Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon of Week Two gave us a pair of events devoted to the music of the Baroque era, the period in the late 1600s to mid 1700 dominated by the genius of Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, and so many more. It's a vast field, and a little intimidating for non-specialists to know where to dip in.
So it's scarcely surprising that any performance of the famous group of violin concertos by Vivaldi known as The Four Seasons will usually bring a near-capacity crowd out for the evening.
This year, James Campbell (the Festival's Artistic Director) asked Larry Beckwith to arrange "a Four Seasons not like any other." He definitely got his wish, but I'm willing to bet that a few in the audience had no idea what they were letting themselves in for. Artistically stimulating, thought-provoking, a little aggravating in places, but never less than engaging and involving. And definitely different.
The Four Seasons were originally published with accompanying sonnets which describe what the music seeks to depict. Although the author of the sonnets is unknown, each of them is divided into three segments which correspond exactly to the content of the three movements in each concerto -- lending credence to the theory that Vivaldi himself was the poet. Notations in the text of each sonnet cross-reference to the musical scores, with such exact directions as "the barking dog" placed in the score next to the repeated pairs of notes in the viola part. It's interesting to note that, like Haydn's much later oratorio The Seasons, Vivaldi's work places emphasis on the lives and activities of the common country people, not of the aristocracy or church leaders who were the patrons of so much of musical life in their times.
This year's unique performance featured violinist Mark Fewer, leading an ensemble of eight strings and harpsichord in the concertos. Bass player Jeffrey Stokes gave stylish readings of the sonnets before each of the concertos.
Additional music interspersed around and between the concertos was performed by mezzo-soprano Julie Nesrallah and pianist Robert Kortgaard. Anishinaabe elder John Rice contributed with traditional words of welcome, and with traditional stories of creation and of the seasons. The whole performance was enhanced by projections on the overhead screen of relevant artwork, music titles, and texts of the songs performed by Nesrallah.
Kortgaard's solo piano contributions were two selections, Song of the Lark and Autumn Song from Tchaikovsky's piano album, The Seasons, Op. 37. He played these selections in an appropriately gentle and subtly phrased style. Songs performed by Nesrallah and Kortgaard were Im frühling (Schubert), Beau soir (Debussy), Automne (Faure), and L'hiver (Koechlin). Nesrallah's wide-ranging mezzo was displayed to fine effect in the Schubert, and created truly hypnotic feeling in the lower passages in Beau soir.
John Rice's stories enhanced the performance greatly by reminding us all that the human activity depicted in Vivaldi must take place in the context of the wider natural world which we all live in and have to share.
In the concertos, Mark Fewer led the ensemble at a very brisk pace in the fast movements, making maximum contrast with the slower, quieter central movements. Although the players nimbly kept up with the speeds chosen, there were several places where I felt that even 1 or 2 percent slower would bring an improvement in musicality as the string tone became ugly and harsh under the pressure of maintaining the hell-for-leather speeds.
In the solo role, Fewer stamped the music with is own personality to a considerable extent. Repeat sections were ornamented to a far greater degree than in any previous performance I've heard. The sleeping shepherd snored audibly and the drunks dropped into sleep quite literally, as Fewer let his fingers slide down the fingerboard in a drowsy portamento. The last concerto, Winter, found Fewer slipping easily into rhythms and figurations drawn from jazz in his repeated sections.
I personally enjoyed the spice which all these added dimensions contributed to such oft-heard music, although I could readily imagine that purists might be annoyed.
The concert by the Festival Baroque ensemble on Wednesday afternoon brought more Baroque inspirations, including one of the most inspired of all musical masterpieces, and one of the most wildly ornamented pieces of music written any time before the nineteenth century/
The concert opened with a delightful performance of an Oboe Concerto in D Minor by Telemann, played by James Mason with his customary flair and style. Don't let the minor key fool you; this is music to put a smile on your face and the ensemble and soloist certainly took us there.
The Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D Major by Bach followed. This unusual work brings the harpsichord beyond its usual continuo role into participating in the concertino solo group, and therefore the keyboard part is fully written out (unusual for ensemble music in Baroque times). The flute is the other distinctive sound which accompanies the strings in this outing. It's a firm audience favourite, and with good reason, and the ensemble gave it a spirited performance while holding the tempo to a range where every note registered clearly -- no blurry mush here!
Violinist Karl Stobbe next performed the monumental Chaconne from the Partita No. 2 for solo violin in D Minor, again by Bach. As Stobbe worked his way through this magnificent piece, by turns sombre and almost angry, I could see just why so many people subscribe to the theory that this chaconne is a memorial tribute to Bach's first wife. How else to account for this immense and carefully structured theme and variations appearing at the end of what is otherwise a suite of dances?
Stobbe's performance gripped us right from the opening bow strokes across the strings, and held the entire audience rapt for the full fifteen minutes. Although Stobbe's playing avoided romantic excesses of portamento and excess frilly ornamentation added onto the text, he did use a full range of tone and tone colour in presenting the varying character of all the variations. Impressive musicianship by any standard.
The final work, also a theme and variations, was emphatically of the virtuoso show-off variety. Vivaldi's Trio Sonata in D Minor is only among the most famous of more than 150 known compositions based on the theme known as La folia or Folies d'espagne. You can read more about the history of this incredibly popular musical theme here, in my rare music blog: Dreams of Folly
Vivaldi's chain of variations runs through multiple changes of tempo, finally reach such hectic heights that the composer appears determined to win the Guinness record for maximum number of notes crammed into a single beat. And there are definitely a lot of notes here!
Stobbe and Julie Baumgartel raced through all this hectic activity with immense technical flair and precision. I wish I could say "aplomb" but it was obvious that keeping up with the composer's insane demands was indeed a challenge. All the same, it made for a thrilling end to a fascinating 24 hours of Baroque music.
The concert opened with a delightful performance of an Oboe Concerto in D Minor by Telemann, played by James Mason with his customary flair and style. Don't let the minor key fool you; this is music to put a smile on your face and the ensemble and soloist certainly took us there.
The Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D Major by Bach followed. This unusual work brings the harpsichord beyond its usual continuo role into participating in the concertino solo group, and therefore the keyboard part is fully written out (unusual for ensemble music in Baroque times). The flute is the other distinctive sound which accompanies the strings in this outing. It's a firm audience favourite, and with good reason, and the ensemble gave it a spirited performance while holding the tempo to a range where every note registered clearly -- no blurry mush here!
Violinist Karl Stobbe next performed the monumental Chaconne from the Partita No. 2 for solo violin in D Minor, again by Bach. As Stobbe worked his way through this magnificent piece, by turns sombre and almost angry, I could see just why so many people subscribe to the theory that this chaconne is a memorial tribute to Bach's first wife. How else to account for this immense and carefully structured theme and variations appearing at the end of what is otherwise a suite of dances?
Stobbe's performance gripped us right from the opening bow strokes across the strings, and held the entire audience rapt for the full fifteen minutes. Although Stobbe's playing avoided romantic excesses of portamento and excess frilly ornamentation added onto the text, he did use a full range of tone and tone colour in presenting the varying character of all the variations. Impressive musicianship by any standard.
The final work, also a theme and variations, was emphatically of the virtuoso show-off variety. Vivaldi's Trio Sonata in D Minor is only among the most famous of more than 150 known compositions based on the theme known as La folia or Folies d'espagne. You can read more about the history of this incredibly popular musical theme here, in my rare music blog: Dreams of Folly
Vivaldi's chain of variations runs through multiple changes of tempo, finally reach such hectic heights that the composer appears determined to win the Guinness record for maximum number of notes crammed into a single beat. And there are definitely a lot of notes here!
Stobbe and Julie Baumgartel raced through all this hectic activity with immense technical flair and precision. I wish I could say "aplomb" but it was obvious that keeping up with the composer's insane demands was indeed a challenge. All the same, it made for a thrilling end to a fascinating 24 hours of Baroque music.
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