Tage Alter Musik – Almanach 2017

norem Beatissimae Virginis Mariae – the so- called St. Cecilia mass. Hannah morrison was joined by three other vocal soloists, the tenor michael mogl being the most impres- sive. The ‘soft centre’ of the piece, the et in- carnatus est section of the Credo was parti- cularly effective, with its orchestral murmurs accompanying the tenor. The boys choir were on fine form, their distinctive tone being particularly good in the louder choru- ses. The late night (10.45pm) concert in the Schottenkirche St. Jakob (with its extra- ordinary sculptures) was given the young British a capella vocal group the Gesualdo six , directed by owain Park , making their german debut with their programme Jour- ney through the Music of the englishMas- ters . With composers ranging fromDunsta- ble to Tomkins they explored some of the fi- nest music ever produced from the British isles in a well-balanced and varied pro- gramme. They were particularly good at the distinctively english false relations heard in Taverner’s Quemadmodum and Loqueban- tur from Tallis, the master of such scrunchy harmonic twists and turns. His cadence on Alleluia must be amongst the most beau- tiful in the history of music, almost equalled by the final cadence of his Suscipe quaeso Domine . These pieces were contrasted by the relative simplicity of Sheppard’s Libera nos II and White’s Christe, qui lux es et dies. The emotional intensity and changes in volume in, for example, Byrd’s Vigilate , were well handled, sounding completely natural to the music. The two countertenors, guy Ja- mes and alex Chance were very impressive. The audience response was particularly en- thusiastic, and rightly so. Saturday 3 June the Beethoven Project is a duo of violin and piano from the USa. Their 11am con- cert in the Neuhaussaal of the Theater am Bismarckplatz was of Beethoven’s three opus 30 Sonatas for piano and violin, the order of the two instruments being very obvious from the texture of the music. only in the fi- nal movement of the 2nd Sonata does the violin really get a chance to take control. playing a fortepiano based on a 1772 anton Walter original, ian Watson demonstrated a good sense of the ebb and flow of the music. Notwithstanding the difficulties of playing (and listening) in an oppressively hot, humid and unventilated hall, i was less impressed with the violin playing, not least the frequent use of portamento slithers towards, but not quite precisely on, the intended note, and a finger vibrato that also affected intonation. The early afternoon concert took place in the basement of the interestingly named Leerer Beutel (empty Bag), an enormous grain wa- rehouse now used as an art gallery and res- taurant. The ten-strong ensemble Les haulz et les bas, based in germany, played a pro- gramme with the enigmatic title of ars supernova – medieval Jazz – eine erfahrung von Zeitlosigkeit… (… an experience of ti- melessness …). Featuring an enormous ar- ray of instruments, ancient and modern, and a range of musical styles to match, this was the sort of concert that really should have been one of the late night ones, rather than early afternoon. Whether playing together or in separate groups, the medieval schalmei, pommer, gaita, slide trumpet, and posaune blended surprisingly well with the array of jazz saxophones, double bass and guitar. apart from some numbers written by mem- bers of the group, the music was certainly medieval (with the rather odd exception of purcell’s if music be the food of love), even if the interpretations were not always of that period, but were in the delightfully relaxed, late-night, improvisatory and slightly rams- hackle mood of a jazz club. The late afternoon concert was given in the galleried St oswald church by the Canadian group, ensemble Masques under the title of Erbarme dich : Cantatas and Instrumental music from 17th century Germany , with a fo- cus on the theme of death and laments. This andrewbensonwilson.org 7 Scherzi Musicali Fotos: Hanno Meier