The Well-Tempered Ear
The Willy Street Chamber Players give a free virtual concert this Sunday at noon. It will be posted until Dec. 31
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement from The Willy Street Chamber Players (below), a relatively new group that is critically acclaimed for both its adventurous and eclectic, exploratory programming and for its outstanding performances of both the traditional repertoire and new music.
The Willy Street Chamber Players (WSCP) will play a virtual online concert this Sunday, Nov. 15, at noon CST.
Access to the “Beyond the Screen” concert is FREE and no registration is required. It will be available for free online until Dec. 31 on the group’s website. Here is a link to YouTube: https://youtu.be/j5Ved4FqYSQ
Listeners can visit the WSCP website or Facebook page Sunday at concert time for links to the 70-minute performance. Here is a link to the home website: http://www.willystreetchamberplayers.org
The dynamic WSCP program was recorded live, with masks and social distance, at the historic Gates of Heaven Synagogue (below, exterior and interior during the taping) in James Madison Park in downtown Madison.
The concert will premiere on Facebook live and YouTube, providing two ways to watch from the comfort and safety of your own home.
Members of WSCP will be on hand to interact with viewers in real time through the Facebook and YouTube virtual chat during the performance. They will provide spoken program notes.
Then, immediately following the concert, you can join WSCP members for a Q&A “reception” on ZOOM at 1:15 pm.
The concert program is:
Sonata for Violin and Cello (1922) by French composer Maurice Ravel (below)
“Allegro,” the first of Four Pieces for Solo Cello (1983) by Cuban-born composer Tania León (below), which you can hear in the YouTube video at the bottom.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tania_León
Canción de Cuna Del Niño Negro (Cradle Song of the Black Baby, 1937) by Cuban composer Amadeo Roldán y Gardes (below), as arranged by Rachel Barton Pine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadeo_Roldán
“Heart O’ the Hills” from Appalachian Duets, Op. 38, No. 8 (2001) by American composer Maria Newman (below), who is the youngest daughter of famous Hollywood film composer Alfred Newman.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Newman
Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7 (1914), by Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodaly
Tags: #AlfredNewman, #AmadeoRoldányGardes, #AmericanComposer, #AppalachianDuets, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #CityofMadison, #ConcertProgram, #CoronavirusPandemic, #CradleSong, #CriticalAcclaim, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #Cubancomposer, #FacebokPosting, #FacebookPage, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FilmMusic, #Frenchcomposer, #GatesofHeavenSynagogue, #HomeWebsite, #HungarianComposer, #JacobStockinger, #JamesMadisonPark, #LiveMusic, #MariaNewman, #MauriceRavel, #MovieMusic, #NewMusic, #OnlineConcert, #ProgramNotes, #RachelBartonPine, #RealTime, #RecordedMusic, #SocialDistance, #StringMusic, #TaniaLeon, #TheEar, #TraditionalRepertoire, #VirtualConcert, #WillyStreetChamberPlayers, #WomenComposers, #YouTubevideo, #ZoltanKodaly, #ZoomMeeting, acclaim, adventurous, Alfred Newman, allegro, Amadeo Roldán y Gardes, America, American composer, announcement, Appalachia, arrangement, baby, beyond, black, blog, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, chat, comfort, composer, Concert, coronavirus, cradle song, Cuba, Cuban, daughter, December, downtown, duo, dynamic, eclectic, exploratory, explore, exterior, Facebook, Facebook page, famous, film music, forward, France, free, French, Gates of Heaven Synagogue, group, historic, Hollywood, Home, home website, Hungarian, Hungary, interact, interior, Jacob Stockinger, James Madison, James Madison Park, Jew, Jewish, Kodaly, like, link, live music, lullaby, Madison, Maria Newman, mask, Maurice Ravel, member, movie, movie composer, New Music, noon, November, online, oral, outstanding, page, pandemic, Park, performance, piece, play, post, program, program notes, programming, Q&A, Rachel Barton Pine, Ravel, real time, reception, recorded, registration, relative, repertoire, repertory, require, RSVP, safety, screen, share, social distance, Sonata, song, spken, string, string music, Sunday, synagogue, tag, Tania Leon, taped, taping, The Ear, traditional, Tye Ear, viewer, Violin, violinist, virtual, visit, watch, Website, Willy Street Chamber Players, Wisconsin, women, women composer, women composers, young, YouTube, Zoltan Kodaly, Zoom
Classical music: Minimalist pioneer Steve Reich turns 80 and now finds his music in the mainstream. Plus, here is the program for the clavichord concert on Sunday
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ALERT: The Ear has received late notice of the program for the clavichord concert on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. in the Gates of Heaven Synagogue in James Madison Park.
The music, to be played by early music specialist David Schrader of Roosevelt University in Chicago, includes the Partita No. 5 in G Major, BWV 829, by Johann Sebastian Bach; the Sonata in C Major, K. 330, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; the Sonata No. 44 in G minor by Franz Joseph Haydn; and the Sonata in A minor by Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach.
For more information about the unusual concert, go to:
By Jacob Stockinger
Here is another better-late-than-never posting.
Composer Steve Reich, along with Philip Glass, was one of the pioneering giants of minimalism in classical music, which in turn influenced even pop music icons such as David Bowie and Brian Eno. (You can hear Part 1 of his influential and hypnotic work “Drumming” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Last month Steve Reich turned 80.
Here is a story that traces the evolution of Reich’s career and art — including his reliance on rhythm, his use of percussion and words, and his exploration and rediscovery of Judaism — from the Deceptive Cadence blog for National Public Radio (NPR):
And here is another story from The New York Times that covers Reich past, present and future:
Enjoy!
Tags: Arts, Bach, blog, Brian Eno, Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Chamber music, Classical music, clavichord, David Bowie, David Schrader, Deceptive Cadence, drum, drumming, Early music, Gates of Heaven, Haydn, Jacob Stockinger, James Madison Park, Johann Sebastian Bach, Judaism, Madison, minimalism, Mozart, National Public Radio, New York Times, NPR, partita, percussion, Reich, rhythm, Roosevelt University, Sonata, Steve Reich, synagogue, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, words, YouTube
Classical music: The venerable early music group Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble celebrates the 300th birthday of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach with fine style and revealing contexts that anticipate Mozart and Beethoven. Plus, many UW-Madison choirs perform two performances of a one-hour seasonal program in FREE “Choral Prism” concert this Sunday afternoon at 2 and again at 4.
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ALERT: Two one-hour performances of the FREE Choral Prism Concert, featuring all of UW-Madison choral choirs, will take place on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. in Luther Memorial Church (below), 1021 University Ave. Performing short pieces of seasonal music — winter, Christmas, Hanukkah — under conductor and director Beverly Taylor are the UW Chorale, UW Concert Choir, UW Madrigal Singers, UW Masters Singers and Women’s Chorus Opera and Voice. There is an optional sing-along for the audience. Sorry, The Ear has received no word on specific composers and works.
By Jacob Stockinger
Here is a special posting, a review written by frequent guest critic and writer for this blog, John W. Barker. Barker (below) is an emeritus professor of Medieval history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also is a well-known classical music critic who writes for Isthmus and the American Record Guide, and who for 20 years hosted an early music show every other Sunday morning on WORT FM 89.9 FM. He serves on the Board of Advisors for the Madison Early Music Festival and frequently gives pre-concert lectures in Madison.
By John W. Barker
After almost 25 years, as the first and longest-surviving group bringing early music to Madison on a regular basis, the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble (below) is still going strong.
And two days after Thanksgiving, on the tail end of a University of Wisconsin-Madison football game, it came up with a remarkably rich and generous program, performed at a familiar venue, the historic Gates of Heaven synagogue (below) in James Madison Park.
Part of the richness was the idea of a partial theme: commemorating the 300th anniversary year of the birth of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (below, 1714-1788).
Of eight program slots, three were devoted to C.P.E.’s music. The opening item was a Trio Sonata in D minor, for two flutes and basso continuo, played by flutists Brett Lipshitz and Monica Steger, with cellist Anton TenWolde cellist (below) and harpsichordist Max Yount. (You can hear the Trio Sonata in D minor at the bottom in a YouTube video.)
Written during C.P.E.’s service to the flute-obsessed Frederick the Great of Prussia, it is a conservative piece that still looks back to the late Baroque styles of the composer’s famous father, Johann Sebastian Bach. On the other hand, three short practice Sonatinas from the very end of C.P.E.’s life (played by Yount) can be related to the piano sonatas that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was writing exactly at the same time.
Most fascinating of all, however, was a Sonata for Viola da gamba and Harpsichord obligato, dating from 1759. An intricate and demanding work, it has its own musical substance, the opening of which Eric Miller (below, in photo by Katrin Talbot) brought off brilliantly, with Yount. But clearly as a duet for two equal instruments (abandoning the old keyboard continuo function), it gave hints of Ludwig van Beethoven’s cello sonatas, to come a half-century and more later.
As against the works of the birthday boy, instrumental pieces by three other composers were offered, composers roughly parallel in lifespan to C.P.E., but whose individual differences made nice contrasts to the latter’s style.
Rather conventionally post-Baroque was a sonata for cello and bass by the Dutch composer Pieter Hellendaal (1721-1799). But pre-Classical virtuosity was the hallmark of a Sonata for traverse flute and continuo by Johann Philipp Kirnberger (1721-1783), played with wonderful flair by Lipshutz, with Steger shifting to the harpsichord as partner.
Particularly interesting, though, was a chamber work by a dimly remembered French composer of the day, Louis-Gabriel Guillemain (1705-1770). The scoring of this sonata pitted a seemingly unbalanced trio of two flutes and gamba against the basso continuo: the manipulations of color and texture were full of wit and cleverness, especially in the last of its four movements.
There were also two vocal works, for some added contrast. Soprano Consuelo Sañudo (below) sang a cantata, on a text about tempestuous love by slightly earlier Baroque French master Michel Piglet de Montéclair. She displayed in this her usual combination of precision and stylistic flair.
And then, for the program’s closer, she sang a Spanish “villancico” by Juan Hidalgo de Polanco, whose life span (1614-1685) was almost exactly identical with C.P.E. Bach’s, by one century earlier. This was, in fact, composed for four vocal parts with basso continuo, but for this the other three vocal parts were rendered instrumentally, thus bringing the full group of six performers together in a grand finale.
This was, in all, an unusually long program, but one filled with surprises, discoveries and delights. It proved another reminder of the WBE’s endless gifts to Madison’s musical life.
Tags: American Record Guide, Arts, Bach, Baroque, basso continuo, Beethoven, Beverly Taylor, Cantata, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Cello, Chamber music, Choir, choral music, Christmas, Classical music, D minor, Early music, flute, football, Frederick the Great, French music, Gates of Heaven, Hanukkah, harpsichord, Jacob Stockinger, James Madison Park, Johann Sebastian Bach, John W. Barker, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Early Music Festival, madrigal, Medieval history, Mozart, Music, Piano, Prussia, seasonal music, sing-along, Sonata, sonatina, songs, soprano, Spanish music, trio sonata, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, viola da gamba, Violin, vocal music, winter, Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, WORT-FM 89.9, YouTube
Classical music: The Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble will explore vocal music of the 16th and 17th centuries this Sunday afternoon at a new venue -– Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church. Plus, music for trumpet, cello and piano is featured at this week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society.
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ALERT: This week’s FREE Friday Musicale, to be held from 12:15 to 1 p.m. at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, will feature “Triple Play” — trumpeter David Miller, cellist Amy Harr and pianist Jane Peckham in music of Eric Ewazon, William Schmidt, and Johannes Brahms. The concert is in the historic Landmark Auditorium.
By Jacob Stockinger
The early music and period instrument group Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble will perform a concert of vocal and instrumental chamber music of largely the 16th and 17th centuries.
PLEASE NOTE: The concert will be performed at 3 p.m. on this Sunday, October 19, at Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church — That is a change of venue from the usual Gates of Heaven Synagogue in James Madison Park. The church is located at 1833 Regent Street, on Madison’s near west side across from Randall Elementary School.
Performers are UW-Madison professor soprano Mimmi Fulmer; mezzo-soprano Consuelo Sañudo; recorder and dulcian players Theresa Koenig; traverse, recorder and harpsichord player Monica Steger; viola da gamba and cornetto players Eric Miller; baroque cello player Anton TenWolde; and organist and harpsichord player Max Yount.
Works by Scarani, Heinrich Schuetz, d’India, J.S. Bach, Bertoli, and Simpson will be featured.
Tickets at the door only: $20 for the general public, $10 for students.
For more information (608) 238-5126 or info@wisconsinbaroque.org, or visit www.wisconsinbaroque.org.
Here is the complete program: Prelude for Solo Viola da gamba by Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe (ca. 1640–1700); “Ancor che col partire” from “French Motets, Madrigals and Songs” by Giovanniu Bassano (ca. 1561-1617) viola da gamba solo; “Music for Two Voices” (1615) by Sigusmondo d’India (ca. 1582-1629); Sonata for Dulcian and Basso continuo by Giovanni Antonio Bertoli (1598-1645); Sonata XII for Traverse and basso continuo by Johan Helmich Roman (1694-1758); INTERMISSION; Sonata decima quarta a tre, duoi canti e basso by Giuseppe Scarani (1628–1641); Two Divisions for the Practice of Learners by Christopher Simpson (1606–1669); “Komm, du süsse Todesstunde” (Come, Sweet Hour of Death, the tenor aria from which can be heard at bottom in a YouTube video), from Cantata 161 by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750); “Tugend ist der beste Freund,” SWV 442, by Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672).
Tags: Arts, Bach, Baroque, Cantata, Cello, Chamber music, Christopher Simpson, Classical music, Early music, First Unitarian Society of Madison, flute, Friday, Gates of Heaven Synagogue, harpsichord, Heinrich Schütz, Jacob Stockinger, James Madison Park, Johan Helmich Roman, Johann Sebastian Bach, Madison, Mezzo-soprano, Music, Piano, Sonata, soprano, tneor, trio, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viol, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble, YouTube
Classical music: Two concerts of New Music and Early Music by three local groups will both take place on the Saturday of this very busy weekend.
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By Jacob Stockinger
This is a crazy busy weekend for classical music fans in Madison.
On Friday night at 8 p.m. in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra closing out its season with pianist Stewart Goodyear playing his own Piano Concerto and Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Choral” Fantasy (plus the “Eroica” Symphony) on Friday night.
On Friday night at 8 p.m. in Mills Hall is also the University of Iowa Center for New Music in a FREE concert.
Also on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in Music Hall is the University Opera’s first of three performances of Hector Berlioz’ opera “Beatrice and Benedict.” It is the farewell production of director William Farlow, who is retiring this spring.
Then on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Morphy Hall is the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music’s Perlman Piano Trio, in a FREE concert of Franz Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert and Antonin Dvorak. At 8 p.m. in Mills Hall is the UW-Madison Concert Choir and Chamber Orchestra performing Johann Sebastian Bach’s “St. John Passion” under conductor and director Beverly Taylor.
And on Sunday at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. is the First Unitarian Society of Madison performing Gabriel Faure’s lovely and calming Requiem. Admission is FREE and open to the public. And the on Sunday evening at 7 p.m., the UW Chorale Concert, under Bruce Gladstone, will perform a FREE concert in Mills Hall.
BUT…
But two concerts on Saturday by smaller local groups presenting old music and new music should also not be overlooked.
On Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. in Luther Memorial Church (below) at 1021 University Avenue, there is a FREE concert featuring new music by two local groups.
“New Music Concert and Conversation” is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC and features new works for the percussion group Clocks in Motion (below top) and the woodwind quintet Black Marigold (below bottom) by student composers across the country. Two of the four winning composers will be in attendance to speak about their work and answer questions from the audience.
Immediately following the performance, Clocks in Motion and Black Marigold members will speak about the challenges and rewards of performing new music.
The New Music Concert is part of the 18th annual conference of the Midwest Graduate Music Consortium (MGMC), which will take place at UW-Madison on April 11 and 12. MGMC is a joint venture organized by graduate students from Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and UW-Madison. MGMC encourages the presentation of original research and the composition of new music by graduate and advanced undergraduate students.
Details about the conference, including a full schedule and list of abstracts, can be found at the MGMC website. The conference includes papers by students from MGMC sister schools and institutions across the U.S. and Canada. Tamara Levitz, UCLA, will give a keynote lecture, “Riot at the Rite: Racial Exclusion and the Foundations of Musical Modernism.” Registration is FREE. Please send an email to kahiser@wisc.edu or mgmc2014conference@gmail.com if you plan to attend. (No registration is necessary for the New Music Concert).
The program includes:
Works for Clocks in Motion:
Kristina Warren, University of Virginia . . . Adelaide
Benjamin O’Brien, University of Florida . . . cadenceStudie
Works for Black Marigold (below):
Kenn McSperitt, University of Oklahoma . . . Eight
Matthew R. Durrant, University of Utah . . . Quintet No. 2
Then on Saturday night at 8 p.m. in the historic Gates of Heaven Synagogue (below), located at 300 East Gorham Street, in James Madison Park in downtown Madison, the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble will perform a concert of vocal and instrumental early music on period instruments.
The program includes:
1. Wilhelm Friedemann Bach – Duet No. 2 for two flutes in E-flat major, F. 55
2. Jean Baptiste Barrière – Cello Sonata No. 3, Book 2
3. Georg Philipp Telemann – Suite 1 from “Six Paris Quartets”
4. Johann Friedrich Fasch – Sonata for bassoon and continuo in C major
INTERMISSION
5. Benoit Guillement – Sonata No. 1 for two traversi
6. Johann Sebastian Bach – “Die Schätzbarkeit der weiten Erde” from cantata BWV 204 (heard at the bottom in a YouTube video featuring violinist Itzhak Perlman and soprano Kathleen Battle.)
7. Carl Friedrich Abel – Sonata a viola da gamba solo et basso, WKO 160.
8. Johann Christian Bach – Quartetto for traverso, violin, viola, and bass.
9. Joseph Bodin de Boismortier – Concerto a cing parties, from Op.37.
Tickets are available only at the door. Admission is $15, $10 for students. Feel free to bring your own chair or pillow. For more information, call (608) 238-5126 or visit www.wisconsinbaroque.org.
Members of the Wisconsin Barqoue Ensemble are: Theresa Koenig – baroque bassoon; Brett Lipshutz – traverse; Mary Perkinson – baroque violin; Consuelo Sañudo – mezzo-soprano; Monica Steger – traverse; Eric Miller – viola da gamba, baroque cello; Anton TenWolde – baroque cello; and Max Yount – harpsichord.
Tags: Antonín Dvořák, Arts, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, Chamber music, chamber orchestra, choral music, Classical music, concerto, Early music, Fasch, First Unitarian Society of Madison, Franz Schubert, Gates of Heaven Synagogue, Jacob Stockinger, James Madison Park, Johann Christian Bach, Johann Friedrich Fasch, Johann Sebastian Bach, Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Metropolitan Opera, Music, New Music, Orchestra, Overture Center, Passion, percussion, Piano, Piano Trio, Quartet, quintet, Requiem, Saturday, Sonata, Telemann, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, woodwind, Woodwind quintet, YouTube
Classical music: The Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble will perform instrumental and vocal early music by Vivaldi, Telemann, Monteverdi and other composers this Sunday afternoon.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble, the early music group based in Madison, will perform a concert of instrumental and vocal chamber music on Sunday, February 9, at 3 p.m. in the historic Gates of Heaven Synagogue (below), 300 East Gorham Street, in James Madison Park in downtown Madison.
Performers in the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble include: University of Wisconsin-Madison Mimmi Fulmer, soprano; Consuelo Sañudo, mezzo-soprano; Theresa Koenig, recorder and baroque bassoon; Brett Lipshutz, traverse and recorder; Mary Perkinson, baroque violin; Monica Steger, traverse and recorder; Eric Miller, viola da gamba and baroque cello; Anton TenWolde, baroque cello; and Max Yount, harpsichord.
Tickets at the door only are $15 ($10 for students). Feel free to bring your own chair or pillow. For more information 608-238-5126 or visit www.wisconsinbaroque.org
The program consists of:
1. Louis-Antoine Dornel – Sonate en Quattuor
2. Claudio Monteverdi – “Lamento d’Arianna”
3. Johann Mattheson – Sonata for three recorders, Opus 1, No. 5
4. Georg Philipp Telemann – Sonata 1 from “Six Quatuors” (Paris Quartets) TWV42:A1
INTERMISSION
5. Sigismondo d’India – “Dove potro”
“Chi nudrisce”
6. Michel Corette – Sonata in E minor, Opus 25, No. 4: “Les Amusements D’Appollon Chez Le Roi Admete”
7. Antonio Vivaldi – “Pianti, sospiri”, RV 676
8. Joseph Bodin de Boismortier – “Balets de Village en Trio,” Opus 52, No. 1
Tags: Antonio Vivaldi, Arts, Baroque, Chamber music, Classical music, Claudio Monteverdi, Early music, Gates of Heaven Synagogue, Georg Philipp Telemann, instrumental music, Jacob Stockinger, James Madison Park, Madison, Sunday, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: The early music group Eliza’s Toyes celebrates winter this weekend with two performances of Medieval and Renaissance British vocal music.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Madison-based early music group Eliza’s Toyes (below) will be performing British sacred choral music from the Medieval and Renaissance eras in two performances – one FREE and one with admission — this coming weekend.
Here is a press release from the group:
“Titled “A British Winter,” the performances will take place on Saturday, Jan. 18, at 7:30 p.m. at the Chocolaterian Café, 2004 Atwood Ave.; and again on Sunday, Jan. 19, at 4 p.m. at the historic Gates of Heaven Synagogue (below), 302 East Gorham Street in James Madison Park.
Admission is free on Saturday at the Chocolaterian; tickets are $15 ($10 for students) on Sunday, sold at the door.
For more information about the concert, please visit the website of Eliza’s Toyes at toyes.info, or its Facebook page at facebook.com/elizastoyes.
In this program, Eliza’s Toyes revisits its founding mission of a cappella early music. The musicians who will perform are sopranos Deb Heilert and Chelsie Propst; Sandy Erickson, alto; Peter Gruett, alto/tenor; Jerry Hui (below), tenor/bass; and Mark Werner, baritone.
A vocal sextet will perform music with Latin and English text composed by William Byrd, Robert Fayrfax, Peter Phillips, Thomas Tallis, Thomas Tomkins, and Christopher Tye. A few anonymous pieces likely of British origin are also included.
The choice of composers spans at least 200 years, and highlights the development of polyphonic British music. Tallis (below) in his early age took works of Fayrfax as a model for his own Latin sacred music; Byrd studied with and worked for Tallis; and both Tomkins and Philips were students of Byrd’s.
Here is the complete program of “A British Winter”:
Anon.: Regina caeli (chant)
Anon.: Regina caeli à 3
William Byrd (1540-1623): Memento salutis auctor
Byrd: O magnum mysterium (sung in a YouTube video at the bottom)
Robert Fayrfax (1464-1521): Magnificat “O bone Jesu”
Peter Philips (1560-1628): O beatum et sacrosanctum Diem (1612)
Thomas Tallis (1505-1585): O sacrum convivium (1575)
Christopher Tye (1505-1573): A sound of angels
Tallis: O nata lux (1575)
Thomas Tomkins (1572-1656): Music Divine (1622)
Anon.: Tidings True
Anon.: There is no rose
Byrd: Sing Joyfully (1641)
Among the selection of music is a rarely heard piece, Magnificat “O bone Jesu” by Fayrfax. Likely composed around 1500-1502, it is a setting of Magnificat text whose musical material is based on Fayrfax’s own motet (survived only in fragments). The piece is a fine example of English choral music of its time: polyphonic settings are only written for the even verses, while the odd verses remain as plainchant; and much of the piece features a trio texture, with intricate rhythmic interactions among voices.
Eliza’s Toyes is a Madison-based early music ensemble specialized in performing vocal and wind music from before 1700. Its creative concert programs often feature geographical or narrative themes, partnering with both music and non-music academic fields. Now in its fifth season, Eliza’s Toyes has been performing at least twice a year, in various venues including UW-Madison Memorial Library, the Chazen Museum of Art, and the Gates of Heaven. It has also been featured on Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Sunday Afternoon Live from the Chazen” concert series.
Tags: anonymous, British, British music, Chazen Museum of Art, Choir, choir music, Christopher Tye, Early music, Eliza's Toyes, Gates of Heaven, Gates of Heaven Synagogue, Jacob Stockinger, James Madison Park, Jerry Hui, Madison, Medieval, Peter Philips, Renaissance, Robert Fayrfax, Saturday, Thomas Tallis, Thomas Tomkins, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, William Byrd, wisconsin public radio, YouTube
Classical music: As the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble approaches its 25th anniversary and goes non-profit, it once again demonstrates its versatility and virtuosity.
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ALERT: On this Tuesday, December 3, at 8:30 p.m. in Morphy Recital Hall, the UW-Madison Early Music Ensemble, under the direction of performer sand Telemann scholar Professor Jeanne Swack (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot), will be present a FREE concert of 18th-century chamber music, including works by Benedetto Marcello, Georg Philipp Telemann, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Johann Joachim Quantz, and Scherer. Here is a link to the UW School of of Music events calendar. Click on the concert listing and read the fascinating and informative notes about the program.
http://www.music.wisc.edu/calendar
By Jacob Stockinger
Here is a special posting, a review written by frequent guest critic and writer for this blog, John W. Barker. Barker (below) is an emeritus professor of Medieval history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also is a well-known classical music critic who writes for Isthmus and the American Record Guide, and who hosts an early music show every other Sunday morning on WORT FM 89.9 FM. He serves on the Board of Advisors for the Madison Early Music Festival and frequently gives pre-concert lectures in Madison.
By John W. Barker
Despite the distractions of the Thanksgiving weekend, and tricky weather, the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble drew a quite respectable audience of about 60 to its latest concert at the Gates of Heaven historic synagogue in James Madison Park on Saturday night.
That venue may seem austere but the acoustics are splendid, and the scale of its hall matches the spacial qualities of a Baroque salon where cultivated friends would gather to make music together. That is true “chamber” music. (Judge for yourself by listening to the group performing a work by C.P.E. Bach at the Gates of Heaven in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
And that is exactly the spirit that the WBE seeks to recreate, with a pool of excellent specialist performers. Cellist Anton TenWolde (below) has worked to emphasize collegiality, describing his group as a “collective,” with himself as a traffic cop rather than as dictator. For each program, performers propose pieces that they would like to explore, and the menu is worked out by agreement.
The team this time consisted of six instrumentalists and one singer, all of them established WBE veterans. A recurrent Hispanic element was contributed by mezzo-soprano Consuelo Sañudo, who sang three endearing solo numbers of the 17th century, partly from Spain, but one, a Christmas piece, from Mexico.
French music was a strong component, with Brett Lipshutz tossing off with flair a sonata for traverso flute by Louis-Antoine Dornel. Also on traverso, Monica Steger joined him for a trio sonata by Jacques-Martin Hotteterre. And gamba player Eric Miller bravely brought to vigorous life a really high-power set of pieces by Antoine Forqueray.
But there was a strong German component as well. Harpsichordist Max Yount played a multi-fugal keyboard Capriccio by Georg Böhm–the only solo piece (that is, without any bass players) in the program. More-or-less German composers were represented in performances by Theresa Koenig. First, in the best-known of the sonatas for recorder and basso continuo (in A minor) by George Frideric Handel (below top), and then, in a switch of instruments, a probing sonata by Georg Philipp Telemann (below bottom) for bassoon and continuo.
Such versatility was by no means unique in this program. The amazingly accomplished Steger not only appeared on recorder or traverso but also in the harpsichord continuo role in the two sonatas played by Koenig. In other rotations, gambist Miller and cellist TenWolde took turns as the string player in the ever-present continuo functions.
It has become needless to say that these performers are all skilled musicians. We are also used to the warm collegiality they display, in sharing music with each other, and with the audience. The program formats, the performing location, have become comfortably familiar to those who are the group’s loyal followers.
But it is ever so easy to take all that for granted. What needs to be pointed out is the durability of the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble. Building on some earlier groupings and activities, it was founded by TenWolde in 1990, and has been performing ever since. That is to say, it will soon be celebrating its 25th anniversary!
In many ways, the full blossoming of early music activities burst forth with the creation of the annual Madison Early Music Festival in 2000. But for a decade before that, the WBE was busily preparing the ground, and has continued to add depth and nuance to that part of our musical scene
Such an achievement deserves not only acclaim, but also audience support. The group has become legally incorporated and will seek tax-exempt status. That status that will become official on January 1, 2014, a year before the WBE marks its 25th anniversary. So it is most definitely here to stay, as an important factor in Madison’s musical life.
Tags: American Record Guide, Baroque, Benedetto Marcello, C.P.E. Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Early music, Georg Philipp Telemann, George Frideric Handel, Jacob Stockinger, James Madison Park, Johann Joachim Quantz, Louis-Antoine Dornel, Madison, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: The Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble will perform a NON-holiday concert this Saturday night. Also on Saturday, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and the Canadian Brass celebrate the holidays and the city of Middleton’s 50th anniversary.
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ALERT: Middleton Tourism and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra invite you to a holiday celebration with the world famous Canadian Brass (below) at Middleton’s Performing Arts Center attached to Middleton High School. Two performances are on this Saturday, November 30, at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. The concert will also celebrate “Happy 50th Anniversary” to the city of Middleton with an exciting program of seasonal favorites including “Gesu Bambino,” “Winter Wonderland,” “Christmas Time is Here” and “Polonaise” from “Christmas Eve.” For more information, visit:
http://wcoconcerts.org/performances/special-performances/73/event-info/
By Jacob Stockinger
This Saturday night at 8 p.m., the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble (below) will perform a concert of baroque vocal and instrumental chamber music performed on period instruments.
The concert will take place at the Historic Gates of Heaven Synagogue (below) in James Madison Park in downtown Madison at 300 East Gorham Street.
The performers include: Consuelo Sañudo – mezzo soprano; Theresa Koenig – recorder, baroque bassoon; Brett Lipshutz – traverse; Monica Steger – traverso, recorder; Eric Miller – viola da gamba, baroque cello; Anton TenWolde – baroque cello (below); and Max Yount – harpsichord
Tickets are available at the door only: General admission is $15 ($10 for students). Feel free to bring your own chair or pillow (the wooden pews can feel very hard and uncomfortable).
Here is the unusual program. The first composer is so obscure, the members of the ensemble say that they don’t even have initials for him.
1. Company – “Pagando estoy”
2. Louis-Antoine Dornel (1685-1765) – Sonata No. 4 in D Major from Sonatas for Solo Violin and Suite for Flute
3. Jean Baptiste Barrière – Cello Sonata No. 3, Book 2
4. George Friderich Handel – Sonata 4 in A minor for recorder and basso continuo, HWV 362 (See and hear the YouTube video at bottom.)
5. Clemente Imaña – “Filis yo tengo”
INTERMISSION
6. Georg Böhm – Capriccio in D major
7. Antoine Forqueray – Pièces de viole, Suite No. 1
8. Jaques-Martin Hotteterre – Sonates en trio, Book 1, Op. 3, No. 1
9. Georg Philipp Telemann – Sonata in F minor for bassoon and basso continuo
10. Sebastián Durón – “Al dormir el sol”
For more information, visit www.wisconsinbaroque.org.
Tags: Canadian Brass, Christmas, Georg Philipp Telemann, George Frideric Handel, Jacob Stockinger, James Madison Park, Jean Baptiste Barrière, Louis-Antoine Dornel, Madison, Middleton, Middleton High School, Performing Arts Center, Sebastián Durón, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, YouTube
Classical music: It’s Homecoming Weekend at the UW-Madison. But the classical music scenes doesn’t miss a beat. The Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble performs the music of Telemann, Monteverdi and Corelli plus other less well-known composers on Saturday night. Plus, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra opens its new season tonight at 8 with the Britten “Apollo” and Saint-Saens’ “Egyptian” Piano Concerto No. 5 plus Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony – the best of all Fight Songs for Homecoming football
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A REMINDER: Going up against both the start of the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s organ series and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Homecoming Weekend won’t be easy. But the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra shouldn’t be forgotten or dismissed. The WCO opens its new season tonight at 8 p.m in the Overture Center’s Capitol Theater.
On the program, under the baton of the WCO’s longtime music director Andrew Sewell and with guest piano soloist and synesthesiac Bryan Wallick (below and in the link to my Q&A) in his Madison debut, are Benjamin Britten’s “Apollo” and Camille Saint-Saens’ “Egyptian” Piano Concerto No. 5 plus Ludwig van Beethoven’s iconic Fifth Symphony –- the best of all possible classical Fight Songs for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Homecoming weekend (as you can hear in the popular YouTube video with over 17 million hits at the bottom). Talk about winners!
By Jacob Stockinger
It is Homecoming Weekend at the University of Wisconsin-Madison!!!
That mean Badger football and beer, and social gatherings and beer, and dinners out and beer.
But it also means some fine classical music.
The Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble (below top) opens its new season tomorrow night, Saturday, October 12, at 8 p.m. in the historic Gates of Heaven Synagogue (below bottom) at 300 East Gorham Street, in James Madison Park in downtown Madison on the shore of Lake Mendota.
Tickets at the door are $15 ($10 for students). Feel free to bring your own chair or pillow to soften hard wooden pews.
For more information 608 238-5126 or visit www.wisconsinbaropque.org
Performers includes: UW School of Music alumnus Gerrod Pagenkopf, countertenor; UW professor Mimmi Fulmer, soprano; Consuelo Sañudo, mezzo-soprano; Theresa Koenig, recorder; Monica Steger, traverso, recorder; Brett Lipshutz, traverse; Eric Miller, viola da gamba; Anton TenWolde, baroque cello; and Max Yount, harpsichord and organ
The program includes: Trio Sonata from “Tafelmusik,” TWV 42 DS, by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767); Two madrigals, “La giovinetta pianta” and “Vattene pur crudel” (both form Book 3) by Claudio Monteverdi (below, 1567–1643); the Sonata No. 2, Op. 2, by Benoît Guillemant (1746-1757); Three Madrigals from Claudio Monteverdi, “Occhi un tempo” (book 3), “Poi che del mio dolore (book 1), and “Lumi miei cari” (book 3); the Airs et Brunettes by Jacques-Martin Hotteterre (1674-1763); Sonata No. 3 for Recorder and Basso Continuo by Arcangelo Corelli; and “La Calisto,” Act 2, Scenes 1 and 2 by Francesco Cavalli (1602 –1676).
Tags: Baroque, Baroque music, Benjamin Bitten, Claudio Monteverdi, countertenor, Gates of Heaven Synagogue, Georg Philipp Telemann, Homecoming, Jacob Stockinger, James Madison Park, Lake Mendota, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Overture Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW School of Music, Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, YouTube
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