It will not have escaped our readers’ attention that 2014 marks three hundred years since the Elector Georg Ludwig of Hanover was crowned King George I of Great Britain, bringing to London his rich and vibrant court with a thriving musical scene. Handel, Porpora, J.C. Bach and Haydn all received patronage under the Hanoverian dynasty; Agostino Steffani (1654-1728) was a lesser known, but supremely talented, composer who also enjoyed their support. Steffani’s music was the focus of a concert by La Risonanza at this year’s Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music. Born and trained as a chorister in Padua, Steffani was a musical director and performer at the Bavarian court before moving to join the retinue of Duke Ernst August of Hanover, where he served as Kapellmeister from 1688 (as well as undertaking certain diplomatic missions). He would write eight major operas for the Duke’s newly built theatre, including Niobe, regina di Tebe, which was recently rediscovered by the baroque specialist Thomas Hengelbrock and spectacularly revived for the Schwetzingen Festival in Germany, from whence the production made a triumphant visit to Covent Garden, receiving widespread acclaim for its stint at the Royal Opera House in 2010.

It is a tribute to Hengelbrock’s production that he made Steffani’s work sing so. La Risonanza had less success in revitalizing this largely forgotten composer’s work. They offered a programme that paired some of his chamber duets with those of Handel, who knew Steffani’s work and seems to have been inspired by it. Rather less inspiring were the two soloists performing under the directorship of Fabio Bonizzoni at St John’s Smith Square. Soprano Maria Hinojosa Montenegro has a mellifluous and expressive voice, but veered towards melodrama in her phrasing (and acting); one had the feeling she would rather be singing Puccini. Counter-tenor Martin Oro was under-powered and overwhelmed by his partner; his intonation let him down at several key moments and he seemed particularly ill at ease with the Steffani duets. Both performers were on firmer ground when singing Handel, which seemed to rather defeat the purpose of the programme, designed presumably to revive interest in his lesser known contemporary. ‘Tanti strali al sen mi scocchi’ was a high point, showing a precision in close harmonizing and carefully managed changes in tempo and expression that were lacking elsewhere (although Oro snatched somewhat at the high notes). The counter-tenor was more at home with the coloratura passages of ‘A mirarvi io son contento,’ where he showed better breath control and was a more successful foil to his partner’s voice.

The third composer included in this programme provided another point of contrast to the omnipresent Handel; the German Johann Christoph Pepusch (1667-1752) also travelled widely around Europe and made his home in London. He was a founding member of the Academy of Ancient Music for which Steffani served as president from its origination in 1726. Pepusch arranged the music for John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera (1728) and his Trio Sonata in C major was performed here by Bonizzoni (harpsichord) and his ensemble (Ana Liz Ojeda and Claudia Combs, violin, and Caterina Dell’Agnello, cello). This lively piece was a delight, containing some beautifully lilting melodies, and Bonizzoni’s instrumentalists were admirably controlled even under the considerable pressure of a troublesome string that required a brief trip offstage, highlighting the capriciousness of period instruments just as their playing showcased their strengths.

As the Lufthansa Festival enters a new period of its life, thirty years into its existence and now without a major sponsor, it will be interesting to see how its Artistic Director Lindsay Kemp continues to negotiate Handel’s place within the canon of works frequently performed in the sublime St John’s (which must surely have one of the best acoustics in London). His audiences clearly responded very much more warmly to Handel’s duets than Steffani’s, reflecting perhaps their own seemingly insatiable appetite for the composer’s works as much as the relative insecurity of the soloists when tackling the lesser known duets of his contemporary. More concerts in which non-Handelian works can be brought off the page and even, occasionally, allowed to steal the show, will help to ensure that the Festival continues to reflect the diverse and lively musical life of the city in the eighteenth century, as well as today.

The Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music took place between May 16 and 24 2014.