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St. Paul's Historic Naval and Garrison Church
April 29, 2012
Early Baroque is the latest early music ensemble to spring up on Vancouver Island. (This was, to the best of my knowledge, the ensemble's first performance.) True to its name, the ensemble presented a programme devoted mainly to music in the stilo moderno of the first half of the seventeenth century, but the musicians ventured later into the century and even into the eighteenth century for a couple of pieces.
We in Victoria are spoiled by the opportunity to hear, in the Early Music Society of the Islands series, world-class performers of early music. We also have the opportunity to hear first class music in the Pacific Baroque Festival and, most recently, the Victoria Baroque Players have been performing to a very high standard. It must be said at the outset that Early Baroque does not perform at the same level. Nevertheless, the ensemble is a welcome addition to the local musical scene. They provided a pleasant afternoon of music making and the opportunity to hear some seldom performed repertoire.
The programme opened with a sonata by Giovanni Buonamente (c.1595-1642) for two violins, dulcian and basso continuo. According to Page, Buonamente specifically calls for the use of a dulcian (or "fagotto", as the instrument was called in Italy) in this piece. While the dulcian is a somewhat exotic instrument, this was the second time this month that local audiences have had the opportunity to hear the instrument. Thomas Oltheten of the Apollo Ensemble performed on the instrument earlier this month in the Early Music Society of the Islands series. Page's playing, even if not quite up to Oltheten's level, was assured and stylish throughout the whole performance.
The Buonamente was followed by works by Johann Rosenmüller (1619-84), Biagio Marini (1594-1663), and Andrea Falconieri (c.1585-1680). The common denominator was the use of the dulcian, though I am not certain that the composer always explicitly called for the instrument. Of these works, I thought the Falconieri most engaging, perhaps because it concludes with a chaconne and (as I have revealed in previous reviews) I have a weakness for a nice chaconne. And this one was nicely rendered. The dulcian, organ and theorbo provided the sense of perpetual motion and the violins danced over top of the bass line.
The next piece was a Sonata à 2 by Johann Heinrich Schmeltzer (c.1623-1680). For this work, Page switched to the baroque bassoon and Hensley to the archlute. According to Page, Schmeltzer specifically called for the use of a bassoon in this work, but when pressed on this matter after the concert, he conceded that the score calls for a "fagotto", and this term can refer to a dulcian. It is possible that, in 1673, Schmeltzer specifically wanted an instrument that was invented in France late in the seventeenth century, but this seems unlikely. In any case, Cage was assured on bassoon as he was on dulcian.
The bassoon and archlute were retained for a Sonata à 5 (The "Enharmonic Sonata") by Guiseppi Valentini (1681-1753). The bassoon was a well-established instrument by Valentini's day and better suited to the frequent modulation of Valentini's inventive composition than the less flexible dulcian. The use of the archlute for this work was quite pleasing: I found that the sparkling sound of the instrument combined well with the organ and dulcian.
The continuo group showed to good advantage in the next piece, a Sonata à 3 by Antonio Bertali (1605-1669). (The dulcian and theorbo were back for this work.) The continuo group has to sustain interest for long passages of this work and successfully did so. Particular mention should be made of the capable playing of Shane Beech, who was solid throughout the concert.
In the course of the afternoon, Cullerne and Klein took turns playing the first violin part. Cullerne performed the pieces with one violin (the Marini and Schmeltzer). The Marini in particular gave Cullerne the opportunity to show off a pleasing tone. Her use of vibrato was thoughtful. Some baroque violinists - and very distinguished ones - would have added vibrato to every long note, but Cullerne mixed it up a bit and the result was attractively non-formulaic playing. Schmeltzer was among the greatest violin virtuosi of his day and it takes some chops to play the violin parts of his sonatas.
The evening concluded with a Sonata à 3 by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767). This work is scored for recorder, two violins and continuo. (Which makes it a piece à 4, by my reckoning. But who's counting?) Page revealed himself to be an accomplished recorder player: he produces a warm tone, far from the shrill sound associated with school children performing on the recorder. Klein took the first violin part and showed herself to be thoroughly at home in this sort of repertoire. Unfortunately, this piece was marred by a missed entry in the opening movement (Vivace). This misstep broke my concentration and the Grave was gone and we were into the Allegro before I regained my focus. This final movement provided a nice bright conclusion to the afternoon.
This was the first time I had heard a concert in St. Paul's Historic Naval and Garrison Church. This is a charming mid-19th century building, full of monuments to deceased soldiers and seamen. It has an intriguing tracker organ, dating to 1891 that I would love to hear some time.
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