with a sackbut for the bass part, and a pair of small timpani played with wooden mallets rather than felt covered ones favored for modern drums. O17 Director Holmes began with Lully's 'Marche pour les ceremonie des Turcs', from "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme," a piece familiar to anyone who saw the film "Tous les matins du monde", the (largely fictious) story centered around the composer Marin Marais. An overture by Elizabeth- Claude Jacquet de la Guerre was based on the Lullian form, but with some added twists and concertante playing that bespoke a woman composer whose output would reward further investigation. Marc-Antoine Charpentier's "Deux Airs de Trompettes" gave the first chance for the brass to show their stuff. Although they acquitted themselves well (with only the occasional cracked note), there were actually more problems in the woodwinds, with some pretty sour intonation out of the oboes. However, this sort of work in a live performance does show one thing--with HIP ensembles the balance problems between the brass, strings and winds that might bedevil such performances on modern instruments simply don't occur, or at least to the same extent. The trumpets and drums could play with gusto, but not necessarily overpower the softer sounds of period strings and winds. Perhaps in anticipation of the upcoming holiday season, a little known gem, the "Cantique de la Vierge" (Magnificat) by Henry du Mont closed the first half of the program. More intimate in scale than Magnificats written even in the following century, the work allowed the 16-voice Carmina to show their abilities. Besides lovely singing by the soloists and the full group, they used French pronunciation of the Latin texts to keep to the spirit of the performance. A Christmas theme was carried over to the second half by a series of instrumental Noels by Charpentier, played by strings and recorders. Most of these were unfamiliar to this listener, but they displayed a less extroverted side of Charpentier's output. Although differing in moods and tempi, the overall feeling was relaxed, and they were a definite balm against the anticipated onslaught of shopping-mall carols to which we will soon be subjected. The Big Stuff was saved for last, of course--the familiar "Te Deum" of Charpentier, with its famous Prelude (no doubt written for the "Louisvision" channel back in the 1600s:-). If I sensed any slight reticence in the ensemble's playing in the first half of the program, that was neatly blown away in this performance, which gave the orchestra and the vocal ensemble a chance to fully display their talents. Bass soloist Brian Ming Chu's work deserves special mention. The one glitch in the performance was that during some of the fanfare like instrumental passages, Holmes drove the tempi so hard that the brass players sometimes had difficulty articulating the notes cleanly--in this case I suspect that modern trumpets with valves would NOT have made things any better. But again, I was struck by the relatively natural balance achieved between the instruments and voices, seemingly without either the need to overreach or to hold back. Certainly the venue of the small church helped to create a sound world that was full-bodied without straining (I'm not so sure that the impact would have been as memorable in a large concert hall). While not noted, I would assume that a lowered concert pitch would also add to a less-strained performance, especially for the singers. Indeed, with the ambience one could have imagined transporting oneself to some small chapel at Versailles or Paris in the 1600s, and not heard a much differently-scaled performance. Throughout the concert, the O17 displayed what sounded to me a well- grounded ability to handle French Baroque style and ornamentation. Certainly, there were instances of ragged entrances, and missed or off-tune notes--after all, this is not a group that has played together for years on end (some of the members seemed barely young enough to belong in a school rock band, let alone a HIP ensemble). But for their first concert, the O17's efforts paid off handsomely, even with (as their manager admitted) only a couple of rehearsals beforehand. I also enjoyed the concert's informal atmosphere, which allowed the vocalists and instrumentalists not playing in a particular piece to sit among the audience, and the way the latter could approach and talk with the players and singers during the breaks and after the concert. One hopes that this friendly approachability will continue in future. But if word of mouth gets around, the O17 may have to move to larger quarters before too long. Their next concert is s cheduled for February 4, 2001. Bill H.