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Putting Bach in his place
Tempesta di Mare plays Bach
Tom Purdom
Tempesta di Mare's directors Gwyn Roberts and Richard Stone made a winning call when they reversed the scheduled order for the first half of their December outing. They'd originally planned to start with the top item on the agenda: Bach's Fifth Brandenburg Concerto. Putting the Bach last gave the half a coherent shape and ended it with a guaranteed high-voltage finish.
The opening slot in the new order went to one of the classics of the High Baroque, Telemann's second "Paris Quartet." Gwyn Roberts and Emlyn Ngai contributed a sweet flute and a debonair violin to the first movement allegro, and the third movement vivace was just as engaging, with humming bass passages, dancing flute work, and more panache from Ngai.
The only noticeable flaw in the whole afternoon took place during Telemann's middle movement, which features a prominent cello part. The cello and the other instruments had problems getting together, and the cello's hesitant entrances disrupted the "tender, affecting" mood that a movement marked affettuoso is supposed to create.
Pachelbel's other riches
There was nothing wrong with the Pachelbel that followed. Pachelbel is mostly known today because his famous canon happened to please contemporary popular music audiences; but his Partie a 4 is a good example of the other riches he has to offer. It's essentially a string suite composed of ten short sections, with plenty of forward pressure, full warm harmonies and dance sections that combine the overall warmth with marked rhythms and tempos. The finale is a brief, touching adagio that brought the whole thing to a beautifully satisfying close.
You knew you were hearing Bach as soon as Tempesta launched into the bounce and drive of the first movement of the Fifth Brandenburg. Tempesta produced one of the best performances of the Fifth Brandenburg that any Baroque enthusiast will ever hear.
The flute, violin, and harpsichord occupy the center of the stage in the Fifth, and Roberts, Ngai and harpsichordist Adam Pearl all delivered stellar performances. The harpsichord solo in the first movement is a wonderful example of 18th-Century schmaltz, with flashy runs and fancy embellishments, and Pearl had a great time with a part that Bach must have written so he could indulge in some good natured showing-off.
Bach the multi-tasker
Bach's middle movement is also marked affettuoso, like the Telemann, but this affettuoso went off without a hitch and produced a gentle, properly touching contrast to the high-speed rush of musical inventiveness that dominates the outer movements.
Bach is probably the ideal composer for our multi-tasking society. At any given moment in the fast movements of the Brandenburgs, he offers contemporary brains at least three different things they can listen to simultaneously.
The second half made a nice postlude to the first-half fireworks, with concertos that featured both of Tempesta di Mare's directors. Richard Stone's instrument, the lute, speaks with a soft voice that puts it at a disadvantage when it plays the solo role in a concerto, but a listener who's willing to make a small effort can compensate for the lute's unassertive personality. If you listened a little more closely than you normally would, you heard flawless finger work, rolling lute melodies and the distinctive mood created by one of the most refined instruments human beings have fabricated.
Gwyn Roberts switched to her other instrument, the recorder, for a suite for soloist and strings by Christoph Graupner. Herr Graupner was a prolific composer who enjoyed a major reputation in his own day, and his Suite in F— the 144th item in his catalog— received a first-class performance that added a perfect final touch to one of Tempesta's best concerts.
The opening slot in the new order went to one of the classics of the High Baroque, Telemann's second "Paris Quartet." Gwyn Roberts and Emlyn Ngai contributed a sweet flute and a debonair violin to the first movement allegro, and the third movement vivace was just as engaging, with humming bass passages, dancing flute work, and more panache from Ngai.
The only noticeable flaw in the whole afternoon took place during Telemann's middle movement, which features a prominent cello part. The cello and the other instruments had problems getting together, and the cello's hesitant entrances disrupted the "tender, affecting" mood that a movement marked affettuoso is supposed to create.
Pachelbel's other riches
There was nothing wrong with the Pachelbel that followed. Pachelbel is mostly known today because his famous canon happened to please contemporary popular music audiences; but his Partie a 4 is a good example of the other riches he has to offer. It's essentially a string suite composed of ten short sections, with plenty of forward pressure, full warm harmonies and dance sections that combine the overall warmth with marked rhythms and tempos. The finale is a brief, touching adagio that brought the whole thing to a beautifully satisfying close.
You knew you were hearing Bach as soon as Tempesta launched into the bounce and drive of the first movement of the Fifth Brandenburg. Tempesta produced one of the best performances of the Fifth Brandenburg that any Baroque enthusiast will ever hear.
The flute, violin, and harpsichord occupy the center of the stage in the Fifth, and Roberts, Ngai and harpsichordist Adam Pearl all delivered stellar performances. The harpsichord solo in the first movement is a wonderful example of 18th-Century schmaltz, with flashy runs and fancy embellishments, and Pearl had a great time with a part that Bach must have written so he could indulge in some good natured showing-off.
Bach the multi-tasker
Bach's middle movement is also marked affettuoso, like the Telemann, but this affettuoso went off without a hitch and produced a gentle, properly touching contrast to the high-speed rush of musical inventiveness that dominates the outer movements.
Bach is probably the ideal composer for our multi-tasking society. At any given moment in the fast movements of the Brandenburgs, he offers contemporary brains at least three different things they can listen to simultaneously.
The second half made a nice postlude to the first-half fireworks, with concertos that featured both of Tempesta di Mare's directors. Richard Stone's instrument, the lute, speaks with a soft voice that puts it at a disadvantage when it plays the solo role in a concerto, but a listener who's willing to make a small effort can compensate for the lute's unassertive personality. If you listened a little more closely than you normally would, you heard flawless finger work, rolling lute melodies and the distinctive mood created by one of the most refined instruments human beings have fabricated.
Gwyn Roberts switched to her other instrument, the recorder, for a suite for soloist and strings by Christoph Graupner. Herr Graupner was a prolific composer who enjoyed a major reputation in his own day, and his Suite in F— the 144th item in his catalog— received a first-class performance that added a perfect final touch to one of Tempesta's best concerts.
What, When, Where
Tempesta di Mare: Telemann, Concerto No. 2 in D; Pachelbel, Partita a 4 in G; Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 5; Fasch, Concerto No. 5 in D; Graupner, Suite in F. Gwyn Roberts, flute and recorder; Emlyn Ngai, violin; Edmund Chan, violin; Karina Fox, viola; Eva Miller, cello; Andrew Arceci, bass; Richard Stone, lute; Adam Pearl, harpsichord. December 20, 2009, at Old St. Joseph’s Church, 321 Willings Alley (Fourth and Walnut). (215) 755-8776 or www.tempestadimare.org.
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