Marking the 30th year of Salut! Baroque, a thoughtfully curated program of 11 works by George Philipp Telemann and his contemporaries was delivered with sensitivity, drama, humour and aplomb by 10 expert performers on period instruments.

The chamber music of Telemann might have disappeared into historical obscurity if not for the historically informed performance movement, beginning in the 1960s. Yet, in his lifetime his popularity equalled and even eclipsed that of his friends and contemporaries J.S. Bach and Handel.

While his choral works and compositions for solo voice have perhaps not endured as strongly, one thing he did brilliantly was write lots of great music showcasing woodwind, especially the recorder family.

The evening was even light-heartedly hosted by Telemann himself, reincarnated at the hands of narrator and tenor Colin Milner, who linked the stories of Telemann and the other featured composers in an informative and highly entertaining way.

The acoustic of the Wesley Uniting Church tends to flatten higher frequency string sounds, and the draughty winter atmosphere seemed to send the cello and double bass a little out of tune during the opening two pieces by Telemann (overture to the Suite in E minor from L’Omphale and the first two movements of the Flute Concerto in G Major).

This really didn’t matter because Sally Walker as soloist on baroque flute was magnificent, and Sally Melhuish and Alana Blackburn on recorders were enthralling. After this, the ensemble tuned regularly throughout the program and tuning and tonality ceased to be an issue.

By the time they embarked on C.P.E Bach’s Allegretto from his Symphony in B minor, the group was really in the rhythm, and enjoying the experience immensely. They achieved beautiful movement and energy, and amazing precision in what is a technically complex piece. Subtly directed by first violin John Ma, they concluded with joyous dramatic bravado.

Other highlights included Pierre Gabriel Buffardin’s Allegro non molto from his Concert in E minor, again featuring Sally Walker’s virtuosic energy. So captivating was Walker’s stagecraft that she naturally ruled the stage even when she wasn’t playing, injecting infectious enthusiasm among her fellow performers.

Telemann’s Modéré from the Paris Quartet in E minor was delivered with an ethereal tenderness, the call-and-response motifs between the first violin and flute played perfectly, underpinned by the theorbo (wielded by George Wills) weaving long breathy phrases in support.

For something completely different, baroque gypsies appeared for the finale: Iag Bari from the Uhrovska Collection of traditional Slovakian melodies from 1730, featuring John Ma’s raw, guttural and pathos-filled improvisations on violin.

The vast programming experience of Salut! Artistic Directors Sally Melhuish and Tim Blomfield really showed through in this program, which was just the right length, had the right amount of variety, was explained well, and gave each musician deserved opportunities to shine.