Debut Highlights Subtle Dynamics

For her Los Angeles debut Sunday at the Westwood United Methodist Church, Dutch recorder virtuoso Marion Verbruggen brought along a baroque cellist and harpsichordist. Such were the humble, dynamically subtle forces making up the Verbruggen Ensemble and an evening of potent early music-making.

Believe what you hear: Verbruggen is a remarkable player, one who champions her instrument with grace and chops to spare. Deeply musically and technically nimble, Verbruggen left a strong impression, and her pure tones found a resonant home in this space.

Her companions impressed, too: Phoebe Carrai, on the slender-toned baroque cello, was agile and attentive. Harpsichordist Arthur Haas often played a supporting role but also displayed fluid technical mastery, especially on a Toccata by Michelangelo Rossi, which slips into a pleasantly jarring, modern-sounding chromatic detour toward the end. Taut ensemble maneuvering gave bluster to Correlli “La Follia” in G Minor, alternately feverish and languid.

In the concert’s second half, attention shifted to the turf of well-known Baroque composers--Vivaldi, Telemman and, via the popular Suite in D Minor, Bach. The players made its Sarabanda the picture of elegant ruefulness, before a climactic flurry of triplets from Verbruggen’s not-so-lowly recorder.