A blissful blend of elements

It isn’t unique today for a brilliant soloist to swoop into town and on scant rehearsal time rattle off a dazzling display. What is unfortunately rare, however, is a guest artist with a genuine interest in emotionally jelling with her host band. And as the enticing Baroque violinist Rachel Podger proved Saturday night at Zipper Hall, it pays to get to know the musicians you’re playing with and to actually treat them as collaborators.

Podger, a tall Brit with a warm smile, velvet sound and some acclaimed recordings under her belt, had arrived to lead the exceptional local orchestra Musica Angelica through a tour of the concerto -- paid for by Corelli, Handel, Purcell, Vivaldi and Bach. The concert was thrilling, not least because of Podger’s humanistic form of leadership: consistently making eye contact with players standing around her, egging them on with equal parts fiery resolve and forlorn emotion.

What distinguishes Podger from other star Baroque fiddlers is her innate lack of affectation. She doesn’t ornament heavily, her fleet tempos breathe poetic breaths, and her lean sounds traverse an array of painterly textures. The result is as far from professorial as possible, and that’s a boon for a style of music too many people wrongly consider dry.

With considerable help from violinist Elizabeth Blumenstock and cellist William Skeen, Podger crafted a texturally layered reading of Corelli’s Concerto Grosso, Opus 6, No. 12: Brisk allegros vied with slower, heavy leaning suspensions. And the outcome was frank drama. Purcell’s “Suite from ‘The Gordian Knot United’ ” was a smorgasbord of tasty miniatures; a party jig introduced macabre variations on a chromatically descending bass theme only for galloping rhythms and tapered cadences to resolve the tension. In Handel’s Concerto Grosso, Opus 6, No. 7, the orchestra traded an arresting fugue subject in aggressive conversation. What couldn’t they do?

Play Bach and Vivaldi routinely is the answer. The night’s high point involved two Bach violin concertos -- the A minor for solo violin and the “Double” in D minor -- as well as Vivaldi’s Concerto Grosso, Opus 3, No. 11. Podger shaped the solo Bach concerto into a refreshing aperitif with untraditional bowings that gave old motives new life. The Vivaldi began with an antiphonal duet rife with rich chiaroscuro before Podger’s solos, dripping in a preternatural understanding of desperation, caused a hush in the room.

And how mindful to finish with Bach’s “Double” Violin Concerto. Here a beloved piece often used to showcase solo talent became a full-orchestra exhibition. Blumenstock’s rich, round answers mixed well with Podger’s bright high-notes questions, and a touching second movement traditionally played meaty and slow came off just as emotional played brisk, clean and wispy. Most important, both soloists got out of the way of their players so the harmonic tiers of Bach’s contrapuntal structure proved obvious. The real stars of the night, as Podger would have it, were her bandmates and the composers they love.