BATH’S annual music festival, still struggling to retain its former glories, ended the 2025 event at the beautiful St Swithin’s Church on Sunday afternoon with a concert by Ensemble Moliere, celebrating the life and work of the remarkable dancer Marie Salle.
Born to fairground tumblers in 1707, Marie transformed the then rigidly formal world of dance in France. Her childhood was spent touring France, and she made her professional debut at the age of 15, with her brother, in England. The two spent the next years travelling between the two countries performing in operas, into which balletic interludes were inserted. Marie, who had become controversial for her jettisoning of tight, ornate costumes in favour of garments which allowed her to express the emotions she believed dance should show, was a great audience attraction. Composers (including Handel and Rameau) and directors were keen to add her to their casts, for financial as well as artistic reasons.
Ensemble Moliere chose a programme of music that Marie Salle had interpreted in dance. The five musicians – flautist Flavia Hirte, violinist Alice Earll, viola da gamba player Kate Conway, bassoonist Catriona McDermid and harpsichord player, arranger and composer Satoko Doi-Luck – introduced their original and replica instruments to the audience, as well as explaining the origins of the various pieces and their association with Salle. There were two works each by Handel and Rameau, familiar to fans of early music, and shorter works by Andre Campra and Jean-Fery Rebel.
Arranged by Satoko Doi-Luck, suites from Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes and Dardanus, as well as Handel’s songs from Alcina and Campra’s overture from Tancrede, were rescored for the much smaller quintet, losing none of their charm, pomp, sparkle and complex rhythms. It was fascinating for the audience in the intimate surroundings of St Swithins to be able to both hear and see so clearly how these endlessly enjoyable pieces were created – all in the hands of the virtuosic players.
After an eagerly awaited encore, the audience was told that Bath Music Festival 2026 will be a longer event than this year’s, with a wider range of concerts and events. It will be separated from the Bath Literature Festival, with which it has run in tandem for several years.
GP-W