The Well-Tempered Ear
This Wednesday, Just Bach debuts its free 30-minute online concert of solo and chamber organ music with a sing-along cantata chorale
Leave a Comment
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
The Ear has received the following announcement to post:
Happy New Year from Just Bach!
We hope this finds you all well, and ready to experience more of the timeless beauty of music by Johann Sebastian Bach (below, 1685-1750) in 2021, because we have a lovely new program ready to debut on this Wednesday, Jan. 20, at 8 a.m. (It will stay up indefinitely after the premiere, so you can listen to it before or after the Inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris.)
As regular performers on Luther Memorial Church’s weekly “Music at Midday” concert series, Just Bach presents half-hour programs on the third Wednesday of each month. The spring semester’s dates are: Jan. 20, Feb. 17, March 17, April 21 and May 19.
Our online concerts — Dave Parminter is the videographer — are posted early Wednesday mornings at 8 a.m. on the Just Bach and Luther Memorial YouTube Channels. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyVFEVsJwklHAx9riqSkXQ
Viewing the virtual concerts is free to the public, but we ask those who are able to help us pay our musicians with a tax-deductible donation at https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick…
Our January concert opens with Just Bach co-founder and Grammy-nominated soprano Sarah Brailey (below) – a graduate student at the UW-Madison — providing welcoming remarks.
The program offers two trio sonatas from the set of six that Bach composed for solo organ. Bruce Bengston (below) will perform Sonata No. 4 in E Minor, BWV 528, on the big Austin organ up in the church’s balcony.
Then Bruce will switch to the small portative organ and join violinist Kangwon Kim (below top) and violist Marika Fischer Hoyt (below middle) in a performance of Sonata No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 526, arranged for violin, viola and organ continuo (a rehearsal photo is below bottom).
Sarah, who also recorded herself paying a cello part, closes the program with the final chorale from Cantata 149 —Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein (Ah, Lord, let your dear little angel) — a powerfully transcendent movement that Bach also used to close the St. John Passion. (You can hear it 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 Bruce accompanies on the organ.
The world needs this soul-centering music now more than ever. Please join us this Wednesday, Jan. 20.
Tags: #All-Bach, #AustinOrgan, #BachCantata, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BruceBengtson, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ComputerScreen, #ConcertSeries, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DaveParminter, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GraduateStudent, #GrammyAward, #HappyNewYear, #JacobStockinger, #JesusChrist, #JohannSebastianBach, #JustBach, #KamalaHarris, #KangwonKim, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MusicatMidday, #OnlineConcert, #PayPal, #PortativeOrgan, #PresidentBiden, #ProtestantReligion, #SaintJohn, #SarahBrailey, #SheetMusic, #SopranoSinger, #SpringSemester, #St.JohnPassion, #TheEar, #TheInauguration, #TheUW, #TrioSonata, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #Vice-PresidentHarris, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, 2021, accompany, angel, Arts, audience, Austin, Bach, balcony, Baroque, Baroque music, beauty, Biden, blog, Bruce Bengtson, BWV, Cantata, cellist, Cello, center, Chamber music, choral music, Chorale, Christ, Christian, Christianity, church, Classical music, close, co-founder, compose, composer, computer, computer screen, Concert, concert series, continuo, coronavirus, Dave Parminter, debut, display, donate, donation, Early music, ever, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, final, forward, founder, free, graduate student, Grammy, half-hour, Happy New Year, hope, inauguration, Jacob Stockinger, Jesus, Johann Sebastian Bach, join, Joseph Biden, Just Bach, Kamala Harris, Kangwon Kim, like, link, Lord, lovely, Luther Memorial Church, Lutheranism, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marika Fischer Hoyt, Mead Witter School of Music, movement, Music, Music at Midday, need, new, nomination, now, online, open, organ, pandemic, part, Passion, performance, photo, portative organ, post, posting, POTUS, powerful, President, President Biden, program, Protestant, public, ready, rehearsal, Religion, remarks, Saint John, Sarah Brailey, screen, semester, series, share, sheet music, sing, sing-along, singer, solo, Sonata, soprano, soul, Spring, spring semester, St. John Passion, tag, tax-deductible, The Ear, timeless, transcendent, trio sonata, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, vice president, Vice-President Harris, videographer, viewer, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, virtual, virus, vocal music, Wednesday, week, weekly, welcome, well, Wisconsin, world, YouTube, YouTube channel, YouTube video
November’s “Just Bach” FREE online concert is this Wednesday morning at 8 instead of noon. It features two favorites: “Air on the G String” and the Concerto for Two Violins
2 Comments
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.
This Wednesday, Just Bach again shares the timeless beauty of the music by Johann Sebastian Bach (below) from their home in the nave of Luther Memorial Church (LCM), 1021 University Avenue.
The group participates in LMC’s weekly ‘Music at Midday’ concert series at https://www.luthermem.org/music-at-midday. (Please note: Now that the concerts are online instead of in person, the videos will be posted early Wednesday mornings at 8 a.m., instead of at noon. They will remain online indefinitely so viewers can see them at their convenience.).
As part of this series, Just Bach concerts take place on the third Wednesday of each month. Remaining concerts are: Nov. 18, Dec. 16, Jan. 20, Feb. 17, March 17, April 21 and May 19. The programs last approximately 30 minutes.
It is still too risky to have in-person audiences. So in addition to the Luther Memorial website, they will be posted on:
The Just Bach home website at: https://justbach.org/concerts/
The Just Bach Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/JustBachSeries
And the Just Bach YouTube Channel, where previous concerts are still posted, at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyVFEVsJwklHAx9riqSkXQ
Viewing the concerts is FREE, but the group asks those who are able, to help pay the musicians with tax-deductible donations at: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=7A4R7CA8VDRMG&source=url
PLEASE NOTE: New this month will be a half-hour live ZOOM post-concert reception on this Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. CST. Those who would like to join us and chat with the performers can follow this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87144868956?pwd=aHUrR3BNZFF5Y1hlVG1EWkNvMklkQT09
The November concert opens with Just Bach co-founder, UW graduate student and nationally concertizing soprano Sarah Brailey (below), who will provide welcoming remarks and an overview of the program.
Our guest artists this month (below, in a photo by Barry Lewis) are a quartet of string players from the Madison Symphony Orchestra: violinists Leanne League and Xavier Pleindoux; violist Marika Fischer Hoyt; and cellist Lindsey Crabb. Also performing is harpsichordist John Chappell Stowe, a professor in the UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music. Dave Parminter is the videographer.
League and Pleindoux (below, in a photo by Barry Lewis) will play the solo parts in the familiar and beautiful Concerto in D Minor for Two Violins (the ‘Bach Double’), BWV 1043.
Madison Symphony Orchestra audiences will remember their gorgeous performance of this piece at a Christmas Spectacular concert a couple of years back. (You can hear the beautiful and poignant slow movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The ensemble will continue with a movement from the Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068, the serenely transcendent “Air on a G String.”
Sarah Brailey returns to lead the final chorale from Cantata 139, composed for the 23rd Sunday after Trinity, which happens to be this coming Sunday. The stirring title, Dahero Trotz der Höllen Heer! translates as “Therefore Defiance to the Host of Hell.”
We encourage viewers to sing along by following the chorale sheet music, which will be displayed on the screen, as Stowe accompanies on the organ.
Tags: #AironaGString, #AirontheGString, #BachCantata, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ChristmasConcert, #ChristmasSpectacular, #ClassicalMusician, #ComputerScreen, #ConcertoforTwoViolins, #ConcertSeries, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DaveParminter, #DoubleConcerto, #FacebookPage, #FacebookPost, #FacultyMember, #GraduateStudent, #GuestArtist, #HarpsichordContinuo, #HolidayMusic, #HomeWebsite, #InPerson, #JacobStockinger, #JohnChappellStowe, #JustBach, #LeanneLeague, #LindseyCrabb, #LutheranChurch, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MartinLuther, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MusicatMidday, #Musicfaculty, #MusicProfessor, #OnlineConcert, #OrchestralSuite, #PayPal, #ProtestantReligion, #SarahBrailey, #SlowMovement, #SopranoSinger, #StringMusic, #StringPlayers, #StringQuartet, #TheEar, #TheUW, #ViolinConcerto, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #XavierPleindoux, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, #ZoomMeeting, accompany, again, air, Air on a G String, Air on the G String, Arts, audience, Bach, Baroque, beautiful, beauty, beuatiful, blog, Cantata, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, chat, choral music, Chorale, Christian, Christian church, Christmas, Christmas concert, church, Classical music, classicalmusic, composer, computer, Concert, Concert for Two Violins, concert series, concertize, concerto, coronavirus, Dave Parminter, defiance, displayed, donate, donation, double concerto, Early music, encourage, Facebook, Facebook page, faculty, familiar, favorite, feature, final, follow, forward, free, gorgeous, graudate student, guest artist, harpsichord, hell, holiday music, Home, home website, host, in person, J.S. Bach, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Chappell Stowe, join, Just Bach, Leanne League, like, Lindsey Crabb, link, Luther, Luther Memorial Church, Lutheran, Lutheranism, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, major, Marika Fischer Hoyt, Mead Witter School of Music, minor, minute, month, morning, Music, Music at Midday, Musician, national, nave, new, noon, online, Orchestra, Orchestral Suite, organ, pandemic, part, pay, performance, performers, poignant, post, post-concert, posting, professor, program, Protestant, Protestantism, publish, Quartet, reception, Religion, remaining, remarks, role, Sarah Brailey, screen, serene, series, share, sheet music, sing, sing-along, singer, singers, Slow movement, solo, soprano, stirring, stream, string music, string players, String quartet, Sunday, tag, tax-deductible, The Ear, timeless, title, transcendent, translate, translation, Trinity, udience, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, video, videographer, viewer, Viola, Violin, Violin concerto, violinist, violist, virtual, vocal music, Website, Wednesday, weekly, welcome, Wisconsin, Xavier Pleindoux, year, YouTube, Zoom
Classical music: Thursday night, the Middleton Community Orchestra closes its season with duo-pianists in music by Mozart and Saint-Saens, and the latter’s “Organ” Symphony. Wednesday is the last Just Bach concert of the season
1 Comment
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.
ALERT: This Wednesday, May 29, at 1 p.m. in Luther Memorial Church, 1021 University Avenue, is the last FREE Just Bach concert of the season. The one-hour early music program includes: the cantata “Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen” (Praise Ye God in All Lands), BWV 51; Duetto II in F Major, BWV 803; and the cantata “Wachet! Betet! Betet! Wachet!” (Watch! Pray! Pray! Watch!), BWV 70. For more information, go online to the home website: https://justbach.org
By Jacob Stockinger
This Thursday night, May 30, the largely amateur but critically acclaimed Middleton Community Orchestra (below, in a photo by Brian Rupert) will close its ninth season with a special family-friendly concert.
The concert, under the baton of conductor Steve Kurr (below), takes place at 7:30 p.m. in the Middleton Performing Arts Center that is attached to Middleton High School, 2100 Bristol Street.
Guest artists are University of Wisconsin-Madison students and duo-pianists Satoko Hayami (below top) and Thomas Kasdorf (below bottom). They will perform the witty and entertaining “Carnival of the Animals” by Camille Saint-Saens and then the Concerto for Two Pianos, K. 365, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Wisconsin Public Radio host Norman Gilliland (below) will be the narrator in “The Carnival of the Animals.” (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear the opening Introduction and Royal March of the Lion, with the late Sir Roger Moore — aka James Bond or 007 — as the narrator plus an all-star cast of musicians and some very cool animal videos in back-and-white.)
The concert concludes with the always impressive, ambitious and popular Symphony No. 3 — the famous “Organ” Symphony – by Saint-Saens (below, seated at the piano in 1900).
Adds MCO co-founder Mindy Taranto: “We are really excited to share a special concert with the community as we celebrate the end of MCO’s ninth season.
“It took a village to make this concert possible. Farley’s House of Pianos is donating the use of an 1890 Steinway to match the Steinway at the hall. WPR radio host Norman Gilliland is generously volunteering to narrate the ‘Carnival of the Animals’ and Full Compass is offering us a discount on the sound equipment we need to play the “Organ” Symphony. Our very own recording engineer, Alex Ford, is playing the organ.
“Please bring your kids and share this information to invite all students free of charge to hear this concert.”
Admission is $15 for adults; all students get in for free. Tickets are available at the Willy Street Coop West and at the door. The box office opens at 6:30 p.m. and the auditorium opens at 7 p.m.
As usual, after the concert there will be a free meet-and-greet reception for musicians and the public.
For more information about this concert, and about how to join or support the Middleton Community Orchestra, call 608 212-8690 or go online to: http://middletoncommunityorchestra.org
Tags: #AlexFord, #BachCantata, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoxOffice, #CamilleSaint-Saens, #CarnivaloftheAnimals, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianChurch, #CriticalAcclaim, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FamilyFriendly, #Farley'sHouseofPianos, #FullCompass, #HistoricallyInformedPerformancePractices, #JamesBond, #JesusChrist, #JohannSebastianBach, #JustBach, #LutheranChurch, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MartinLuther, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #Meet-and-Greet, #MiddletonCommunityOrchestra, #MiddletonHighSchool, #MiddletonPerformingArtsCenter, #NormanGilliland, #OrganMusic, #OrganSymphony, #PeriodInstruments, #PianoConcerto, #ProtestantReformation, #ProtestantReligion, #RadioHost, #RogerMoore, #SatokoHayami, #SteinwayPiano, #SteveKurr, #TheLord, #ThomasKasdorf, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VocalMusic, #WillySt.CoopWest, #WillyStreetCoopWest, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, 007, adult, alert, Alex Ford, all-star, amateur, ambitious, animal, Arts, audience, auditorium, Bach, Baroque, black-and-white, blog, box office, call, Camille Saint-Saëns, Cantata, Carnival of the Animals, cast, Cello, Chamber music, choral music, Christian, Christianity, church, Classical music, composer, Concert, concerto, conductor, discount, donate, donating, door, duet, duo-pianists, Early music, engineer, entertain, entertaining, equipment, Facebook, Family, family-friendly, famous, Farley's House of Pianos, forward, free, friendly, Full Compass, God, hall, historically informed performance practices, Home, impressive, introduction, Jacob Stockinger, James Bond, Jesus Christ, Johann Sebastian Bach, join, Just Bach, land, like, link, lion', Lord, Luther, Luther Memorial Church, Lutheran, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, march, Mead Witter School of Music, Middleton, Middleton Community Orchestra, Middleton High School, Middleton Performing Arts Center, Mozart, Music, Musician, narrator, Norman Gilliland, online, opening, Orchestra, organ, perform, performer, period instruments, Piano, Pianos, popular, possible, praise, pray, Protestant, Protestant Reformation, public, Radio, reception, Roger Moore, royal, Satoko Hayami, Season, share, Sound, special, Steinway, Steve Kurr, Student, support, symphony, tag, Thomas Kasdorf, ticket, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, videos, village, Viola, Violin, vocal music, watch, Website, Willy Street Coop West, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, witty, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: This week brings three period-instrument concerts — two of them FREE — of early music from the Baroque and Classical eras including works by Bach, Telemann and Haydn
3 Comments
CORRECTION: The concert listed below by Sonata à Quattro on Thursday night at Oakwood Village West, near West Towne Mall, is at 7 p.m. — NOT at 8 as erroneously first listed here. The Ear regrets the error.
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.
By Jacob Stockinger
This week features three concerts of music from the Baroque and early Classical eras that should attract the attention of early music enthusiasts.
WEDNESDAY
This Wednesday, April 24, is the penultimate FREE Just Bach concert of the semester. It takes place at 1 p.m. in Luther Memorial Church, 1021 University Avenue.
This month’s program, featuring the baroque flute, presents the program that was canceled because of the blizzard in January.
First on the program is the Trio Sonata in G Major, BWV 1038, for flute, violin and continuo, a gorgeous example of baroque chamber music.
Following that comes the Orchestral Suite No. 2, BWV 1067, for flute, strings and harpsichord, really a mini flute concerto.
The program ends with Cantata 173 “Erhoehtes Fleisch und Blut” (Exalted Flesh and Blood), scored for two flutes, strings and continuo, joined by a quartet of vocal soloists: UW-Madison soprano Julia Rottmayer; mezzo-soprano Cheryl Bensman-Rowe; tenor Wesley Dunnagan; and UW-Madison bass-baritone Paul Rowe.
The orchestra of baroque period-instrument specialists, led by concertmaster Kangwon Kim, will include traverse flutists Linda Pereksta and Monica Steger.
The last Just Bach concert of this semester is May 29. For more information, go to: https://justbach.org
THURSDAY
On Thursday night, April 25, at 7 p.m. — NOT 8 as mistakenly listed here at first –at Oakwood Village West, 6209 Mineral Point Road, the Madison group Sonata à Quattro (below) will repeat the Good Friday program it performed last week at a church in Waukesha.
The one-hour concert – featuring “The Seven Last Words of Christ” by Franz Joseph Haydn — is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. (You can sample the first part of the Haydn work in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Commissioned by the southern Spanish episcopal city of Cadiz, this piece was originally scored for orchestra, but it enjoyed such an immediate, widespread acclaim, that the publication in 1787 also included arrangements for string quartet, and for piano. In nine movements beginning with an Introduction, Haydn sets the phrases, from “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” to “Into Thy hands I commend my spirit,” concluding with one final movement depicting an earthquake.
Performers for this program are: Kangwon Kim, Nathan Giglierano, Marika Fischer Hoyt and Charlie Rasmussen. Modern string instruments will be used, but played with period bows.
The period-instrument ensemble Sonata à Quattro was formed in 2017 as Ensemble-In-Residence for Bach Around The Clock, the annual music festival in Madison.
The ensemble’s name refers to baroque chamber music scored for three melody lines plus continuo. The more-familiar trio sonata format, which enjoyed great popularity in the 17th and 18th centuries, employs a continuo with only two melody instruments, typically treble instruments like violins or flutes.
In contrast, a typical sonata à quattro piece includes a middle voice, frequently a viola, in addition to the two treble instruments and continuo; this scoring has a fuller, richer sonority, and can be seen as a precursor to the string quartet. For more information, go to: https://www.facebook.com/sonataaquattro/
SATURDAY
On Saturday, April 27, at 7:30 p.m. at Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 1833 Regent Street, the veteran Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble (below) will perform a concert of baroque chamber music.
Tickets are at the door only: $20 for the public, $10 students.
Performers are: Brett Lipshutz, traverse flute; Sigrun Paust, recorder; Monica Steger, traverse; Anton TenWolde, baroque cello; and Max Yount, harpsichord.
The program is:
Johann Baptist Wendling – Trio for two flutes and bass
Johann Pachelbel – Variations on “Werde Munter, mein Gemuethe” (Be Happy, My Soul)
Friedrich Haftmann Graf – Sonata or Trio in D major for two German flutes and basso continuo
Daniel Purcell – Sonata in F Major for recorder
INTERMISSION
Georg Philipp Telemann – Trio for recorder, flute,and basso continuo TWV 42:e6
Franz Anton Hoffmeister – Duo for two flutes, Opus 20, No. 1
Joseph Bodin de Boismortier – Trio Sonata, Op. 37, No. 5
Telemann – Trietto Methodicho (Methodical Sonata) No 1. TWV 42: G2
After the concert, a reception will be held at 2422 Kendall Avenue, second floor.
For more information, go to: https://wisconsinbaroque.weebly.com
Tags: #17thCentury, #18thCentury, #AntonTenWolde, #BachAroundtheClock, #BachCantata, #BaroqueCello, #BaroqueChamberMusic, #BaroqueEra, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrettLipshutz, #CadizSpain, #CharlieRasmussen, #CherylBensman-Rowe, #ChristianMusic, #ChristianReligion, #Classicalera, #CommissionedMusic, #CriticalAcclaim, #DanielPurcell, #DuetMusic, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #FleshandBlood, #FluteConcerto, #FranzAntonHoffmeister, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FriedrichHartmannGraf, #GeorgPhilippTelemann, #GoodFriday, #HistoricallyInformedPerformancePractices, #JesusChrist, #JohannBaptistWendling, #JohannPachelbel, #JohannSebastianBach, #JosephBodindeBoismortier, #JuliaRottmayer, #JustBach, #KangwonKim, #LindaPereksta, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MaxYount, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #Mezzo-sopranoSinger, #MonicaSteger, #Musicfaculty, #NathanGiglierano, #OakwoodVillageWest, #OrchestralSuite, #PaulRowe, #PeriodInstrument, #PeriodInstruments, #PianoMusic, #ProtestantReligion, #SevenLastWordsofChrist, #SigrunPaust, #SonataaQuattro, #SopranoSinger, #St.Andrew'sEpiscopalChurch, #StringInstruments, #StringQuartet, #TenorSinger, #TheCrucifixion, #ThemeAndVariations, #TraverseFlute, #TrioSonata, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViolaMusic, #VocalMusic, #WaukeshaWisconsin, #WesleyDunnagan, #WestTowneMall, #WisconsinBaroqueEnsemble, #YouTubevideo, 17th century, 18th century, acclaim, Anton TenWolde, Arts, audience, Bach, Bach Around the Clock, Baroque, Baroque cello, baroque era, bass-baritone, blog, blood, bow, Brett Lipshutz, BWV, Cadiz, cancel, Cantata, Cello, Chamber music, Charlie Rasmussen, Cheryl Bensman Rowe, choral music, Christ, Christianity, church, Classical, Classical music, composer, Concert, concertmaster, concerto, continuo, correction, cross, crucifixion, Daniel Purcell, door, duo, Early music, earlymusic, employ, ensemble, era, error, exalted, Facebook, faculty, festival, flesh, flute, Franz Anton Hoffmeister, Franz Joseph Haydn, free, Friedrich Hartmann Graf, Georg Philipp Telemann, German, Good Friday, happy', harpsichord, historically informed performance practices, instrument, Jacob Stockinger, Jesus Christ, Johann Baptist Wendling, Johann Pachelbel, Johann Sebastian Bach, Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, Julia Rottmayer, Just Bach, Kangwon Kim, like, Linda Pereksta, line, link, Luther Memorial Church, Lutheranism, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marika Fischer Hoyt, Max Yount, May, Mead Witter School of Music, melody, member, methodical, Mezzo-soprano, mistake, modern, Monica Steger, movement, Music, Nathan Giglierano, open, Orchestra, orchestral, Paul Rowe, performer, period instruments, phrase, Piano, piece, popularity, Protestant, public, publication, Quartet, reception, recorder, Retirement, Saturday, semester, Seven Last Words, share, Sigrun Paust, Sonata, Sonata à Quattro, soprano, soul, Spain, Spanish, specialist, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, String quartet, strings, Suite, tag, tenor, Thursday, ticket, traverse, treble, trio sonata, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of Wiscosnin, variations, Veteran, Viola, Violin, vocal music, voice, Waukesha, Wednesday, Wesley Dunnagan, West Towne Mall, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, word, You Tube, YouTube
Classical music: The early music, period-instrument group Sonata à Quattro plays a very varied “fringe concert” during the Madison Early Music Festival this Wednesday night
13 Comments
By Jacob Stockinger
The new early music, period-instrument group Sonata à Quattro (below, in a photo by Lori Skelton) will perform a “Fringe Concert” during this year’s Madison Early Music Festival of a program called “The Lübeck Connection.”
The theme of this year’s MEMF, which is taking place all this week, focuses on music in the fabled choir library at St. Mary’s Church in Lübeck (below). All the works on the program were written by composers represented in that library. The program will run 90 minutes with one intermission.
The concert takes place on this Wednesday night, July 11, at 7:30 p.m., at Pres House, 731 State St.
Tickets will be available at the door, for general seating, at $20 for general admission and $10 for seniors, students and MEMF participants. Cash, check or charge will be accepted. A marzipan reception follows.
The first half of the program of Baroque music from the 17th and 18th centuries includes works by Giovanni Gabrieli, Heinrich Schütz, Michael Praetorius, Hermann Schein, Johann Staden, Heinrich Biber, Antonio Vivaldi and Samuel Capricornus.
The second half is all-Dietrich Buxtehude (below). You can hear a section of Buxtehude’s Trio Sonata in B-flat Major, Bux259, which is on the program, in the YouTube video at the bottom.
The ensemble (seen at the top of this story) is composed of violinists Nathan Giglierano and Christine Hauptly Annin; violist Marika Fischer Hoyt; cellist Charlie Rasmussen; and harpsichordist Daniel Sullivan.
Additional musicians include soprano Kristin Knutson, violinist Thalia Coombs, violist Micah Behr, and Phillip Serna and Eric Miller on violas da gamba.
You can get more information and follow the group on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/sonataaquattro/
One other performance of this program will take place. It is this coming Sunday, July 15, at 7 p.m. in St. Matthias Episcopal Church, 11 E. Main St., in Waukesha. For information, go to: https://stmatthiasepiscopalchurch.ticketleap.com/the-lubeck-connection
Tags: #AntonioVivaldi, #CelloMusic, #ChamberMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ChristianReligion, #DietrichBuxtehude, #EpiscopalChurch, #FacebookPost, #GiovanniGabrieli, #HarpsichordMusic, #HeinrichBiber, #HeinrichSchütz, #HermannSchein, #InstrumentalMusic, #JohannStaden, #LübeckGermany, #MadisonEarlyMusicFestival, #MichaelPraetorius, #PeriodInstrument, #PresHouse, #ProtestantReligion, #RomanCatholic, #RomanCatholicism, #SamuelCapricornus, #SonataaQuattro, #St.MatthiasEpiscopalChurch, #TrioSonata, #VioladaGamba, #ViolaMusic, #ViolinMusic, #VocalMusic, Arts, Bach, Baroque, Buxtehude, Capricornus, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, composer, Early music, earlymusic, Facebook, Germany, Giovanni Gabrieli, harpsichord, Heinrich Biber, Heinrich Schütz, Hermann Schein, instrumental music, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Staden, library, Lubeck, Madison Early Music Festival, Marienkirche, marzipan, MEMF, Michael Praetorius, Music, performance, reception, Samuel Capricornus, singer, Sonata, soprano, St. Mary, ticket, trio sonata, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, viola da gamba, Violin, violinist, Vivaldi, vocal music, Waukesha, week, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: How did a reformation in religion and a revolution in printing change music? The 19th annual Madison Early Music Festival (MEMF) offers answers and samples this week. Part 2 of 2
4 Comments
By Jacob Stockinger
Starting this Saturday and running through the following Saturday, the 19th annual Madison Early Music Festival will explore the profound effects that the Lutheran Reformation and the invention of printing had on Renaissance and Baroque music of the time.
The festival is called “A Cabinet of Curiosities: A Journey to Lübeck.” For a complete listing of programs, lectures, concerts and workshops, with information about tickets, go to: https://memf.wisc.edu
Soprano Cheryl Bensman Rowe — who directs the festival with UW Arts Institute’s Sarah Marty and her husband and UW-Madison baritone Paul Rowe — recently agreed to do a Q&A with The Ear about the upcoming festival. Here is Part 2 of 2. And, if you missed the beginning, here is a link to Part 1:
How does early north German music differ from its counterparts in, say, Italy, France, Germany and England. What is the historical origin and aesthetic importance of the music from that era in that part of the world?
One of the biggest changes during the Reformation in Germany began with sacred music and the far-reaching changes in the way it served the church. The music of mass, motet, psalm and hymn heard in the great urban cathedrals, cloistered chapels and royal palace churches of Catholicism represented the “otherness” of the divine, a God unreachable by the untutored masses.
Written in an intellectual language which required years of rigorous training to learn and understand, it was only the disciplined, practiced choir boys and men who could perform this sacred polyphony in all its wonder and glory.
Luther sought to traverse this divide. Though he held the existing music of sacred polyphony in high esteem, he felt that music could be used to even greater effect in furthering the education and religious commitment of the people.
Luther (below) chose the hymn form as the principle means to his musical aims. A prolific hymnodist himself, he authored hymns such as the famous “Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott” (“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God“) several settings of which begin the All-Festival concert, attempted to connect existing high art with folk music in a style that would appeal to all classes, clergy and laity, men, women and children. His texts were in the German vernacular in order to convey messages that would be understood by all in a way that the Latin of preexisting hymns were not.
The culmination of those first 100 years of reformed musical development and the composers whose works will be performed throughout the week at MEMF, launched the reformed hymnody of Luther (below) and his followers into the stratosphere of such giants as Heinrich Schütz, Dietrich Buxtehude, Johann Sebastian Bach (all the Bachs for that matter) and on, a trail that continues to the present day.
What music and composers of that era have been most neglected and least neglected by historians and performers? Does rediscovery of works and composers play a special role this year?
Throughout the week we will be featuring compositions from the Choir Library from the Marienkirche in Lübeck (below) is a collection of music that Lübeck scholar and Buxtehude biographer Kerala Snyder catalogued and reconstructed.
The collection ended up in Vienna in the 19th century, and is a comprehensive data base that includes compositions by German and Italian composers, including Heinrich Schütz, Hermann Schein, Palestrina – the list starts with Agazzari and ends with Zucchini.
Besides the Choir Library compositions, audiences will have an opportunity to hear works of Buxtehude that have never been performed in Madison.
Can you tell us about the program and performers for the All-Festival concert on Saturday, July 14?
The All-Festival Concert (below) includes all of our workshop participants and faculty. We work together to prepare the concert all week and it is truly a MEMF community project. The music will be drawn from settings and compositions based on Lutheran chorales such as Ein Feste Burg and from the Choir Library of the Marienkirche.
The concert concludes with Buxtehude’s Missa Brevis and concludes with his grand motet, Benedicam Dominum in omne tempore, written for six contrasting choirs, which Buxtehude surely composed to match the structural design of the Marienkirche. (You can hear the Kyrie from Buxtehude’s “Missa Brevis” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Are there other sessions — guest lectures, certain performers, particular works — that you especially recommend for the general public?
All the planning that goes into each festival leads me to encourage the general public to attend everything. The concert series, lectures and workshop have so much to offer.
Special events include a dance with a live band drawn from the MEMF Faculty with dance instruction by Peggy Murray, Tanzen und Springen,at Memorial Union in the Grand Hall on Thursday night.
The lecture series features some well-known Madison scholars — John W. Barker and J. Michael Allsen, plus Michael Alan Anderson (below top), director of Schola Antiqua and professor of musicology, and Jost Hermand (below bottom), Professor Emeritus at the UW-Madison.
There will be a special exhibit created for MEMF in the lobby of Memorial Library by Jeanette Casey, the Head of the Mills Music Library and Lisa Wettleson of Special Collections at Memorial Library.
This curated display reflects the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. The exhibit will be in the lobby of Memorial Library and open to the public through Thursday, July 19, 2018, with a special talk about the exhibit during the festival on Monday, July 9, at 11:30 a.m. This wonderful partnership allows the library to display rarely seen original and facsimile publications, some dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries within the context of the MEMF theme.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Martin Luther, who was a great lover of music, said: “The riches of music are so excellent and so precious that words fail me whenever I attempt to discuss and describe them…. In summa, next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world. It controls our thoughts, minds, hearts, and spirits…”
Join us to hear what Luther was talking about! Get your tickets for the concert series! Attend the lectures! Take some classes! You’ll find a link for all the information about MEMF at www.madisonearlymusic.org
Tags: #AMightyFortressIsOurGod, #ArtsInstitute, #BaroqueMusic, #BritishMusic, #CabinetofCuriosities, #CatholicReligion, #ChoirBoy, #ChristianChurch, #ChristianMusic, #ChristianReligion, #DataBase, #DietrichBuxtehude, #EinFesteBurg, #EmeritusProfessor, #FrenchMusic, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GeorgPhilippTelemann, #GermanComposers, #GermanMusic, #GiovannidePalestrina, #GrandHall, #HeinrichSchütz, #HermannSchein, #ItalianComposers, #ItalianMusic, #J.MIchaelAllsen, #JesusChrist, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnW.Barker, #JostHermand, #KeralaSnyder, #LatinLanguage, #LübeckGermany, #LutheranReformation, #MadisonEarlyMusicFestival, #MadisonWisconsin, #MartinLuther, #MemorialLibrary, #MichaelAlanAnderson, #MillsMusicLibrary, #MissaBrevis, #MusicFestival, #PeggyMurray, #ProtestantReformation, #ProtestantReligion, #RareBooks, #RenaissanceMusic, #RomanCatholic, #RomanCatholicism, #RomanCatholicReligion, #SacredMusic, #ScholaAntiqua, #SecularMusic, #SpecialCollection, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViennaAustria, #WesternCulture, #WesternMusic, #WesternReligion, #WordofGod, #YouTubevideo, aesthetic, Agazzari, anniversary, Arts, Bach, baritone, Baroque, base, beginning, biographer, biography, Book, books, cabinet, cathedral, Cello, Chamber music, chapel, children, Choir, choral music, church, class, classes, Classical music, composer, Composition, Concert, dance, data, data base, divien, Early music, earlymusic, Education, emeritus, England, era, esthetic, exhibit, festival, France, George Frideric Handel, German, Germany, God, Heinrich Schütz, historian, historical, History, hymn, invention, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, John W. Barker, Jost Hermand, journey, Kerala Snyder, Kyrie, laity, Latin, lecture, library, lover, Lubeck, Madison, Marienkirche, mass, masses, Memorial Library, men, Mills Music Library, motet, Music, musicology, palace, Palestrina, part, Peggy Murray, People, performer, polyphony, premiere, printing, professor, program, psalm, Religion, royal, Schien, Schola Antiqua, scholar, Sonata, soprano, St. Mary, time, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, urban, vernacular, video, Vienna, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin, women, word, work, works, workshop, YouTube, Zucchini
Classical music: This Saturday, the 19th annual Madison Early Music Festival (MEMF) starts a week-long exploration of how the Lutheran Reformation and the invention of printing changed Western music 500 years ago. Part 1 of 2
1 Comment
By Jacob Stockinger
Starting this Saturday and running through the following Saturday, the 19th annual Madison Early Music Festival will explore the profound effects that the Lutheran Reformation had on Renaissance and Baroque music of the time.
The festival, to be held at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, is called “A Cabinet of Curiosities: A Journey to Lübeck.” For a complete listing of programs, lectures, concerts and workshops, with information about tickets, go to the website: https://memf.wisc.edu
Soprano Cheryl Bensman Rowe — who co-directs the festival with UW Arts Institute’s Sarah Marty and with her husband and UW-Madison baritone Paul Rowe — recently agreed to do a Q&A with The Ear about the upcoming festival. Here is Part 1 of 2. The second part will appear tomorrow.
How successful is this year’s festival compared to others in terms of enrollment, budgets, performers, etc.? How does MEMF’s reach nationally or even internationally compare to previous years?
Each year enrollment in the workshop averages 100 students. As of June 15, we have 110 students enrolled. MEMF attracts students of all ages, from 18–91, amateurs and professionals, from all over the country and Canada.
What is new and what is the same in terms of format, students, faculty members and performers?
The ensemble Quicksilver (below, in a photo by Ian Douglas, and located at quicksilverbaroque.com) is returning to Madison after several years to open the MEMF Concert Series.
This will be an incredible virtuosic display of chamber music played at the highest level, and includes violinist Julie Andrijeski, sackbut player Greg Ingles and gambist Lisa Terry; harpsichordist Avi Stein and violinist Robert Mealy are on the faculty at the Juilliard 415 program, which is creating a fantastic opportunity for instrumentalists to study Baroque music with some of the finest early music professionals in the country.
Piffaro, The Renaissance Band, will return to play a live concert of the CD they just released, Back to Bach. For more information, go to: piffaro.org
The Tuesday concert is at Luther Memorial Church. Abendmusik (Evening Music) features organists John Chappell Stowe (below top, in a photo by Katrin Talbot), of the UW-Madison, and James Kennerley (below bottom) joined by the MEMF Faculty.
Abendmusik, refers to a series of performances at the Marienkirche in Lübeck, Germany. In the 17th century through 1810, a series of concerts were paid for by local business owners to provide admission for the public. Organists Franz Tunder and his successor Dietrich Buxtehude, organized the Abendmusiken with performances of organ, instrumental and vocal music. For more, go to: https://www.jameskennerley.com/
New to MEMF, Schola Antiqua of Chicago — see schola-antiqua.org — will perform on Friday, July 13, at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall. They will sing musical treasures from a program prepared last fall for The Newberry Library’s exhibit “Religious Change 1450-1700” on the occasion of the quincentennial of the Lutheran Reformation.
Printed musical artifacts from the multidisciplinary exhibit testify to a period filled with religious dynamism and struggle with both theological and musical traditions. Their director, Michael Alan Anderson, will give a pre-concert lecture at 6:30 p.m. with projections of the printed music from The Newberry Library.
Why was the theme of “A Cabinet of Curiosities: Journey to Lübeck” chosen for the festival? What composers and works will be highlighted?
We chose the 2018 theme to explore the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, and how the shifts in religion and 16th-century printed materials, including music, changed the world.
The Marienkirche (St. Mary’s Church) in Lübeck was an important musical center at this time. Built with Catholic ritual in mind, it easily was turned into a Lutheran church in the early 16th century as Lübeck changed into a Protestant town due to the Reformation that was inspired by Martin Luther.
The composer Dieterich Buxtehude (below) was the organist at the Marienkirche and was an improvisational genius. He attracted many musicians throughout Europe to come and visit, including Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann and George Frideric Handel.
Around this same time collectors were sorting their wide-ranging collections of objects into “cabinets of curiosities,” and sometimes the categorical boundaries were not defined. With new-found compositional freedom, 17th-century composers similarly created many musical wonders and curiosities, stretching the boundaries of musical conversation.
We will be featuring works of Buxtehude, Tunder and Matthias Weckmann, and there will even be a bit of Bach on Sunday night’s concert by Piffaro.
Tomorrow: Part 2 – How did a Reformation in religion and printing technology change music?
Tags: #AmateurMusician, #ArtsInstitute, #BaroqueEra, #BaroqueMusic, #BusinessOwner, #CabinetofCuriosities, #ChamberMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ChristianMusic, #ChristianReligion, #ChurchMusic, #DietrichBuxtehude, #FacultyMember, #FranzTunder, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GeorgPhilippTelemann, #GermanMusic, #InstrumentalMusic, #JamesKennerley, #JohannSebastianBach, #Juilliard415, #JuilliardSchool, #LiveConcert, #LutheranReformation, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MadisonEarlyMusicFestival, #MartinLuther, #MatthiasWeckmann, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #NewberryLibrary, #OrganMusic, #PrintingTechnology, #ProfessionalMusician, #ProtestantReformation, #ProtestantReligion, #QuicksilverBaroque, #ReligiousChange, #RenaissanceBand, #RenaissanceMusic, #RomanCatholic, #SacredMusic, #ScholaAntiqua, #SecularMusic, #ThePublic, #TheReformation, #TheRenaissance, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VioladaGamba, #WesternCulture, #WesternMusic, #WesternReligion, admission, amateur, anniversary, Arts, Arts Institute, Bach, baritone, Baroque, blog, budget, Business, Canada, Catholic, Cello, Chamber music, Chicago, choral music, church, Classical music, Compact Disc, composer, Composition, Concert, country, Dietrich Buxtehude, director, Early music, earlymusic, enrollment, faculty, festival, Franz Tunder, free, freedom, genius, George Frideric Handel, Germany, Handel, harpsichord, improvisation, instrument, instrumental, international, invention, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, journey, lecture, live, Lubeck, Luther Memorial Church, Madison, Madison Early Music Festival, Marienkirche, Mead Witter School of Music, MEMF, Music, national, Newberry Library, Orchestra, organ, organist, Piffaro, player, printing, professional, program, public, Religion, Roman Catholic, sackbut, sacred, Schola Antiqua, secular, secular music, sing, singer, Sonata, song, soprano, Student, Sunday, technology, Telemann, theology, ticket, tradition, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, Viola, viola da gamba, Violin, violinist, virtuosic, virtuoso, vocal music, Website, Weckmann, Wisconsin, workshop
Recent Comments
The Well-Tempered Ear 