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Baroque Fusions
. Program
About Us The musicians of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra are world leaders in the performance of music from the Baroque and Classical eras. Known for their vibrant and dynamic performances, they breathe 21st-century life into centuries-old music, played on period instruments just as the composers intended for their masterpieces. For example, the string instruments for this program use strings made of sheep gut rather than the steel strings you would hear a modern orchestra play on. Baroque Fusions French elegance meets Italian passion, with proper German rigour and a dash of Polish folk dance – Baroque Fusions is a celebration of many national styles. Featuring Georg Philipp Telemann, one of the most prolific composers of all time and arguably the greatest exponent of the German mixed style alongside JS Bach, and the music of Vivaldi and others that inspired them.
Vivaldi
Allegro from Il gardellino , Flute Concerto in D major, Op. 10, No. 3, RV 428
Corelli
Trio Sonata in D major, Op. 2 No. 1 i Preludio (Largo)
ii Allemanda (Allegro) iii Corrente (Allegro) iv Gavotta (Allegro)
Hotteterre
Prelude in D major
Detouches & Delalande
Chaconne from Les Élémens , Act III ‘ Le Feu ’
Boismortier
Cello Concerto in D major, Op. 26 No. 6 i Preludio (Largo)
ii Allemanda (Allegro) iii Corrente (Allegro)
Corrette
‘Concerto comique’ No. 25 in G minor, 1. Les Sauvages – Allegro
Musicians Mikaela Oberg Baroque flute Timothy Willis Baroque violin Shane Lestideau Baroque violin Monique O’Dea* Baroque viola Jamie Hey* Baroque cello Tommie Andersson* Gallichon, Theorbo & Baroque guitar Nicholas Pollock Theorbo & Baroque guitar
Bach
Sarabande & Double from Partita No. 1 in B minor for solo violin, BWV 1002, transcribed for Gallichon
Janitsch
Quartet in D major from the Sara Levy Collection, Op. 1 No. 5 i Adagio ii Allegro ma non troppo iii Vivace
*Denotes Brandenburg Core Musician
Telemann
Quintet in D major, TWV 44:1 i Spirituoso ii Largo iii Vivace
Concert duration Concert duration approximately 60 minutes. Please note concert duration is approximate only and is subject to change.
Telemann
Polish Dance No. 29 in D major from the Rostock Manuscript, TWV 45
France Hotteterre, Destouches & Delalande, Boismortier, Corrette Dating back to the Middle Ages, the tradition of preluding originates from the custom of instrument tuning by singers who accompanied themselves on the harp. The role of the prelude is to introduce the key for the piece of music to follow. While originally improvised by the player, here we perform a written-out prelude by Jacques-Martin Hotteterre (1674-1763) from his didactic collection entitled, L’art de préludier (The Art of Preluding). Born into a known family of wind instrument makers and players, Hotteterre’s music survives largely due to his extensive pedagogical output including the first ever treatise dedicated to the playing of the transverse flute: “Since the transverse flute is one of the most pleasant and popular of instruments, I feel a certain duty in undertaking this brief work to further the inclinations of those who aspire to play it.” - Jacques-Martin Hotteterre Continuing without pause in the key of D major is an elegant Chaconne from Les Élémens (The Elements). This collaboratively-composed opera-ballet premiered in Paris in December 1721, replete with dancing segments written specifically for the then 11-year-old King Louis XV. At a time when music was usually freshly produced for occasion or purpose, this work remained a popular part of the French repertoire for over 50 years and was revived for the Paris Opera as late as 1780; its composers André Cardinal Destouches (1672-1749) and Michael Richard Delalande (1657-1726) had been dead for decades, but their settings of stories of ancient Roman gods and heroes transcended the late-Baroque period. Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (1689-1755) was a contemporary of Destouches and Delalande, but by obtaining a royal licence for engraving music in 1724 he bucked the common trend of noble patronage. Boismortier generated considerablepersonal wealth by publishing and selling his music directly to the public, hence why this Italian-styled Concerto in D major from his Opus 6 was marketed to not one, but to three different solo instruments: the cello, the viola da gamba, and the bassoon. Like Boismortier, Michel Corrette (1707-1795) was also a prolific composer who understood popular tastes. In 1773, Corrette arranged music by Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) into the first movement of his 25th and final concerto ‘comique’. Titled Les Sauvages , the original setting for harpsichord depicted a North Amercian tribal war dance.
During the Baroque period, the frequency of trade and popular travel routes grew steadily despite the limited modes of transport available. The world was becoming more cosmopolitan. If you were going somewhere, it was either by boat, by coach, on horseback or on foot. While public concerts as we now know them were rare, the falling cost of publishing and the increasing number of manuscripts being produced helped popularise many fantastic works of music composed for church services, or for private concerts on behalf of a wealthy patron.
Italy Vivaldi, Corelli
Venice was one of the most important Italian centres of culture and music-making, due in part to the highly sophisticated playing of the girls of the Ospedale della Pietà (a convent, orphanage and music school). Enclosed, the girls studied music at length with composers such as Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), whose music opens today’s program. Vivaldi is well-known for his musical imitations of nature, and here his focus turns to the humble Goldfinch. This concerto stems from the Opus 10 collection, where the three concertos with programmatic titles all demonstrate a particularly high level of virtuosity. Vivaldi was keenly aware of the scrutiny his work was facing throughout Europe, and with this collection wanted to set a new benchmark for the standard of flute technique. Vivaldi’s music was highly prized by composers seeking to familiarize themselves with what was referred to as the Italian style. Upon request by his employer at the time, JS Bach produced arrangements of several works by Vivaldi, all the while copying and learning, opening himself up to a different way of thinking musically that is showcased in several collections, such as his inimitable Partitas and Sonatas for solo violin , and the Brandenburg Concertos . Apart from Venice where Vivaldi’s music could be enjoyed, many European and British tourists – often upper-class young men of sufficient means and rank accompanied by a chaperone – would reside in Rome for a period. Typical of Baroque musicians active in Rome was the composer and violinist Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713), whose style of playing became the bedrock of violin technique during the 18th and 19th centuries, and whose chamber music compositions like this Trio Sonata in D major from Opus 2 enjoyed influence and importance as far-reaching as the imperial court of China.
Germany Bach, Janitsch, Telemann
Although less than a year long, Telemann’s tenure as kapellmeister (director of music) for the court of Count Erdmann II of Promnitz in Sorau (now Żary, Poland) and his travels and experiences of folk music in the region inspired him greatly. Writing in his diary: “It is hard to believe how wonderful the ideas of those pipers and fiddlers are when, during a break in the dancing, they begin to improvise. Listening to them with attention, in eight days a man could collect enough musical ideas for his whole life!” - Georg Philipp Telemann By synthesising various national styles, German composers like Telemann enjoyed success and indeed established a musical style independent of the prevailing French and Italian tastes. “I am a great fan of playing Telemann’s music. A lot of his influences are reminiscent of music from other people and places, but somehow transported to a higher plane. Often simple components become long lines of melody and harmony, always with a great sense of character. Telemann’s imagination is almost without boundaries, and he constantly surprises both performers and listeners alike with the breadth and control of starkly different musical influences.” - Melissa Farrow, Program Curator
In their music, as with all forms of their art, the 17th century German-speaking lands were particularly susceptible to foreign influence due to their political disunity in the wake of the Thirty Years War. As such, an understanding of German music following this devastating conflict is usually gleaned through the prism of its foreign elements (French, Italian, Polish, etc.). This is true of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), in which different national styles are sometimes treated separately and at other times skillfully combined. Along with many of his relatives and German contemporaries, part of young Johann Sebastian’s education was an initiation into French music and dance forms. As a 15-year-old Bach travelled on foot with a friend to Lüneburg, where – on top of his ongoing education – Bach participated in music performances of styles popularised by the court of Louis XIV in Versailles. This music from Bach’s Partita No. 1 in B minor, here transcribed for gallichon, closely aligns with the typical characteristics of slower courtly sarabandes : set in a slow triple metre, with a strong sense of balance based on four-bar phrases. Johann Gottlieb Janitsch (1708-1763) is the latest composer represented in this program, and was contemporary with Bach’s most successful son, Carl Philipp Emanuel. Born in Schweidnitz, Silesia (now Świdnica, south-western Poland), he eventually became a personal violinist to Prussian ruler Frederick the Great. The music of this Quartet in G major reflects the aesthetics of the galant style then fashionable in Frederick’s court. Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) was born in Magdeburg just four years before JS Bach. Telemann, like Bach, had strong connections with the Lutheran Church: his father was a clergyman, his mother the daughter of a clergyman, and his elder brother also took orders. However, due to his considerable musical talent he would not follow in his brother’s footsteps, despite facing strong resistance from his mother who forbade any musical activities and insisted he study law instead. This resistance only heightened Telemann’s obsession with music, and the secretive past-time of a young man grew into a focused and prolific international career backed by a large group of subscribers, rather than any one aristocratic patron. Whereas Bach had remained in what we know as Germany for his entire career and life, Telemann travelled extensively, and feverishly assimilated many of the foreign musical styles and forms he encountered into his own compositional and performing practices.
MONIQUE O’DEA, PHOTO BY GEORGES ANTONI
Program notes by Joanna Butler, Melissa Farrow & Hugh Ronzani, 2022
This tour is made possible by the support of the Patricia H Reid Endowment Fund
Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Level 1, 247 Coward Street Mascot NSW 2020 Email: mail@brandenburg.com.au Ph: 1300 782 856
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