Tage Alter Musik – Almanach 2016

harpsichord. Although most of these worked well with the viols, I would have prefered the sound of a small organ, the more usual ac- companiment to a viol consort in England at the time, rather than the percussive sound of the harpsichord. I was glad that the two up- per viols managed to keep their volume in check, something of an issue with some viol consorts. The first of the weekend’s concerts in the an- cient (but heavily Baroquised) Basilika St. Emmeram was given by the European Union Baroque Orchestra (EUBO). They were formed in 1985 as a training orchestra for young musicians in that tricky gap bet- ween completing their studies and starting their professional careers. Since then they have carved out an enormous (and award winning) reputation as one of the finest pe- riod instrument orchestras around, despite the fact that they reform each year with a completely new set of young players. One of their very first concerts was given in Regens- burg in 1985, under the direction of Roger Norrington. The current Tage Alter Musik programme book included photographs and a poster from that 1985 concert. One of the 1985 EUBO players was oboist Alfredo Ber- nardini, now a regular performer in Regens- burg (and around the world) and the leader of two of this weekend’s orchestra. This EUBO programme (one of several they have toured with in the past months) was entitled Creative Europe in the 18th cen- tury and was based around the explosion in music publishing and new printing methods in the early years of the 18th century, notably from Roger in Amsterdam and Walsh in London, both of whom have anniversaries in 2016. These publications increased the acces- sibility of music through new technologies and enterprises, thereby creating new au- diences. The EUBO concert included five concertos and an extended overture, explo- ring music from around Europe by Lully, Vi- valdi, Handel, and Albinoni. In music like this, there is an almost continual interplay between different groups of instruments and players, and the training that each intake of EUBO players receives (which includes ex- perience of playing in smaller consort groups) was very evident. The sense of play- ing together was excellent, as was their sheer enjoyment of the music. EUBO has a tradi- tion of using rather extrovert and flamboyant directors to head up the various annual tours, and the choice of Rachel Podger for this short tour was one such example. Her engaging ap- proach to music making rubbed off on the players as well as the audience. Their perfor- mance was sensitive, revealing, imaginative and communicative. Several players were gi- ven the chance to shine but, as is the case in so much of this repertoire, it was the conti- nuo cellist that has much of the work – in this case, a very impressive Candela Gómez Bo- net, one of no fewer than six Spanish players in the 18 strong orchestra, making up the entire lower strings. And I am sure that, if any of the young players end up directing ensem- bles themselves (as I am sure several of them will), they will remember this concert for te- aching them one very important lesson– to make sure that all the required players are ac- tually on stage before starting a piece. On this occasion, the encore nearly started without a key soloist – the impressive Italian recorder and bassoon player Alessandro Nasello. The situation saved by an alert viola player – they do have their uses! The later afternoon concert was in the Alten Kapelle, its glitteringly Rococco decorations belying an ancient foundation. The group was Les Basses Réunies from France, ma- king their German debut. Their programme was pieces and extracts by Bach and Vivaldi , nearly all in arrangements that focussed on the string bass instruments, to suit their cel- list leader. As such, they gave a rather distor- ted impression of the music, not helped by several moments of poor intonation from the various bass instruments, and excessive vibrato, particular at what should be restful cadence points. Violinist Ryo Terakado was very impressive, notably in Bach’s Sonata in c (1047) for violin and harpsichord, alt- hough this combination would have soun- ded very much better in a chamber, rather than a large church acoustic. Organist Maude Gratton also impressed with some very complex finger work in an arrangement of Vivaldi’s Concerto in d (541). The main Sunday evening concert was back in the Trinity church, with the French Pul- cinella Orchestra and a very welcome con- cert of music by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach , an often overlooked member of that extraordinary family. Led by cellist Ophélie Gaillard, it was perhaps inevitable that the programme would open and close with cello concertos (Wq 170/172). In typical CPE Bach style, the expansive opening cello me- lody of the A minor concerto was in sharp contrast to the busy orchestral introduction. The opening movement ended with a large- scale cadenza that seemed to momentarily wander off into a concerto from a comple- tely different era. The concluding A major Concerto included some florid cello figura- tion in the opening Allegro, tempered by a yearning cello melody in the central Largo. Despite her leadership position, Ophélie Gaillard never allowed her cello to dominate the proceedings – an admirable, but not of- ten heard, practice. The Symphony 5 in B minor was another example of CPE Bach’s extravagent compositional style, with rapid changes of mood and texture. The second half opened with his Sanguineus & Melan- cholicus, with violinists Thibault Noally and David Chivers representing the battle bet- ween the temperaments. Sunday’s late night concert was in the vast Gothic Dominikanerkirche and was given by the American choir Cut Circle , conduc- ted by Jesse Rodin and making their German debut. They titled their programme My Fair Lady, in a less-than-subtle reference to Ma- rian pieces by Josquin, Desprez, Busnoys and Ockeghem and the concluding Missa Ecce ancilla Domini / Beata es Maria by Dufay. They sang the Dufay Mass from an enor- mous enlargement of the modern score, pre- sumably aiming to recreate an image of monks gathered around a singing desk but, in practice, looking rather Heath Robinson with its white sheet covering, lots of little lights clipped to the top and with the singers facing sideways on to the audience. It also reinforced my query as to why a conductor was necessary for music like this, with just 8 singers. Very few of the singers in the Mass could have seen his beat, which was down around waist level. The blend between the singers was generally good, although there a steady, albeit slight, vibrato from one of the sopranos which gave an edginess to the voice and prevented ca- dences from resolving smoothly. The diffe- rence in timbre when the other soprano sang was noticeable. There were also occasions when the fifth in a final cadence was over- emphasized. Monday 15 May The threat of rain meant that the Monday morning concert was moved from it’s plan- ned outdoor performance in the courtyard of the Thon Dittmer Palace to St.- Oswald- Kirche. It saw the return of the ever-popular Alfredo Bernardini, directing his own wind- band Zefiro in their programme Harmonie- musik & Türkenmode , with some of the pieces for windband inspired by Turkish music from around 1800 by such composers as JM and FJ Haydn, Mozart, Rossini, G and G Donizetti, Witt, Beethoven and Mendels- sohn. This is an extraordinary repertoire, with some remarkable sounds, not least from the contrabassoon and cimbasso bass instruments played by Riccardo Armari and Maurizio Barigione. The whole thing was presented in a lively and good-humoured manner, fullly engaging the audience. After sitting though ten concerts in 2 days, this was an ideal morning pick-me-up. The early afternoon concert was given in the Minoritenkirche by ClubMediéval from Belgium with their programme of ballatas and madrigals by Paolo da Firenze (1355- 1436), Amor, tu solo’l sai . The four singers were supported by harp, dulcimer, fiddle and organetto. Most of the music was from ma- nuscripts in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. As well as the ballatas and madrigals, it also included his only surviving sacred andrewbensonwilson.org 8