The Well-Tempered Ear

The Madison Bach Musicians host a virtual online Baroque Tour starting this Saturday, April 24, and lasting through May 8

April 19, 2021
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By Jacob Stockinger

The Ear has received the following notice from Trevor Stephenson, the founder and artistic director of the Madison Bach Musicians (MBM), who will debut their season-closing concert live and online this coming Saturday night, April 24:

Stephenson (below) writes:

Since travel has been so very limited during the pandemic, Madison Bach Musicians is elated to conclude its 2020-21 season with a musical journey through both space and time, and invites you to join us from the intimacy and safety of your own home.

A Baroque Tour is a musical travelogue of instrumental masterworks from 17th- and 18th-century Europe. Luminaries like Handel, Vivaldi, Purcell and Buxtehude are in the mix on this program with their brilliant though lesser-known contemporaries such as Louis-Gabriel Guillemain (below top), Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Andrea Falconieri (below bottom) and Francisco Jose de Castro.

A Baroque Tour will explore the glorious sonic landscapes of Italy, Spain, France, England and Germany.

Our ensemble for this program consists of five strings plus harpsichord, and we are thrilled that baroque bassoon virtuoso Marc Vallon (below, in a photo by James Gill), who teaches at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, will join us for Vivaldi’s exuberant Bassoon Concerto in B-Flat Major. (You can hear the opening movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

A Baroque Tour will be broadcast via live-streaming from the acoustically spectacular sanctuary of Grace Episcopal Church on this Saturday evening, April 24. (Rebroadcasts will be available on demand through May 8.)

Tickets are $15 and available online at: https://madison-bach-musicians.square.site/product/a-baroque-tour-april-24-2021-livestream-on-demand-until-may-8/57?cs=true&cst=custom

If you wish to purchase tickets through the mail, use this downloadable form: https://madisonbachmusicians.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/MBM-2020-21-Live-Stream-Ticket-Form-A-Baroque-Tour.pdf

Here is the schedule for the concert and related events:

From 7:30-8 p.m., in a pre-concert lecture, MBM artistic director Trevor Stephenson will discuss the composers, the repertoire and the historical instruments.

The performance will run from 8 p.m. until approximately 9:15 p.m.

The evening will then conclude with a live Question-and-Answer session with the musicians who will be socially distanced on the concert platform.

Listeners should submit their questions—in advance or during the broadcast—via email to Karen Rebholz at madisonbachmusicians.manager@gmail.com.

THE MUSICIANS are:

Marc Vallon – baroque bassoon soloist

Kangwon Kim (below) – baroque violin

Emily Dupere – baroque violin

Micah Behr – baroque viola and baroque guitar

Martha Vallon – baroque cello and viola da gamba

James Waldo – baroque cello (and tambourine)

Trevor Stephenson – harpsichord 

THE PROGRAM is:

HANDEL – Sonata in A major for Violin and Continuo, HWV 361

CHARPENTIER – Concerto for Four Viols, H 545

PURCELL – Trio Sonata in C major, Z 795

VIVALDI – Bassoon Concerto in B-flat major, RV 503

GUILLEMAIN – Sonata in A minor for Two Violins, Op. 5, No.1

BUXTEHUDE – Trio Sonata in G major, BuxWV 271

DE CASTRO – Trio Sonata in C major, Op. 1, No. 6

FALCONIERI – La Folia (Folías de España)

Here is a link to some brief biographies and interesting facts about these remarkable composers: https://madisonbachmusicians.org/april-24-a-baroque-tour-a-livestream-event/


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The 10th annual Baroque Holiday Concert by the Madison Bach Musicians is next Saturday night and will be virtual and online

December 6, 2020
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By Jacob Stockinger

On this coming Saturday night, Dec. 12, the Madison Bach Musicians will present their 10th annual Baroque Holiday Concert (below is a photo of a previous year’s holiday concert). 

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s one-hour concert will be a virtual web event.

The program features Baroque masterworks by Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann, Arcangelo Corelli, Joseph Dall’Abaco, Jean Daniel Braun and Marc-Antoine Charpentier. It was recorded Dec. 1-6 in several acoustically superior venues.

Links to the MBM holiday program can be purchased at $15 per household at https://madisonbachmusicians.org. Patrons purchasing the link can view the program the evening of Dec. 12 and anytime afterward through Friday, Dec. 26.

Festivities begin at 7:30 p.m. with MBM director Trevor Stephenson’s 30-minute pre-concert lecture about the repertoire, the composers and the period instruments.

At 8 p.m., viewers will see the 60-minute, high-definition video of the concert portion of the program, followed by a 30-minute Zoom Q&A session with the musicians from their homes. Questions for the Zoom session should be submitted by email to MBM manager Karen Rebholz at madisonbachmusicians.manager@gmail.com.

The concert begins with a selection of nine pieces from the Schemelli Songbook. Georg Schemelli collaborated with Johann Sebastian Bach (below, 1685-1750) in assembling this magnificent collection of spiritual songs, published in Leipzig in 1736. Bach provided most of the bass lines and wonderful harmonizations.

Grammy Award-winning soprano Estelí Gomez and harpsichordist Trevor Stephenson (both below) perform this set in the beautiful chapel at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis.

From the sanctuary of Grace Episcopal Church, on the Capitol Square in downtown Madison, baroque cellist James Waldo (below) will perform Bach’s magisterial Solo Cello Suite No. 4 in E-flat major

UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music bassoon faculty member Marc Vallon (below top, in a photo by James Gill) and esteemed baroque cellist Martha Vallon (below bottom) team up in the Collins Recital Hall of the UW”s Hamel Music Center for a Duo Sonata by Jean Daniel Braun (1703-1738).

Marc will also play a solo bassoon transcription of two Fantasias, originally for solo flute, by Telemann (1681-1767). Martha will perform the meditative Capriccio no. 4 in D minor by Dall’Abaco (1710-1805).

The program concludes at The Crossing in Madison with MBM concertmaster violinist Kangwon Kim (below top), violist Micah Behr (below bottom) and cellist James Waldo joining in a medley of holiday favorites.

They include Greensleeves variations over a ground (repeated bass line); three movements from Christmas Music for Instruments by Charpentier (1643-1704); the Adagio from the Christmas Concerto Op. 6, No. 8 by Corelli (1653-1713), which you can hear in the YouTube video at the bottomand two beloved carols — Lo How a Rose and Sussex Carol – in arrangements by Micah Behr.

MBM wishes to thank Geneva Campus Church for their collaboration in filming this portion of the program as a contribution to their weekly services.

 


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Classical music: Madison Bach Musicians summer workshops in early music are open to the public. A faculty concert is on Wednesday night and a FREE all-participants concert is on Friday at 12:30 p.m.

July 21, 2019
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REMINDER: Madison Opera’s annual Opera is the Park was cancelled last night because of weather and takes place TONIGHT in Garner Park at 8 p.m. For more information, go to: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2019/07/15/classical-music-madison-operas-annual-free-opera-in-the-park-returns-this-saturday-night-july-20-in-garner-park-and-celebrates-18-years-in-madison-plus-a-glimpse-of-the-upcoming-season/

By Jacob Stockinger

The fifth annual Madison Bach Musicians Summer Chamber Music Workshop (below,  a cello class from last year) will be held from Monday, July 23, to Friday, July 26, at the West Middleton Lutheran Church, 3763 Pioneer Road, in Verona, Wisconsin.

The workshop is chaired by MBM assistant artistic director and baroque violinist Kangwon Kim (below), who says: “I’m excited to welcome 32 participants, our largest number ever, working in nine chamber groups this summer to share a week of intense music-making and learning.

” We will explore wonderful repertoire from the baroque and early classical periods, both familiar and rarely performed, while working intensely in an encouraging community that will support musical growth.”

Harpsichordist JungHae Kim (below top) from San Francisco and baroque violist Micah Behr from Madison will join returning faculty members recorder player Lisette Kielson, cellist Martha Vallon (below bottom), dance instructor Karen McShane-Hellenbrand, and MBM founder, artistic director and keyboardist Trevor Stephenson.

Musicians who range in age from 13 to older adulthood will receive personalized ensemble coaching in violin, viola, baroque cello, viola da gamba, piano, fortepiano, harpsichord and recorder. (You can sample the Madison Bach Musicians in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

The public is invited to an evening Faculty Concert and various afternoon classes exploring continuo playing, specific instrument master classes, stage presence for musicians, sight-reading, baroque dance, and more.

The Faculty Concert on Wednesday night, July 23, at 7:30 p.m. will feature works by Carl Heinirch Graun (below top), Francesco Turini, Jean-Henri D’Anglebert (below  bottom), Georg Philipp Telemann, Joseph Bodin de Boismortier and Henry Purcell on period instruments. Admission is $15 at the door.

The all-participants final concert of the music from the workshops is on Friday, July 26, at 12:30 p.m. It is FREE and open to the public.

An Auditor’s Pass for afternoon programming for the entire festival — including the Faculty Concert — is $40.

For more information, go to: https://madisonbachmusicians.org/summer-workshop/


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Classical music: Madison Bach Musicians hold their fourth annual Baroque Summer Chamber Music Workshop with a faculty concert and afternoon performances and classes this coming Tuesday through Friday. Many events are open to the public

July 21, 2018
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By Jacob Stockinger

The fourth annual Madison Bach Musicians Summer Chamber Music Workshop offers an evening Faculty Concert and various afternoon classes exploring baroque dance, ornamentation, continuo playing, specific instrument master classes, and more. (Below is a photo by Mary Gordon from last year’s workshops.)

The workshops, classes and concerts will be held this coming Tuesday through Thursday, July 24-27, at the West Middleton Lutheran Church, 3763 Pioneer Road, in Verona, Wisconsin.

Tickets for the Madison Bach Musicians Faculty Concert on Wednesday night from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. are $15.

The Friday all-workshop concert from 2 to 3:30 p.m. is FREE and open to the public.

An Auditor’s Pass for afternoon programing for the entire festival — including the Faculty Concert — is $40.

MBM artistic director Trevor Stephenson, MBM concertmaster Kangwon Kim and other outstanding faculty members will share their expertise over four afternoons.

Adds Stephenson: “We’re excited about a wonderful new venue for the event—at West Middleton Lutheran Church, which is located at the intersection of Mineral Point and Pioneer Roads, just 10 minutes west of West Towne Mall.

“Twenty-four participants ranging in age from high school to older adulthood will get personalized ensemble coaching from outstanding instructors in violin, cello, piano, harpsichord, recorder and flute.”

Kim (below) adds: “I am thrilled. Of our 24 participants this year, almost half are returning students, which we love.  Most of the our participants come from the Dane County area, but last year we had a participant from France and this year we have a couple from Oklahoma.

“Chamber music is the best way to get to know people as you are learning a new piece – you have a personal voice, but you also need to listen and blend with the other voices.  I am always amazed to see the transformation both musically and socially over the four days of the workshop. I am so excited to meet everyone and to see the magic that happens when these musicians work together.”

Harpsichordist Jason Moy (below) will be returning this year to discuss the art of continuo playing.

Lisette Kielson (below) who offers recorder workshops throughout the United States will lead a class “To Flourish and Grace: Ornamentation!”

Sarah Edgar (below), a specialist in 18th-century stage and dance performance, will focus on the interplay of music and dance rhythms in two afternoon baroque dance classes.

MBM cellist Martha Vallon (below) will explore how to play creative and enjoyable continuo lines for cellists and bassoonists.

The Wednesday night Faculty Concert from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. will feature works by J.S. Bach, Mozart, Telemann, Boismortier, Biber and a special Baroque dance performance-–all performed by the faculty members who specialize in early music with play period instruments.

For information about the specific schedule and enrolling in the workshops, go to take a look the schedule

You can also find more general information at: http://madisonbachmusicians.org/education-and-outreach/summer-workshop/


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