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Church of St. John the Divine
September 12, 2015
In the eighteenth century, only a small minority of music lovers lived in towns big enough to support a large number of public concerts. Even in a large city such as London, concerts were performed for a comparatively short time each year. For example, the famous Bach-Abel concert series presented a series of (at most) only fifteen concerts during the London season. Most people who wanted to hear music had two choices. They could go to church and hear liturgical music. Or they could make music themselves in their own homes.
In this context, the practice of arranging large scale works, such as symphonies and opera overtures, for chamber ensembles was a thriving industry. (Sometimes, the arranging went in the opposite direction, as when Charles Avison arranged Scarlatti harpsichord sonatas as concerti grossi.) This evening's performance focused on chamber arrangements of large-scale music of the eighteenth century.
One can wonder why modern audiences would choose to listen to chamber arrangements when a performance of a full-scale work is just a CD player away. In some extemporaneous remarks during the concert, Soile Stratkauskas expressed the view that "different aspects" of a work emerge when it is heard in a chamber arrangement. In my view, some chamber arrangements are more successful than others. Sometimes an arrangement can be a pale reflection of the original. Other arrangements can capture many of the original work's expressive properties and perhaps even enhance some. But even when a work has more power in its large-scale format, there is always a charm to hearing live music. We might lose something when listening to a chamber arrangement, but opportunities to hear live performances of Haydn symphonies and Mozart overtures are not, even today and even in the largest musical centres, available every day.
This evening's performance included arrangements by Girolamo Masi (1768-1823 or later) of Mozart's overtures to The Magic Flute and The Marriage of Figaro. Both are arrangement for seven parts: two violins, two violas, two bass parts (performed here on cello and bassoon) and flute. In my view, the arrangement of the Magic Flute overture is the less successful of the two. As is well known, this overture has alternating and contrasting sections. Some of the sections are majestic and ominous. The others are more light-hearted. In my view, the majestic sections of this work lose some of their grandeur in a chamber reduction. The light-hearted sections come off much better. The overture to Figaro, on the other hand, works very nicely as a chamber work. The Victoria Baroque Players did an excellent job of capturing the sense of playfulness that permeates this work. They did this, in part, by looking as though they were having a good deal of fun playing the piece.
The other arrangement on the programme was Johann Peter Salomon's (1745-1815) reduction of Symphony No. 94, the "Surprise" Symphony. (Salomon was a capable musician as well as the impresario who is reported to have traveled across Europe to see Haydn. Knocking on Haydn's door, the impresario apparently announced, "I am Salomon, and I have come to take you to London".) This arrangement is for violin, viola, cello, flute and optional fortepiano. This evening, the Victoria Baroque Players omitted the fortepiano part, but added in a bassoon. (I assume, though this was not explained, that the bassoon played the bass of the piano part.) Again, there is no doubt that we lose something when hearing a chamber version of this piece. The famous surprise of the second movement (Andante) is less startling when it is played without a full orchestra and sans timpani. (The bassoon did, however, add a little oomph.) Still, there was a good deal to enjoy in this skilful performance by the Victoria Baroque Players.
The concert was rounded out by two pieces originally conceived as chamber works, one familiar and one unfamiliar. The unfamiliar piece was the Quartet for bassoon, violin, viola, and cello in B Flat, Op.19, No.5 by Carl Stamitz. This proved to be a thoroughly charming galant composition. It begins with an allegro, given a leisurely reading. A graceful adagio ensues: a lovely movement given a loving performance. The concluding movement (Rondo, Allegro) provided, in the hands of the Victoria Baroque Players, a thrilling conclusion. A good deal of the charm of this piece is owing to the bassoon part. The bassoon, in its nature, gives the impression of something large and ponderous, yet here (in the hands of Katrina Russell) it moves with an unaccustomed grace.
The other original chamber work was Mozart's Quartet for flute, violin, viola and cello, in D, K.285. This work was rendered with great delicacy. Stratkauskas, in particular, displayed her accustomed deftness. The poignant yearning of the middle movement (Adagio) was nicely captured. The ensemble transitioned without pause into the concluding Rondeau and it sounded, for all the world, like a happy ending to the sad story of the Adagio.
All in all, this was a highly enjoyable performance in which the Victoria Baroque Players demonstrated that they do equally well as the Victoria Galant Players and the Victoria Classical Players.
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