The Well-Tempered Ear
Just Bach will release its FREE online concert for this month on this Wednesday, Feb. 17, at 8 a.m. The program features a virtuosic violin and harpsichord sonata and a sing-along cantata chorale
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post from violist Marika Fischer Hoyt of the group Just Bach:
February greetings from Just Bach!
We hope this finds you all well, keeping warm and ready to experience more of the timeless beauty of Bach’s music.
As regular performers on Luther Memorial Church’s weekly “Music at Midday” concert series (below, in a photo by Barry Lewis), Just Bach presents half-hour programs on the third Wednesday of each month. This semester’s dates: Jan. 20, Feb. 17, March 17, April 21 and May 19.
Our concerts are FREE and online indefinitely once they are released at 8 a.m. They are posted on the Just Bach and Luther Memorial YouTube Channels.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyVFEVsJwklHAx9riqSkXQ
Concert viewers are invited to a 30-minute live Zoom Post-concert reception on this Wednesday, Feb. 17,at 7:30 p.m. Those who would like to join us and chat with the performers can follow this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84516271617?pwd=THR5bTFwRkh0VTBIWDlzR2VxSGIrUT09
Viewing the concerts is free, but we ask those who are able, to help us pay our musicians with a tax-deductible donation. https://justbach.org/donate/
Our February concert opens with Just Bach co-founder, Grammy-nominated soprano and UW-Madison graduate student Sarah Brailey (below), providing welcoming remarks.
The program offers the sonata for that belongs to a set of six that Bach wrote for violin and harpsichord.
Violinist Kangwon Kim (below left, in a photo by Dave Parminter) and harpsichordist Professor John Chappell Stowe (below right), of the UW-Madison, join forces for a performance of the Sonata No. 6 in G Major, BWV 1019.
This five-movement work includes an extraordinary middle movement for solo keyboard — a jaunty Allegro in E minor that has more attitude than any Allegro has a right to!
Sarah closes the program with the final chorale from Cantata 159, “Jesu, deine Passion ist mir lauter Freude” (Jesus, Your passion is pure joy to me), which you can hear in the YouTube video at the bottom.
We encourage viewers to sing along by following the chorale sheet music, which will be displayed on the computer screen as Sarah sings and Professor Stowe accompanies on the organ.
The videographer is Dave Parminter.
For more information, contact Marika Fischer Hoyt, a co-founder and performer, at the Just Bach Concert Series: justbach.marika@gmail.com
Here are more links, including a preview with the Allegro movement in the last one:
youtube.com/channel/UCcyVFEVsJwklHAx9riqSkXQ?
Tags: #BachCantata, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ClassicalMusician, #ComputerScreen, #ConcertSeries, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DaveParminter, #FacebookPage, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GrammyAward, #GrammyNominations, #JacobStockinger, #JesusChrist, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnChappellStowe, #KangwonKim, #LutheranReligion, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MusicatMidday, #Musicfaculty, #MusicProfessor, #OnlineConcert, #SacredHymnofThanksgiving, #SacredMusic, #SarahBrailey, #SingAlong, #SopranoSinger, #SpringSemester, #TheEar, #TheLord, #TheUW, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, accompany, allegro, Arts, attitude, audience, Bach, Bach cantata, Baroque, Baroque music, beauty, blog, Brailey, BWV, Cantata, Chamber music, choral music, Chorale, Christ, Christian, Christianity, church, Classical music, classicalmusic, composer, computer, Concert, concert series, coronavirus, Dave Parminter, display, Early music, email, encourage, experience, extraordinary, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, February, forward, free, Grammy, harpsichord, harpsichordist, help, indefinitely, information, Jacob Stockinger, jaunty, Jesus, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Chappell Stowe, join]forces, Joy, Just Bach, Kangwoo Kim, Keyboard, Kim, like, link, Lord, Luther, Luther Memorial Church, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marika Fischer Hoyt, Mead Witter School of Music, moivement, Music, Music at Midday, music faculty, online, organ, organist, pandemic, Passion, performance, performer, post, posted, posting, professor, pure, ready, remark, sacred, sacred music, Sarah Brailey, screen, semester, share, sing-along, singer, solo, Sonata, soprano, Stowe, tag, The Ear, timeless, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, videographer, viewer, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, virtual, virtuosic\monthly, vocal music, wearm, welcome, well, Wisconsin, work, YouTube
Classical music: University Opera’s production of Mozart’s “Cosi fan tutte” is a musical treat despite its outdated story. Performances remain this afternoon and Tuesday night
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PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog
By Jacob Stockinger
Larry Wells – the very experienced Opera Guy for this blog – took in the University Opera’s production of Mozart’s “Cosi fan tutte” Friday night at Music Hall on Bascom Hill and filed this review. (Performance photos are by Michael R. Anderson.)
By Larry Wells
I attended the opening night of University Opera’s production of Mozart’s “Cosi Fan Tutte” (So Do They All or Such Are Women).
Considered a musical masterpiece, the opera features a cast of six singers who participate in a comedy about love and fidelity. (Below, from left, are Cayla Rosché as Fiordiligi, Benjamin Hopkins as Ferrando, James Harrington as Don Alfonso, Kelsey Wang as Despina, Kevin Green as Guglielmo and Chloe Agostino as Dorabella.)
In director David Ronis’ attempt to make the story more timely, the action took place in a vaguely early 20th-century setting – the Roaring Twenties, to be precise — suggested by the women’s costumes and the art deco set.
Two of the men, who are called off to war, brandished swords, which I believe were not widely used in World War I. (Below, from left, are Benjamin Hopkins as Ferrando, James Harrington as Don Alfonso and Kevin Green as Guglielmo in the opening scene from Act I.)
In any event, an attempt to make an historic artifact with its incumbent unenlightened views of women relevant to the 21st century may be fruitless, and I believe that audiences today recognize the archaic attitudes expressed therein as comic and dated.
That sexist manipulation needs to be discussed today, as suggested in the director’s notes, and that women’s “agency” — to quote an overused academic term — remains an issue today is the tragedy. This comedy goes only a small distance in helping us realize that some things have not changed, even though many have.
But on to the performance.
The three female characters (below) included the vocally stunning Cayla Rosché as Fiordiligi. Her “Come scoglio” was a showstopper. (Below, from left, are Chloe Agostino as Dorabella and Cayla Rosché as Fiordiligi in their Act I duet.)
Chloe Agostino’s sweet soprano perfectly reflected her Dorabella, and Anja Pustaver’s comic turn as Despina revealed an interesting voice that reminded me of Reri Grist’s Oscar in the Erich Leinsdorf recording of Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera” – which is a compliment, albeit possibly obscure.
Kevin Green as Guglielmo grew on me as the evening progressed and as he became more confident. But the standout was James Harrington as Don Alfonso. I feel that he is a major talent in our midst. (Below in the foreground are Cayla Rosché as Fiordiligi and Benjamin Hopkins as Ferrando; in the background are James Harrington as Don Alfonso and Kevin Green as Guglielmo.)
Green and his partner, Benjamin Hopkins’ Ferrando, had to don disguises in order to tempt each other’s intended. In the libretto they disguise themselves as Albanians.
In what I can only hope was a nod to political correctness in order to spare the feelings of our Albanian brothers, they disguised themselves in this production as lumberjacks clad in flannel shirts and denim jeans — which was incongruously absurd but amusing at the same time. (Below,Kelsey Wang, left, as Despina examines Benjamin Hopkins as the Albanian Ferrando in a fake medical examination during the finale of Act I.)
The vocalists shone most in their many ensembles – duets, trios, quartets and sextets. The blendings of the various voices were always harmonious. The trio “Soave sia il vento” (Gentle Be the Breeze) — featuring Rosché, Agostino and Harrington (below) — was sublime and worth the price of admission on its own. (Below, from left, are Chloe Agostino as Dorabella, James Harrington as Don Alfonso and Cayla Rosché as Fiordiligi in the famous Act I trio “Soave sia il vento,” which you can hear in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The UW Symphony Orchestra was ably and nobly led by new conductor Oriol Sans (below) whose hiring proved to be a major coup for the university. Everything I’ve heard him conduct so far has been excellent, and this performance was no exception.
The harpsichord continuo by Thomas Kasdorf (below) was captivating in its nuance and effortlessness – very impressive.
I enjoyed the abstract unit set designed by Joseph Varga and complemented by the effective lighting designed by Zak Stowe.
In all, it was an evening primarily in which to close one’s eyes and listen.
Repeat performances, with alternating cast members, take place this afternoon – Sunday, March 1 – at 2 p.m. and again on Tuesday night, March 3, at 7:30 p.m. Running time is about 3 hours with one intermission. The opera is sung in Italian with English surtitles.
Tickets are $25, $20 for seniors and $10 for students. For more information about the opera, the cast and the production, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/2020/02/10/cosi-fan-tutte/
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Classical music: Music Makers for young children gives its FREE debut concert as a WYSO group this Sunday afternoon. Plus, you can hear violin sonatas by Mozart and Brahms FREE on Friday at noon
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ALERT: This Friday’s FREE Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, features violinist Tyrone Greive, retired UW-Madison Professor and former Madison Symphony Orchestra concertmaster, with pianist Michael Keller in the Sonata in E Minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the Sonata in G Major by Johannes Brahms. The concert runs from 12:15 to 1 p.m.
By Jacob Stockinger
Want to see where music and social justice meet?
WYSO Music Makers (below) will give its inaugural concert as a part of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras on this Sunday, Nov. 19, at UW-Madison Music Hall, 925 Bascom Mall on Bascom Hill, at 4 p.m.
The program includes pieces by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Harold Arlen and more. (No specific titles were provided.)
Admission is FREE.
Free parking is available on Sundays in the nearby Grainger Hall garage.
The Madison Music Makers program was acquired by WYSO in July of 2017. Currently directed by accomplished violinist Paran Amirinazari (below), WYSO Music Makers aims to enrich and develop the music skills of children from all backgrounds in an inclusive, non-competitive environment. (You can hear more background about Music Makers in the YouTube videos below and at the bottom)
“We are proud of each of our students’ progress, their positive attitudes, the kindness they bring to class and show each other, and their openness to the changes this year,” said Amirinazari (below), a UW-Madison graduate who plays with the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Willy Street Chamber Players and is the concertmaster of the Middleton Community Orchestra. “We are so proud they have chosen music as part of their voice.”
For more information about the program, call the WYSO office at (608) 263-3320, or e-mail Paran Amirinazari at paran@wysomusic.org.
WYSO Music Makers is supported by the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation
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