Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. Photo Credit: Cylla von Tiedemann
(program)
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra presented a mixed program titled ‘Baroque Roots’ on Wednesday October 16 at Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity St. Paul’s Centre.
Farina - Sonata detta la Farina, for violin & continuo (1628)
Bertali Ciacona, for violin & continuo (c.1650)
Buonamente Sonata prima a 3 (1636)
Bertali Sonata a 5 in g (c.1650)
Biber Balletti lamentabili a 4 (1670)
Neri Sonata a 9, op. 2, no. 11 (1651)
Guido Morini Italian Soundscapes (2019) – World premiere
Fux Orchestral suite in G Minor (1701)
Muffat Chaconne "Propitia sydera" (Propitious stars; 1701)
Vivaldi Concerto in D Major, RV563
Plenty of pressing, pushing, pulling, tugging,
This is the quodlibet of Vienna.
“” c.1730, from the program notes
‘orderly clutter’ is my new favourite way to think of Baroque music, and a befitting description the program curated by music director elisa citterio ‘Baroque Roots’---a stack of pre-mozart viennese composers nine names tall. and if you recognize any names on that list aside from vivaldi it might have to do with your being on stage. orderly clutter was also how guido morini described his Italian Soundscapes, a three-part composition akin to a tone poem that saw its world premiere on wednesday night at Jeanne Lamon Hall.
The first is a fantasia composed of many different musical ideas that describe the orderly clutter of a wizard’s cave, where the oddest, most diverse objects are found within a mysterious, hieratic atmosphere. “” guido morini, program notes
indeed there was a bit of a hieratic atmosphere to the concert, namely the stuffiness that comes part-and-parcel with any church setting. but there’s something in the character of baroque music, the diversity and phosphorescence of its material, that brings open air, vibrancy and playfulness to any concert hall. i’m taking a bit of a cue from the missing pane in the window of the program’s cover image (Junipero’s Garden by steve solinsky). as the son of a lifelong pentacostal pastor, much of my childhood was spent in churches of various arches and hushes, and though that apple has since fallen very far from its tree, there remains my affinity for the awesome and imposing architecture of churches and a persisting fantasy of the somehow possible transition of their usages to more secular purposes like that of Jeanne Lamon Hall in Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church. leave it to the likes of nietzsche to exaggerate how absolutely impossible, unacceptable, such architectural transitions are:
‘Junipero’s Garden’ by Steve Solinsky
One day, and probably soon, we need some recognition of what above all is lacking in our big cities: quiet and wide, expansive places for reflection. Places with long, high-ceilinged cloisters for bad or all too sunny weather where no shouting or noise of carriages can reach and where good manners would prohibit even priests from praying aloud---buildings and sites that would altogether give expression to the sublimity of thoughtfulness and of stepping aside. The time is past when the church possessed a monopoly on reflection, when the vita contemplativa always had to be first of all a vita religiosa; and everything built by the church gives expression to that idea. I do not see how we could remain content with such buildings even if they were stripped of their churchly purposes. The language spoken by these buildings is far too rhetorical and unfree, reminding us that they are houses of God and ostentatious monuments of some supramundane intercourse; we who are godless could not think our thoughts in such surroundings. We wish to see ourselves translated into stone and plants, we want to take walks in ourselves when we stroll around these buildings and gardens. “” friedrich nietsche, The Gay Science
brilliant—but in the meantime i insist on having my cake and eating it too. speaking of cake (bear with me): music for feasting is the german translation of ‘tafelmusik’ and as was the case on wednesday night, citterio’s orchestra frequently lives up to that name. considering the pace at which the program was performed, the inventiveness of the improvised transitions between compositions and the eclectic combination of the selected pieces---a lively banquet would indeed have been a very fitting addition. the first applause break did not come until after the fourth item on the program, as the first four pieces transition into one another via an improvised bridge that keeps the music uninterrupted as members of the ensemble quietly and seamlessly transition on/off-stage. at times we heard their instrument before seeing it. this activity in-between compositions is a unique feature of the program, one that citterio emphasized in her interview on this blog ahead of the premiere:
Early baroque works in particular require more improvisation from the musicians, who have a lot of responsibility for every aspect of music making, even adding notes or music to the score in certain situations. [...] I’ve asked a few musicians to connect pieces in the first half of the program through improvisation. It’s a characteristic of early performances that helps encourage the flow of energy during the concert. “” elisa citterio
‘We’re an orchestra, choir, and experience,’ reads the About page on Tafelmusik’s website, that emphasis on experience is perhaps one of the aspects of a Tafelmusik performance that makes it more engaging. certain liberties are taken with items on a program for the sake of the experience of the concert. another noteworthy aspect is the oddity and diversity of the objects on stage, instruments that you won’t see in your typical trip to the symphony: that gargantuan lute for example (on which lucas harris is mesmerizing); charlotte nediger gracefully transitioning between harpsichord and organ as demanded (and the author of the evocative program notes!); john arbegger and marco cera on a pair of oboes that pipe the brilliant theme in both Allegros of the vivaldi Concerto in D Major that concluded the program; dominic teresi stealing the show a couple times on an instrument i can’t quite place but sounds something like a bassoon-saxophone hybrid (tenoroon?). and at helm of this gallery of instruments is musical director citterio who is at once a compass and a companion to the ensemble; a magnificent violinist seemingly in-tune with and simultaneously ahead-of nearly everything happening onstage (thus her performance earned the highest of compliments from my plus1: ‘she’s a badass’).
the main attraction on the ticket however was the world premiere of morini’s Italian Soundscapes, three contrasting scenarios set in variously pastoral landscapes. the first of these Landscapes is set in the aforementioned clutter of a wizard’s cave which is reflected in the dense texture of the material, leaping phrases on strings sandwiched by melodies on oboe and bassoon. the trills and tremolos that shake from the supposed magician’s wand eventually give way to a second movement based on the ‘fannullone’ stereotype of a youth dozing off in the leisure and velleity of a lazy afternoon. Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay---baroque style. the main theme is in pizzicato, free of strain like the slow clicks of a weathervane turning in a light breeze. as expected in these peaceful circumstances, things go topsy turvy for a brief moment, a wrinkle is thrown into smooth passing of time, but thereafter stabilized by a return to pizzicato theme.
What interests me is not the rigorous philological reconstruction of old works, but rather the melding of renaissance and baroque cultural heritage with contemporary sensibilities. “” guido morini, program notes
the final movement paints the scenery, in broad violent strokes, of ‘a windstorm in the Venice lagoon’, the opening explosion of which brings an end to the tale of the frolicking fannullone. the small orchestra plays tutti, with first and second violins steering the gale force of the windstorm while the rattle of the harpsichord shakes out the contents of the movement. a crashing climax brings the movement to a close.
in a beautifully evocative speech given by marshall pynkoski for Ideacity about Opera Atelier (which Tafelmusik is the resident orchestra), he shared his belief that “Baroque theatre is meant to ravish the senses, that means it’s not all seriously profound, some of it is simply beautiful to look at.” that much is true as well of baroque music, it is a musical celebration of beauty, listening for listening’s sake. especially so with the ‘Italian style’ imported by composers of the viennese court at the turn of the 17th century---ten examples of which are showcased in this program---and its aesthetic affinity for the music that is beautiful to hear and play, engendered by a lively jiggle. in that same speech pynkoski commended Tafelmusik for their watchability, the physicality of their performances, a necessary feature in the absence of an official conductor. it was apparently during a performance by Tafelmusik, under the direction of former director jeanne lamon, that the inspiration of the marriage between ballet and baroque music to form Opera Atelier was germinated. ‘Baroque Roots’ is proof the new music director is keeping up the reputation, bringing to the role her own flair and aesthetic sensibilities. ‘badass’ indeed.
‘Baroque Roots’ runs from October 16-20 at Jeanne Lamon Hall.