{"id":65814,"date":"2020-01-10T09:43:16","date_gmt":"2020-01-10T14:43:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=65814"},"modified":"2020-01-10T09:43:16","modified_gmt":"2020-01-10T14:43:16","slug":"primer-tafelmusik-bringing-back-oldies-along-shiny-new-commission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2020\/01\/10\/primer-tafelmusik-bringing-back-oldies-along-shiny-new-commission\/","title":{"rendered":"PRIMER | Tafelmusik Is Bringing Back The Oldies, Along With A Shiny New Commission"},"content":{"rendered":"

Members of Tafelmusik talk about bringing back the wind band, or Harmonie<\/em>, in music by Mozart, Beethoven and Rossini, and a world premiere by Toronto composer Cecilia Livingston.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Dominic
Dominic Teresi (Photo : Sian Richards Photography); Cecilia Livingston (Photo : Self Limited Photography); Pippa Macmillan (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s hard to imagine a world where things were experienced without modern technology. Word of mouth, and printed posters were the way that things got around. The very first radio broadcast ever<\/a><\/span> wasn\u2019t until 1906, and people had to be present in real time to consume culture. Before broadcasting (and its evolution to digital streaming), if you were dying to hear that new music, you would have to get to a live performance, or you were simply likely to be out of luck, unless\u2026<\/p>\n

Unless there was a transcription and arrangements by your local musicians.<\/p>\n

New Year, New Harmonie<\/strong><\/h3>\n

And that\u2019s what the ever-curious members of Tafelmusik are up to in Gone with the Winds<\/a><\/span><\/em>, bringing back some oldies, along with a shiny new commission. \u201cWe are excited to welcome you this New Year with a concert featuring the wind instruments of the late 18th century in the special sonority of the wind octet, or Harmonie<\/em> ensemble,\u201d says Tafelmusik Oboist John Abbeger.<\/p>\n

What is Harmonie<\/em> exactly? Tafelmusik\u2019s Bassoonist Dominic Teresi explains:<\/p>\n

\u201cHarmonie<\/em>, at the time, was a particularly popular chamber ensemble in the 18th-century, especially at court, responsible for providing dinner music (aka \u201cTafelmusik\u201d) and other courtly entertainments.\u201d As public concert culture grew in the 19th-century, these private Harmonie<\/em> performances evolved into a newer, public-facing format. It still exists today \u2014 but in slightly different roles.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn France a wind band is still called a Harmonie<\/em> and Spain has always had a very strong band tradition. Wind bands in America continue in our schools and the military, and of course other forms of bands are quite popular,\u201d Teresi adds.<\/p>\n

\"Engraving
Engraving by Jean Le Pautre depicting the coronation of Louis XIV, detail (public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Herr Mozart<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Taking the Harmonie<\/em> format, Tafelmusik wanted to center the focus on Mozart.<\/p>\n

\u201cMozart was drawn to the powerful sound of this wind ensemble, and he left us a small handful of masterpieces written for this combination of instruments. In addition, the enormous popularity of his music, and specifically his operas, inspired many wonderful arrangements for Harmonie<\/em> by Viennese wind players,\u201d says Abbeger.<\/p>\n

In Mozart\u2019s Vienna, these wind ensembles filled the city day and night, playing requests and arrangements; by then, the full Harmonie<\/em> was an octet, consisting of oboes, clarinets, horns, bassoons, and often a double bass (a curiosity!) \u2014 and the star clarinetist, Anton Stadler, who played in Emperor Joseph\u2019s Harmonie<\/em> \u2014 was the muse for Mozart\u2019s Clarinet Quintet<\/a><\/span> and Clarinet Concerto<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Plus One<\/strong><\/h3>\n

What\u2019s a double bass doing with bunch of wind instruments?<\/p>\n

Pippa Macmillan, a new bass player for Tafelmusik, relishes in being the odd one of the group. \u201cIt\u2019s quite a freeing feeling to be the only string player [\u2026] Instead of matching bow strokes with my colleagues, I\u2019ll be following their breathing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Macmillan explains that in the role of the double bass is to add an extra layer to the Harmonie<\/em>. Doubling the second bassoon part, but one octave lower, Macmillan actually has no specific part to play from. It \u201cgives me the freedom to create my own part that I feel adds the most to the ensemble\u2019s sound.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seeing that Mozart did write a designated bass part for Serenade no. 10, Gran Partita<\/em> (K361)<\/a><\/span>, but not for Serenade no. 12 (K 361\/370A), Macmillan and Tafelmusik decided that it would be suitable to add one here too.<\/p>\n

\"Tafelmusik
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (Photo : Cylla von Tiedemann)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Old meets New<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Centered on Mozart, Gone with the Winds<\/em> features that other operatic genius, Rossini (in Sedlak\u2019s arrangement), and Beethoven\u2019s Sextet; and to contrast the old, Tafelmusik commissioned a new work by Toronto-based composer Cecilia Livingston<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Expanding on the current theme Old meets New<\/em> for Tafelmusik\u2019s 19-20 season, Livingston seemed a good fit. \u201cElisa approached me, and asked if I\u2019d be interested in writing something for this particular program \u2013 which includes arrangements of opera excerpts, for winds,\u201d Livingston recalled.<\/p>\n

Livingston\u2019s recent projects include a residency at Glyndebourne Opera<\/a><\/span>, and the commission call from Tafelmusik was a welcomed change of pace. \u201c\u2026 to write a piece that didn\u2019t set text, where musical ideas alone could drive what unfolds\u2026 I ended up singing all the parts in this piece too, just the way I do when I write for the voice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cheekily titled Gone with the Winds<\/em><\/a><\/span>, writing for Tafelmusik and its historical performers was both familiar and unfamiliar for Livingston. The classical instruments, especially for winds and brass, have gone through significant development in construction and performance practice in the last few centuries, and the fusing of current ideas into historical instrumental performance is an experience to be cherished.<\/p>\n

And further expanding the idea of Old meets New<\/em>, the audience just might see the glimpse of the old<\/em> from this new work, as she fuses bits from Mozart and Beethoven, with whiff of the famous \u201cTara\u2019s Theme\u201d, from Max Steiner\u2019s score for Gone with the Wind<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Tafelmusik presents: Gone with the Winds. 16-19 January 2020, at Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity- St. Paul\u2019s Centre. Details Here<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/em><\/h3>\n

Want more updates on classical music and opera news and reviews? Follow us\u00a0on <\/em>Facebook<\/b><\/a><\/em><\/span>, <\/em>Instagram<\/b><\/a><\/em><\/span> <\/b>or <\/em>Twitter<\/b><\/a><\/em><\/span> for all the latest.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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