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Society of Ancient Instruments
Tom Purdom
The trumpet shall sound
(with a little help from viols and harpsichord)
TOM PURDOM
The Baroque trumpeter Elin Frazier has been one of my favorite local musicians since I first heard her play with the Pennsylvania Pro Musica more than 30 years ago. The word that musicians apply to colleagues like her is musical: “She’s very musical,” they will tell you.
As I understand them, they mean that Frazier doesn’t just play the notes accurately. She transforms those accurate sounds into experiences that can only be described with words like “lilting” or “stirring.”
You could hear that quality from the moment Frazier launched into the 17th-Century trumpet sonata that opened her guest appearance with the American Society of Ancient Instruments. She played the first movement with a bright, jagged gaiety, then proved she can make the trumpet swing, too, when she played the second movement the composer had marked vivace. The final movement, another vivace, emphasized marked rhythms and communicated an overall joviality.
Antique but not historical
Frazier’s second solo, a concerto by Pietro Baldassare (c. 1690) opened with another gay allegro, followed by a dreamy, long-lined slow movement and a solemn, flowing final allegro.
Frazier maintained a perfect balance with the Society’s viol and harpsichord ensemble. As she explained during her brief talk before the intermission, her long, four-valved “Baroque trumpet” had been specifically designed as a companion for a consort of viols. It’s an “antique instrument,” in Frazier’s words, not a “historical instrument.” The legendary French instrument maker Victor-Charles Mahillon (1841-1924) built it when the period instrument revival was just getting started.
Mahillon is best known as the inventor of the piccolo trumpet— the short “Bach trumpet” used in most Baroque concerts. Baroque musicians played valveless natural trumpets; but with the Bach trumpet and the long Baroque trumpet, modern trumpeters can achieve the same virtuoso effects with a bit less effort.
But a specially designed instrument is an aid, not a panacea. The musician’s taste and control are equally important. This was the first time I’d heard Frazier solo with a Baroque ensemble in several years, and it was a compelling reminder of just how good she is. The Baroque trumpet repertoire includes some of the most pleasurable music ever written, and the three pieces she played covered all its moods.
The violin’s older cousin
Frazier’s hosts complemented her work with one of their best performances. In addition to the three works they played with her, they presented the Society’s usual feast of music composed for viols— the older, gentler cousins of the violin family. The viol repertoire contains some of the loveliest and most appealing music ever written, and it can’t be performed on other instruments. The softer, less penetrating sound of the viols sorts out the different voices in the complex contrapuntal style favored by viol composers.
Harpsichordist Marcia Kravis contributed a single solo— a 17th-Century Pavana Dolorosa that emphasized the harpsichord’s capacity for fast, shimmering trills and its ability to sound like a soft, sensuous guitar.
For an encore, the company threw in one of the best performances of Jeremiah Clarke’s Prince of Denmark’s March that I’ve ever heard. The march (formerly miscalled Purcell’s Trumpet Voluntary) has become a popular wedding processional, and Frazier plays it regularly in her capacity as the solo trumpet at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul on the Parkway. If you're planning a Cathedral wedding that features Clarke's classic, and think you can afford it, I suggest you consider hiring the Society's ensemble to accompany her. The responses from the viols and harpsichord add a perfect note of serene jubilation.
The American Society of Ancient Instruments is the oldest active period instrument organization in the U.S. Its three-concert spring festival has been an annual event since 1929. On Sunday May 11, the guest soloist will be guitarist Alan Krantz, who always turns in a good performance. On Sunday May 18, the guest will be violist Evelyn Jacobs Luis, performing on a particularly lovely member of the viol family, the viola d’amore.
(with a little help from viols and harpsichord)
TOM PURDOM
The Baroque trumpeter Elin Frazier has been one of my favorite local musicians since I first heard her play with the Pennsylvania Pro Musica more than 30 years ago. The word that musicians apply to colleagues like her is musical: “She’s very musical,” they will tell you.
As I understand them, they mean that Frazier doesn’t just play the notes accurately. She transforms those accurate sounds into experiences that can only be described with words like “lilting” or “stirring.”
You could hear that quality from the moment Frazier launched into the 17th-Century trumpet sonata that opened her guest appearance with the American Society of Ancient Instruments. She played the first movement with a bright, jagged gaiety, then proved she can make the trumpet swing, too, when she played the second movement the composer had marked vivace. The final movement, another vivace, emphasized marked rhythms and communicated an overall joviality.
Antique but not historical
Frazier’s second solo, a concerto by Pietro Baldassare (c. 1690) opened with another gay allegro, followed by a dreamy, long-lined slow movement and a solemn, flowing final allegro.
Frazier maintained a perfect balance with the Society’s viol and harpsichord ensemble. As she explained during her brief talk before the intermission, her long, four-valved “Baroque trumpet” had been specifically designed as a companion for a consort of viols. It’s an “antique instrument,” in Frazier’s words, not a “historical instrument.” The legendary French instrument maker Victor-Charles Mahillon (1841-1924) built it when the period instrument revival was just getting started.
Mahillon is best known as the inventor of the piccolo trumpet— the short “Bach trumpet” used in most Baroque concerts. Baroque musicians played valveless natural trumpets; but with the Bach trumpet and the long Baroque trumpet, modern trumpeters can achieve the same virtuoso effects with a bit less effort.
But a specially designed instrument is an aid, not a panacea. The musician’s taste and control are equally important. This was the first time I’d heard Frazier solo with a Baroque ensemble in several years, and it was a compelling reminder of just how good she is. The Baroque trumpet repertoire includes some of the most pleasurable music ever written, and the three pieces she played covered all its moods.
The violin’s older cousin
Frazier’s hosts complemented her work with one of their best performances. In addition to the three works they played with her, they presented the Society’s usual feast of music composed for viols— the older, gentler cousins of the violin family. The viol repertoire contains some of the loveliest and most appealing music ever written, and it can’t be performed on other instruments. The softer, less penetrating sound of the viols sorts out the different voices in the complex contrapuntal style favored by viol composers.
Harpsichordist Marcia Kravis contributed a single solo— a 17th-Century Pavana Dolorosa that emphasized the harpsichord’s capacity for fast, shimmering trills and its ability to sound like a soft, sensuous guitar.
For an encore, the company threw in one of the best performances of Jeremiah Clarke’s Prince of Denmark’s March that I’ve ever heard. The march (formerly miscalled Purcell’s Trumpet Voluntary) has become a popular wedding processional, and Frazier plays it regularly in her capacity as the solo trumpet at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul on the Parkway. If you're planning a Cathedral wedding that features Clarke's classic, and think you can afford it, I suggest you consider hiring the Society's ensemble to accompany her. The responses from the viols and harpsichord add a perfect note of serene jubilation.
The American Society of Ancient Instruments is the oldest active period instrument organization in the U.S. Its three-concert spring festival has been an annual event since 1929. On Sunday May 11, the guest soloist will be guitarist Alan Krantz, who always turns in a good performance. On Sunday May 18, the guest will be violist Evelyn Jacobs Luis, performing on a particularly lovely member of the viol family, the viola d’amore.
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