{"id":41833,"date":"2017-01-20T10:57:12","date_gmt":"2017-01-20T15:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=41833"},"modified":"2017-01-20T12:50:37","modified_gmt":"2017-01-20T17:50:37","slug":"scrutiny-tafelmusik-orchestra-intimate-german-baroque","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2017\/01\/20\/scrutiny-tafelmusik-orchestra-intimate-german-baroque\/","title":{"rendered":"SCRUTINY | Tafelmusik Orchestra Delights With Fiery Crackle Of German Baroque Program"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Peter
Tafelmusik and Peter Harvey get intimate in a unique program of German music written decades before J.S. Bach. (Photo: John Terauds)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tafelmusik Orchestra, directed by Jeanne Lamon. With soloist, baritone Peter Harvey. January 19. Trinity-St Paul\u2019s Centre. Repeats to January 22<\/a><\/span>.<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s fascinating how Tafelmusik<\/a> frequently turns to intimate concerts in the dead of winter. It\u2019s like they’re pulling the circle tighter, drawing us closer to the snap and crackle of whatever musical firewood they have thrown in the hearth. This particular January may feel more like March, but the flames happily took in the Germanic hardwood on offer Thursday night at Trinity-St Paul\u2019s Centre.<\/p>\n

The music of Johann Sebastian Bach is the core of this week\u2019s program, cleverly set within its roots and context by former music director Jeanne Lamon. Many of the works had not been heard from this period-performance orchestra before. Each made a strong case for itself \u2013 but the one big, known masterwork on the program did not have to worry about being knocked off its pedestal.<\/p>\n

Lamon was back on stage, too, violin in hand. Her small band of fellows included Tafelmusik\u2019s finest, including violinist Julia Wedman, oboe player John Abberger and Dominic Teresi, wielding the dulcian, the bassoon\u2019s Baroque-era ancestor. Joining them was British baritone Peter Harvey the late-17th-century program, which included instrumental-only pieces alongside two cantatas and a lament.<\/p>\n

The evening opened with a virtuoso display of violin playing in a sonata by Heinrich Biber (1644-1704). This predecessor of J.S. Bach\u2019s has never fully broken into\u00a0 listeners\u2019 Baroque-era A-list, but his music is so rich in invention, complex counterpoint and sheer beauty that he deserves far greater recognition as a 17th-century master.<\/p>\n

Biber returned with a violin sonata later in the evening, a spectacular work spectacularly played by Wedman, with a trio of continuo players as backup. Wedman\u2019s command of her bow is awe-inspiring, teasing incredible subtleties out of the tiniest of gestures in a piece that veers wildly between virtuosic blowouts and affecting contemplation. The Chaconne movement, built on a mere four-note foundation, is a gem.<\/p>\n

Harvey\u2019s first appearance on stage came in a cantata, Mein Herz ist Bereit, by Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707), one of J.S. Bach\u2019s greatest influences (the composer is said to have walked 400 kilometres when he was a young organist to hear his idol perform). I find Buxtehude\u2019s music to be quite mechanical most of the time. Buxtehude, who was born in Denmark, did not have a strong sense of whimsy. Like Danish Lego blocks being assembled, the setting of the text dutifully interspersed verse with instrumental interludes.<\/p>\n

Alsatian bassoonist and composer Phillip Friedrich B\u00f6ddekker (1632-1683) supplied a sonata based on a popular tune of the day that allowed Teresi to show off his skills with a double-reed instrument, ably backed by Wedman and the continuo players.<\/p>\n

Harvey was present for two more vocal works on the program: J.S. Bach\u2019s much-loved Ich Habe Genug (Cantata\u00a0 82) \u2014 the evening\u2019s only piece of music written after 1700 \u2014 and a lament written by his older cousin, Johann Christoph Bach (1642-1703). The elder Bach\u2019s setting of a plea to God was a revelation, with its clever use of solo violin (played by Lamon) to serve as a sort of barometer for the soul\u2019s state during the singing of the words.<\/p>\n

Harvey is a pleasure to listen to. He may be a lyric baritone, ideally suited to Baroque-era music and art song, but he also has a nice, full chest voice. He is a fine craftsman, shaping phrases with great skill, and subtly shading each note.<\/p>\n

As I mentioned earlier, J.S. Bach\u2019s cantata had little to worry about. Hearing it set alongside the other works on the programme, all predecessors of his composition, was a reminder of how masterful Bach could be at conveying very personal, touching emotion in his music \u2014 and how he uses repetition to establish a mood, make the listener familiar, and then feel intense comfort at the return of the familiar.<\/p>\n

Well sung and ably accompanied, this was a sure way to end the evening with a contented smile. The Bach cantata is worth the price of admission alone, and Julia Wedman\u2019s pulse-quickening, soul-stirring interpretation of the Biber sonata was icing on the cake.<\/p>\n

For more REVIEWS, click HERE<\/u><\/a><\/span>.<\/h3>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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