The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: Sonata à Quattro celebrates early music and the importance of the viola in concerts this Friday night and Sunday afternoon
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By Jacob Stockinger
As far as The Ear can tell, Marika Fischer Hoyt has two big professional passions: early music, especially the music of Johann Sebastian Bach; and the viola, which she plays, teaches and champions in the Madison Bach Musicians, the Madison Symphony Orchestra, Bach Around the Clock (which she revitalized and directs) and now Sonata à Quattro (which she founded last summer, when it made its impressive debut as an adjunct event to the Madison Early Music Festival).
Those two passions will come together in Madison this Friday night, Nov. 2, and in Milwaukee this Sunday afternoon, Nov. 4, in concerts by the new Baroque chamber music ensemble Sonata à Quattro (below) with the theme “Underdog No More – The Viola Uprising.”
Here are the two dates and venues:
Friday, Nov. 2, at 7:30 p.m. at the Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1021 Spaight Street, in Madison; tickets are $15 and available at the door, and also online at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3660161
Sunday, Nov. 4, at 4 p.m. at the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum, 2220 North Terrace Avenue, in Milwaukee; tickets are $20 for general admission, $10 for students at the door, and online at www.violauprising.brownpapertickets.com
Fisher Hoyt (below) has this to say this about the theme of “The Viola as Underdog”:
“A caterpillar turning into a butterfly – that was the violin in the 17th century. In the early 1600’s the violin evolved almost overnight from dance band serf into the rock star of the musical family.
But the viola’s larger size, heavier weight, more slowly responding strings and darker timbre kept it in the shadows, consigned to rounding out harmonies under the violin’s pyrotechnics. (Indeed, vestiges of this status remain to the present day, in the form of the omnipresent viola joke).
Composers like Bach, Mozart and Beethoven played the viola (below is Marika Fischer Hoyt’s baroque viola made in Germany in the 1770’s) themselves, and gave it challenging melodic and soloistic opportunities in their works. But these were the exception rather than the rule; the viola’s main role in the 17th century was that of filler in an ensemble.
But if agile violins and cellos serve as the arms and legs of a musical texture, the viola’s rich dark voice gives expression to the heart and soul. This added dimension is enhanced when, as happened frequently in France, Germany and Italy, two or more viola lines are included.
Our program presents works from 1602-1727 that explore those darker, richer musical palettes, culminating in Bach’s ultimate exaltation of the underdog, the Brandenburg Concerto No. 6.” (You can hear the Bach work in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Performers in the group for these performances are Consuelo Sañudo, mezzo-soprano; Christine Hauptly-Annin and Anna Rasmussen, violins; Micah Behr and Marika Fischer Hoyt, violas; Ravenna Helson and Eric Miller, violas da gamba; Charlie Rasmussen, cello; and Daniel Sullivan, harpsichord.
The program includes:
Fuga Prima, from Neue Artige und Liebliche Tänze (New-styled and Lovely Dances) (1602) by Valentin Haussmann (1565-1614)
Sonata à 5 in G Minor, Op. 2 No. 11 (1700) by Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1751)
Mensa Sonora, Pars III (1680) by Heinrich Biber (1644-1704)
Sonata à 5 in E Minor, TWV 44:5 by Georg Friedrich Telemann (1681-1767)
Sinfonia from Cantata 18 Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee (Just as the Rain and Snow) (1714) by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
INTERMISSION
Sonata à Quattro II in C Major “Il Battista” (The Baptist) (1727) by Antonio Caldara (1670-1736)
Lament: Ach, daß ich Wassers gnug hätte (O, that I had enough waters) by Johann Christoph Bach (1642-1703)
Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B-flat Major, BWV 1051 (1718) by J.S. Bach
Here is a link to the Facebook page of Sonata à Quattro with videos and photos as well information about the players and upcoming concerts: https://www.facebook.com/sonataaquattro/
The Madison concert will be followed by a reception of dark chocolate, mocha and cappuccino.
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Classical music: Today is Thanksgiving Day 2016. Classical music fans should give thanks for Wisconsin Public Radio, which has lots of holiday fare to listen to throughout the day. Plus, famed New York City radio station WQXR offers its Top 5 musical expressions of giving thanks.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Today is Thanksgiving Day, 2016.
Music is such a integral part of Thanksgiving Day, from hymns and songs, solo music and chamber music, symphonies and oratorios.
Today, Wisconsin Public Radio — on both the Ideas Network and the News and Classical Music Network — will feature a lot of music and informative shows, all with the theme of Thanksgiving and giving thanks.
Here is the announcement from WPR, which keeps many of us in classical music year-round:
“Wisconsin Public Radio has prepared a variety of food, music and entertainment programs to keep you and your guests engaged this Thanksgiving.
“Turkey is the star of the show on America’s Test Kitchen Radio Thanksgiving Special, 10 a.m. on WPR’s Ideas Network stations. Host Bridget Lancaster is promising a tender, juicy, perfect turkey with all the trimmings, dessert and a dash of fun that will make you a Thanksgiving rock star.
At 11 a.m., Lancaster changes her apron and joins Lynne Rossetto Kasper for more tips on the Ideas Network with the Splendid Table’s Turkey Confidential. This live two-hour Thanksgiving Day tradition returns to take listener calls for culinary help.
In the kitchen this year you’ll also find Mario Batali, Francis Lam, Melissa Clark and Chris Thile, the new host of “A Prairie Home Companion,” sharing fun and helpful advice for the novice, and the experienced, Thanksgiving home cook.
After the feast, you may be in the mood for a good story. How about ten of them? Starting at 1 p.m. the Ideas Network presents Best of the Best: Third Coast Audio Festival Winners. With more than 500 entries from around the world, you’ll hear the ten best that will intrigue, inform and inspire you.
While the Ideas Network serves up helpful advice and engaging stories, WPR’s NPR News & Classical Music Network delivers a generous helping of music for you to enjoy throughout the day.
At 10 a.m., tune in for this year’s Wisconsin School Music Association Honors Concerts (below). The two-hour music special highlights top performances of students from across the state. Middle school and high school choirs and orchestra will be featured.
“It’s one of the highlights of the year with some of our state’s most talented young performers,” said WPR’s News & Classical Music Network Director Peter Bryant.
Then, at 1 p.m. join host John Birge and his special guest, legendary Chef Jacques Pepin as they share conversation and music on Giving Thanks: A Celebration of Fall, Food and Gratitude.
Here is a link to the WPR website with program guides and playlists:
http://www.wpr.org/hear-special-programs-thanksgiving-day
But you might also be interested to stream some other music. WQXR, the famed classical music radio station in New York City, has put together the Top 5 musical expressions — including the famous Sacred Song of Thanksgiving from a late string quartet by Ludwig van Beethoven — of giving thanks. The website has audio and visual performances of the works that you can stream.
Here is a link:
http://www.wqxr.org/#!/story/top-five-expressions-thanks-classical-music/
And if you have other ideas about music that is appropriate for Thanksgiving this year – perhaps a composer or work you give special thanks for — please leave them in the COMMENT section, preferably with a YouTube link if possible.
The Ear wants to hear.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
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