Sound Salon (the series formerly known as Byron Schenkman & Friends) has a lovely program coming up Sunday evening: English Baroque love songs for voice, oboe, viol, and harpsichord. Sweeter than Roses (the title of the program, taken from a Henry Purcell song), presents soprano Grace Srinivasan, oboist Curtis Foster, Adaiha MacAdam-Somer on viol, and artistic director Byron Schenkman on harpsichord in music not only by Purcell and Handel but by such less-familiar figures as Elisabetta de Gambarini, John Stanley, and William Babell (all associated with Handel’s work), as well as by Thomas Arne and Ignatius Sancho, who escaped enslavement and became “a successful businessman, published author and composer, and champion for the abolition of slavery,” as Schenkman notes.
Seattle Baroque Orchestra offers a program this weekend of J.S. Bach cantatas. Titled Jubilation and Redemption, the concert features the Portland-based soprano Arwen Myers as the soloist in Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV 51, and Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut, BWV 199, with SBO’s Baroque trumpet expert Kris Kwapis directing the ensemble. Part of the Early Music Seattle season, the concert takes place Saturday 4 November at 7.30pm at Bastyr University Chapel and Sunday 5 November at 2pm at Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall.
Kris Kwapis on Bach’s cantatas as a “treasure trove for trumpet”:
While a fair number of monumental works written by J. S. Bach are among the typical Baroque canon, at least among the reach of the enthusiastic readers of this blog, specific works among the catalog of cantatas tend to be lesser known and subsequently not as frequently programmed. Most attentive audience members are at least familiar with the larger pieces such as the Mass in B Minor, Magnificat, and Christmas Oratorio, which, of course, are outstanding works of art that also happen to have wonderful (and delightfully challenging!) trumpet parts. But the cantatas, perhaps because Bach wrote around 300 during his lifetime, are sometimes overlooked….
Sound Salon, formerly known as Byron Schenkman & Friends, launches a new season — and a new decade — Sunday evening with a program titled Baroque Meets Karuk. One of my fall picks for The Seattle Times, the concert begins at 7pm on 1 October at Benaroya Hall.
The chamber series has rebranded itself but remains committed to engaging and thought-provoking programs that encourage re-examining assumptions and, even more, making welcome discoveries.
This opening program, for example, will juxtapose pieces by 17th-century European composers with music from the Karuk tradition of the North American Pacific Coast, exploring connections between Spain, Italy, Austria, and the colonization of Turtle Island (now known as the North American continent).
Notes on the Program
By Byron Schenkman
We open our season with festive music from 17th-century Europe and from the Karuk tradition of what is currently known as northern California. Baroque composers of the 17th century learned from the music of diverse nations and cultures, whether by traveling themselves or by exposure to travelers.
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer likely studied in Italy before settling in Vienna where he was employed for many years as a violinist at the Habsburg court. The Spanish bassoonist Bartolomé de Selma y Salaverde was employed in Innsbruck and published music in Venice. Andrea Falconieri led the music at the Spanish court in Naples. The violinist Biagio Marini was born in Brescia and died in Venice, but also worked in Brussels and in various German and Italian cities.
Salamone Rossi was a Jewish violinist employed as concertmaster at the court in Mantua. He published many volumes of secular Italian vocal and instrumental music including the first trio-sonatas for two violins and continuo, a genre which would become standard for composers all over Europe for about 150 years. He also published a rare collection of Jewish polyphonic sacred music, starting a potential tradition which was wiped out by the destruction of the Jewish ghetto in 1630.
Like many of the women who published music in 17th-century Italy, Claudia Rusca and Isabella Leonarda were both nuns. Rusca published just one volume of sacred vocal music which also contains two short instrumental works. Leonarda was an exceptionally prolific composer who published hundreds of works including twelve instrumental sonatas.
Henry Purcell never left his native England yet his music was influenced by various international styles. Purcell’s royal employer Charles II spent his years of exile in France and much of Purcell’s theater music, including the Chaconne from “King Arthur,” is closely modeled on French music of the time. The French chaconne had its origins in an indigenous dance brought to Spain from what is now South America.
Duwamish Land Acknowledgement
Sound Salon would like to acknowledge that we are on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People past and present, and honor with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish Tribe which has stewarded the land throughout the generations.
Three leaders of Pacific MusicWorks, from left, Henry Lebedinsky, Tekla Cunningham, Stephen Stubbs. ‘A healthy ecosystem needs to have an educational aspect that cultivates the next generation.’ (Photo by Elizabeth Ellis)
My feature story for Early Music America Magazine’s latest issue is now available online:
The vulnerability of our natural ecosystems makes us more aware of the fragile state of our artistic ecosystems—and how profoundly interconnected these issues are.
What happens when a city known for its early-music scene becomes too expensive for musicians?
‘Can one person save the planet? No. But you can right your own individual actions that are ethical and point you in a certain direction.’
The Meany Center at University of Washington presents the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s production of Lagrime di San Pietro by Orlando di Lasso on Saturday evening, with Peter Sellars directing and Grant Gershon conducting. My program essay for the performance can be found here.
What’s the correct way to refer to one of the most extraordinary musical minds in history: Orlande/Orlando/Roland de Lassus/di Lasso? There’s a Franco-Flemish form and an Italianized one; sometimes the two get mixed together. There’s even a Latin option intended to standardize the situation. The very profusion of variants points to the internationalism and cross-pollination across borders that marked the era of the High Renaissance in Europe….
This is the final concert in a three-concert series traversing Biber’s Mystery Sonatas. The Glorious Mysteries begin with the events of Easter and the Resurrection. The capstone of the final set of sonatas is the Passacaglia for solo violin (also known as the “Guardian Angel”).
The concert takes place in the intimate St. Augustine’s in-the-woods Church in Freeland on Whidbey Island, which boasts spendid acoustics.
And to top it off: Tekla Cunningham’s trademark springerle cookies pressed with images of a Guardian Angel will be served at the reception.
PROGRAM:
The Glorious Mysteries
Sonata XI in G Major: The Resurrection Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644-1704)Sonata – Hymn: Surrexit Christus hodie and variations
Canzona on ‘Christ ist erstanden’ Georg Reutter der Ältere (1656-1738)
Sonata XII in C Major: The Ascension H.I.F. von BiberIntrada – Aria tubicinum (trumpet) – Allemanda – Courante and double
Ricercar in G minor for solo cello Domenico Gabrieli (ca. 1651-1690)
Sonata XIII in D minor: The Descent of the Holy Ghost H.I.F. von Biber Sonata – Gavotte – Gigue – Sarabanda
Intermission
Sonata XIV in D Major: The Assumption of the Virgin H.I.F. von Biber[Sonata] – Arias 1 and 2 – Gigue
Capriccio in G Johann Jakob Froberger (1716-1767)
Sonata XV in C Major: The Coronation of the Virgin Mary H.I.F. von Biber Sonata – Aria with 3 doubles – Canzona – Sarabanda and double
Passacaglia in G minor for solo violin H.I.F. von Biber
From Whidbey Island Music Festival:
About the Mystery Sonatas:
Named for the 15 Mysteries of the Rosary (also known as the Rosary Sonatas), these three sets of 5 sonatas for violin and continuo, plus a concluding Passacaglia for solo violin, were completed around 1676. Dedicated to the Archbishop Gandolph in Salzburg, these sonatas are as compelling, affecting and moving as they were when they were written almost 350 years ago. In the manuscript copy, each sonata has a copper-plate print at the opening of the sonata showing the story of the piece.
About scordatura:
Scored for a single violin supported by continuo, Biber asks the violinist to tune differently for each sonata. Only the first sonata (the Annunciation) and the final Passacaglia share the standard G-D-A-E tuning. The Resurrection sonata has the most extreme tuning, involving switching the G and the D strings. This technique of mistuning the violin, called scordatura, gives a tremendous range of affects and emotions to this music. Retuning brings the violin into different key areas and creates a kaleidoscope of overtones and sonic effects, helping Biber to create specific emotions or affects in the listener.
ARTIST BIOS
Tekla Cunningham
Elisabeth Reed, Oakland, CA teaches Baroque cello and viola da gamba at the University of California at Berkeley and at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she is co-director of the Baroque Ensemble. Recent teaching highlights include master classes at the Juilliard School, the Shanghai Conservatory and Middle School, and the Royal Academy of Music. A soloist and chamber musician with Voices of Music, Pacific Musicworks, Archetti, and Wildcat Viols, she has also appeared with the Smithsonian Chamber Players, the American Bach Soloists and the Seattle, Portland, Pacific, and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestras. Elisabeth directs “Voice of the Viol”, the renaissance viola da gamba ensemble of Voices of Music. She can be heard on the Virgin Classics, Naxos, Focus, Plectra, and Magnatunes recording labels and has many HD videos on the Voices of Music Youtube channel. She is a Guild-certified practitioner of the Feldenkrais Method™ of Awareness Through Movement ™ with a particular interest in working with musicians and performers.
Hailed by The Miami Herald for his “superb continuo… brilliantly improvised and ornamented,” GRAMMY-nominated historical keyboardist, composer, and conductor Henry Lebedinsky has performed with the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Northwest Ballet, the Charlotte Symphony, Seraphic Fire, Sonoma Bach, and the Cantata Collective, among others. Recent conducting engagements include the Seattle Baroque Orchestra and Sonoma Bach’s Live Oak Baroque Orchestra. As part of a career built on collaboration, he serves as co-Artistic Director of the San Francisco Bay Area’s AGAVE and Seattle’s Pacific MusicWorks. With countertenor Reginald L. Mobley, he has introduced listeners on three continents to music by Black composers from Baroque to modern, including recent appearances at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and Festival Printemps Musical des Alizés in Morocco. In 2014, he founded Seattle’s Early Music Underground, which brought Baroque music to brewpubs, wineries, and other places where people gather, and presenting it in multimedia contexts which both entertain and educate. Lebedinsky’s works for choir and organ are published by Paraclete Press, Carus-Verlag Stuttgart, and CanticaNOVA, and two volumes of his poetry and hymns are in preparation. He holds degrees from Bowdoin College and the Longy School of Music, where he earned a Master of Music in historical organ performance as a student of Peter Sykes. Currently entering his third decade as a church musician, he serves as Missioner for Music at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church on Whidbey Island.
ABOUT THE WHIDBEY ISLAND MUSIC FESTIVAL
Founded in 2006 by Tekla Cunningham, the Whidbey Island Music Festival is a beloved annual event that presents great performances of baroque and classical chamber music in relaxed and intimate indoor and outdoor venues on beautiful Whidbey Island, with repertoire from Monteverdi to Florence Price. We bring music of the past four centuries to life with vivid and moving concert performances on period instruments.
Byron Schenkman has long been a vital force in Seattle’s musical life. Here’s my Seattle Times story about the legacy of Byron Schenkman & Friends, which he founded ten years ago, and their latest project, a newly commissioned harpsichord concerto by Caroline Shaw. The world premiere takes place on tonight’s concert at 7pm:
You need to engage with the present if you really want to appreciate the musical past.
That, in a nutshell, is the premise underlying the latest program that the Seattle-based chamber music series Byron Schenkman & Friends will present on Sunday, March 26 at Benaroya Hall. Instead of merely repeating baroque masterpieces by J.S. Bach, the concert includes a contemporary counterpart tailor-made for Schenkman and his colleagues by the acclaimed American composer Caroline Shaw.
Juilliard415 is teaming up with students from the Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts and Juilliard Drama to give a rare performance of a new version of Henry Purcell’s “semi-opera” King Arthur at Alice Tully Hall on Saturday 11 February at 7.30pm NYC time. Lionel Meunier directs this interdisciplinary collaboration.
Les Arts Florissants recorded its concert program Charpentier, Grands Motetsat the Royal Chapel at Versailles on 28 February following cancellation of two public performances (at Versailles and La Rochelle) due to the pandemic. The film will be available on Qwest TV starting on April 9
From the press release:
Les Arts Florissants collaborates for the very first time with Qwest TV, a global video platform, to offer the exclusive broadcast of the film Charpentier, Grands Motets recorded at Versailles’ Royal Chapel.
Digital Concert – public premiere Musical Direction: William Christie Choir and Ensemble: Les Arts Florissants Royal Chapel – Versailles Filmed on 28 February 20212 without a live audience
Coproduction Les Arts Florissants and Château de Versailles Spectacles
Qwest TV recently launched a “Classical” category on their premium SVOD platform, across which Charpentier, Grand Motets will be released.
SVOD broadcast (access by subscription, with 7 days free trial) For more details on how viewers can stream the film on Qwest, click here.
Tune in for Bach & Baroque Virtuosity from Byron Schenkman & Friends on Sunday, 27 December (7:00pm PST). The concert features Rachell Ellen Wong, Andrew Gonzalez, and Byron Schenkman and will remain available for the foreseeable future on the BS&F YouTube channel.
For this concert harpsichordist Byron Schenkman is joined by violinist Rachell Ellen Wong and violoncello da spalla (“cello of the shoulder,” an unusual Baroque instrument rediscovered in recent years) player Andrew Gonzalez. The program journeys through music by Antonio Vivaldi,; Jean-Marie Leclair; Johann Sebastian Bach (the Partita in D Minor, which includes the famous Chaconne); and Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, who was one of the most-celebrated French composers of her time. In addition to music for violin and harpsichord we offer a rare opportunity to hear the violoncello da spalla (cello of the shoulder), an unusual Baroque instrument only rediscovered in recent years.
MEMETERIA by Thomas May 