Tage Alter Musik – Almanach 2018

Carissimi, Bassani from the early 17th-cen- tury, A. Scarlatti (arias from his 1697 Emireno ), together with a composition from 2015 by Greek composer Calliope Tsoupaki, his evocative Mélena imi ( Nigra sum ). with it plaintive opening, tiny harmonic shifts, and viola da gamba flourishes. Occasionally the cornett playing was too loud for the voice, although at other times it demon- strated the ability to play beautifully quietly. Jacob Lindberg played a couple of Kaps- berger pieces on theorbo, introduced by a Toccata by Piccini. I liked the well-articu- lated violin playing of Franciska Anna Ha- jdu, in contrast to the other violinist who tended to slither between notes. The early afternoon concert (2pm. in the Neuhaussaal, Theater am Bismarckplatz) was given by the european union Baroque orchestra (EUBO, directed by Bojan Čičić ) together with the puppet theatre group Fav- oletta for their show concertatio in silva . The three-act show (with free entry for chil- dren) was based on a fairy tale about a quar- rel between trees in a forest, set to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons , albeit with all the movements rearranged in a different order. Celebrations for the 1000th birthday of an oak tree ends with an argument about which of the other trees are best, ending with them all going off to start their own forests. As the seasons ro- tated, the trees swapped foliage to suit. The nine-strong members of EUBO (concluding a short tour of this show) were led by Bojan Čičić, who was also outstanding in the key role of violin soloist. On this occasion, EUBO consisted of impressive young musi- cians from Spain, France, and Poland. The puppet show was designed by Michael Schneider, with figures by Monika Seibold. The later afternoon concert was given by the Belgian group inalto (in St. Oswaldkirche) with their programme la liberazione di venezia based on 16th and 17th centuries compositions responding to the liberation of the city from the plague epidemic. The three sections covered the planning and construc- tion of the famed Santa Maria della Salute during the early 1630s. The promise to build a church included pieces by G. Gabrieli, Monteverdi, Riccio, and Rovetta; the laying of the foundation stone was accompanied by music by Grandi, Bassani, Buonamente, Rovetta, and Filago; and for the Thanksgiv- ing service we heard Monteverdi’s Missa à 4 from the Selva morale e spirituale and the Laetaniae della Beata Vergine . The six singers and seven instrumentalists performed well, both individually and in consort. I liked so- prano Perrine Devillers’ singing in the Mon- teverdi Salve Regina, particularly her well- articulated flourishes . Marie Rouquié’s violin contributions were eloquent, and Dimos de Beun provided very effective organ inter- ludes to cover the stage movements between pieces. But, given the wide contrast of moods, from despair to elation, I wondered if there could have been rather more subtlety in the interpretations. The main Saturday evening concert (in the Trinity church) had the title in progress – re-formations with Johann sebastian Bach . It was given by la Folia Barockorch- ester and ensemble Polyharmonique . Their exploration of the various (mostly Ital- ian) influences on Bach’s music included andrewbensonwilson.org 8 Das European Union Baroque Orchestra und das Figurentheater Favoletta Jakob Lindberg, Hana Blažíková