MUSIC REVIEW : Harmonica Virtuoso Mixes Bach, Blues

To most people, the harmonica may be at home on the range, in smoke-filled joints or even in jail cells, but it would seem misplaced in the polite company of symphonic instruments. Harmonica player Robert Bonfiglio continued his quest for parity on Wednesday at the Fullerton First United Methodist Church in a performance sponsored by the North Orange County Community Concerts Assn.

Backed by a classy, classically trained trio consisting of flutist Clare Hoffman, violinist-violist Coke Bolipata and cellist Robert Albrecht, Bonfiglio took center stage for works by Ravel, Debussy and Bach.

He amazed with his command of the instrument. He impressed with his knowledge of Baroque ornamentation. He entertained with witty comments.

But the arrangements, in this case all his own, remained mere curiosities.

As Bonfiglio pointed out, the two-harpsichord scoring of the Concerto in C minor, BWV 1060, is probably Bach’s reworking of an earlier concerto for violin and oboe.

In his amiable introduction, he quipped, “We (the Robert Bonfiglio Ensemble) like to think of this particular version as the final version--for harmonica and flute.”

That combination, however, was the work’s undoing--mismatched soloists intertwined over thin, albeit elegant, accompaniment. Hoffman, Bonfiglio’s wife, could barely make herself heard over her ever-obtrusive partner. Even the harmonica’s sighing echoes held the foreground.

Bonfiglio may not have fared well in selections that required pristinely refined timbre and the ability to blend with orchestral instruments. Still, he shone in pieces that stayed close to genres with which the harmonica is traditionally associated.

Clare Hoffman’s “Coplandia” Suite, which borrows from Copland’s “Appalachian Spring,” including his setting of the Shaker tune “Simple Gifts,” proved an engaging, natural vehicle, as did Sousa’s jaunty “Harmonica Wizard.”

The gem of the evening was Gershwin’s “Summertime.” Bonfiglio’s bluesy rendition bent and slid into notes and added jazzy ornamentation to the melody over straightforward support lent by flute, viola and cello.

The powerful showing here came as no surprise. Bonfiglio started out as a blues player in Iowa. Twice, during the program, he broke stride to wail, dedicating the first interlude to one of his most admired predecessors: Sonny Boy Williamson, who would have been proud.