Yale Collection of Musical Instruments presents
The SebaSTianS Daniel Lee and Nicholas DiEugenio violin Ezra Seltzer, cello Jeffrey Grossman, harpsichord
in
Venice to Rome
15 Hillhouse Avenue New Haven 30 October 2018 7:30 p.m.
Yale Collection of Musical Instruments 15 Hillhouse Avenue New Haven
30 October 2018 7:30 pm
The Sebastians Venice to Rome Dario Costello
Sonata decima (Venice, 1621)
Giovanni Battista Fontana
Sonata seconda (Venice, 1641)
Arcangelo Corelli
Sonata in G minor, op. 5, no. 5 (Rome, 1700) Adagio Vivace Adagio Vivace Giga. Allegro
François Couperin (1668-1733)
Le Parnasse ou l’Apothéose de Corelli, grande sonade en trio from Les goûts-réünis (Paris, 1724)
(fl. early 17th-cent.) (?1589-?1630) (1653-1713)
INTERVAL Arcangelo Corelli
Trio Sonata in D Major Grave Allegro Adagio Allegro
Johann Jakob Froberger
Toccata for harpsichord (Vienna, 1649)
Giovanni Picchi
Canzon prima a 2 violini overo Corneti (Venice, 1625)
Giuseppi Colombi
Bergamesca, no. 4 from Mus. F. 283, Biblioteca universitaria, Modena
Tarquinio Merula
Ballo detto Pollicio, op. 12, no. 24 (Venice, 1737) Chiaccona, op. 12, no. 20 (Venice, 1737)
(1653-1713)
(1616-1667) (1572-1643) (1635-1694)
(1594/5-1665)
This concert is being recorded and streamed live over the internet. Please turn off all cellphones and electronic devices.
Program Notes Tonight’s program travels through the development of baroque instrumental music, in particular the trio sonata, focusing on the exceptional centers of Venice and Rome. The early baroque stylus fantasticus was described in 1650 as “the most free and unrestrained method of composing. It is bound by nothing, neither by words nor by harmonic subject. It was instituted to teach the hidden design of harmony, and ingenious composition.” The collection of instrumental works by the Venetian composer Dario Castello, whose life is mysteriously undocumented, features the fantastical seventeenth-century imagination at work. In this “modern style”—they referred to it as the stile moderno—the sonata is a purely instrumental work, a piece simply meant to be “sounded” (sonare, to sound) with no agenda but the imagination of the composer and no formal shape except the passionate and theatrical give-and-take of friends in conversation. Giovanni Battista Fontana is an important and elusive figure of the early Italian baroque. Born in Brescia, he worked in Venice, Rome, and finally Padua. His death was attributed to “the voracity of the pestilence,” that raged in northern Italy in the years 1630–31. The 1641 collection of eighteen sonatas, edited and published posthumously by Reghino in Venice, comprises all we have of Fontana’s output. Written for violin (or cornetto), the set includes six sonatas for solo violin and continuo and twelve ensemble sonatas for one to three violins and continuo. The ensemble sonatas often feature an agile, vivacious concertante part for bassoon or cello. None of the individual works can be firmly dated: it can only be stated that they represent sonata composition 1610–30. Fontana’s melodic material is generally simple, related to the common canzona and dance pieces of the time, but the ingenuity of his music lies in its form. Multiple sections are bound together through intriguing metric relationships, suggesting an arch in some pieces, a wayward journey in others, or, as in this evening’s sonata, elements of both. While meter often acts as an agent of dramatic flow, it also sometimes disappears, leaving the musicians to imitate vocal recitative, declamation, and improvisation; these sections often imply an emotional nadir, or what Richard Taruskin might call the “far away point” of a work’s short story. Arcangelo Corelli’s mastery as a virtuosic violinist is apparent in his writing for string instruments, particularly the violin. With his thorough understanding of the instrument, his sonatas, which are satisfyingly idiomatic, express heartfelt lyricism and showcase witty virtuosity. Corelli brought a new level of virtuosity and expression to violin playing. Corelli’s showmanship as a performer extended to his business side. He took much care in overseeing publications of his own works, carefully planning sufficient time between each of his six opuses (op. 1–4: trio sonatas, op. 5: solo sonatas, and op. 6: concerti grossi). This ensured that each opus was properly publicized. His timing was so impeccable that his opus 5 was published on January 1, 1700, ringing in the new century with its inventive solo sonatas. He carefully managed his public image and fortune; he died a wealthy man. 3.
His sonatas have traditionally been divided into two categories: sonata da chiesa and sonata da camera. Both of tonight’s offerings are examples of church sonatas, that is, movements alternating slow-fast-slow-fast, juxtaposing the moods of solemn procession and exuberant jubilation. More recently, though, scholars have viewed this general categorization to be an oversimplification of all the inventive elements that Corelli employed in each of his sonatas. The third movement of the solo violin sonata, for instance, contains all the hallmarks of a sarabande. Corelli’s keen sense of structure and form did not constrain his vast musical imagination. Within his well-crafted symmetry are delicate figurations, elegant melodies, and infectious harmonic sequences that convey the warmth of the Roman sun, the clarity of the Mediterranean waters, and a sweetly rendered humanism. We take a slight detour to explore the hold that Italian music had on neighboring France in the early eighteenth-century: the French were crazy about Italian music, and specifically the music of Corelli. The great François Couperin introduced Corelli’s trio sonata form to France. His suite Les Nations and collection Les Goûts Réunis (The Tastes United) were the culmination of his desire to unify the best parts of the Italian style with the French. In Le Parnasse, ou l’Apothéose de Corelli, he adds to this musical goal the programmatic conceit of Corelli’s arrival to Mount Parnassus and the joyful reception the Muses give him, in seven scenes: 1. Corelli, at the base of Mount Parnassus, asks the muses to receive him among them. This gravement movement could almost open an Italian church sonata, with a typical walking eighth-note bass line and blissfully unaware upper violin lines exchanging motives. Only the rich harmonic language gives away its French underpinnings. 2. Corelli, charmed by the pleasant reception they gave him at Mount Parnassus, shows his joy. He continues with his followers. Couperin uses short points of imitation to generate excitement in this gaÿment. 3. Corelli drinks at the spring of Hippocrene; his group continues. The slow movement of the water is evident in the meandering nature of the violin and bass lines. Couperin makes a special marking to play the eighth-notes equal, smoothing out the normal “swinging” inégale of the French style. The harmonies begin very simply but grow more and more complex as the movement continues. 4. Corelli’s enthusiasm at the waters of the Hippocrene. Like the second movement, Couperin’s imitation vividly portrays Corelli’s excitement. At the end, the violins seem unable to contain the excitement, even dragging the bass line into the craziness at the end of the movement. 5. After his enthusiasm, Corelli falls asleep, and his followers play very quietly. The sommeil, or slumber scene, was introduced by Lully in his ballet Les amants magnifiques, and became popular in French operas, oratorios, motets, and more. Couperin evokes the genre with the violins’ beautiful duet over the occasional pedal point. The movement has no surprises or hard edges, but lulls us to sleep much as it does Corelli.
4.
6. The muses wake Corelli and place him next to Apollo. Couperin draws on the sound of trumpets but without the technical limitation of the baroque trumpets: this movement travels through many key centers in its short 32 bars. 7. Corelli’s thanks. It may seem odd to us that Couperin ends this supposedly joyous piece with a rather stern fugue—though he does mark it Gaÿment!—and that the whole suite is in the serious key of B minor. Nevertheless, Couperin spends much of this final section letting the violins and the bass line partake in Corelli’s gratitude, including scalar sweeps upward, roulades in singing thirds, and fun suspensions. Certainly Corelli never wrote anything as lush as Couperin’s harmonies, but it is easy to imagine Corelli greatly enjoying the accent of this strange music. Taking its name from the Italian toccare (to touch), the toccata form was a chance for a composer to show off the capabilities of the harpsichord and its player. The German composer Johann Jakob Froberger studied in Rome with Girolamo Frescobaldi. Froberger’s toccatas are renowned for their improvisatory style, combining passagework and flourishes (known as passaggi) as well more reflective and meditative phrases (affetti). Manuscripts of Froberger’s works survived in many composers’ libraries. Giovanni Picchi’s Canzoni da sonar con ogni sorte d’istromenti was published in Venice in 1625. Its nineteen works include pieces as intimate as the trio sonata we perform tonight as well as much for much larger ensembles, showing the influence of music for multiple instrumental choirs by Giovanni Gabrieli in particular. Canzon prima features some of the echo effects in vogue in Venice in the early seventeenth century. Notwithstanding his obscurity today, Picchi was active in his Venetian musical scene, serving as organist at a large Franciscan church at the same time that Monteverdi was a resident at the Scuola di San Rocco, a merchants’ guild hall near San Marco. Italian dance forms provided rich territory for compositional invention, giving composers a structure they could embellish and alter to great effect. The “bergamasca” was a popular tune based on a folk dance, and it was widely used in variation sets throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. This example (labeled “Bergamesca”), by the Franciscan Giuseppe Colombi, is unusual in its virtuosic writing for the cello. Tarquinio Merula worked in Cremona but was associated with the nearby center of Venice, including publishing all his music there. Merula’s music was considered progressive, incorporating the latest Venetian stylistic developments. His output includes many works titled “Ballo” loosely based on the popular dance forms of the time, and this ciaccona, one of the wonderful myriad pieces based on the familiar ground bass. ~Program notes by Jeffrey Grossman, Daniel S. Lee, and Nicholas DiEugenio
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About the Performers The Sebastians (www.sebastians.org) are a dynamic and vital musical ensemble specializing in music of the baroque and classical eras. Lauded as “everywhere sharpedged and engaging” (The New York Times), the Sebastians have also been praised for their “well-thought-out articulation and phrasing” (Early Music Review) and “elegant string playing… immaculate in tuning and balance” (Early Music Today). The Sebastians 2018–19 season features Venetian and Roman trio sonatas and concerti grossi; Bach’s six sonatas for violin and obbligato harpsichord and sonatas for violin and continuo; and, with TENET Vocal Artists, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and Handel’s Messiah, in intimate unconducted performances. The Sebastians are currently in residence at the Yale Collection of Musical Instruments. The ensemble’s first CD, Night Scenes from the Ospedale, pairs Vivaldi concerti from L’Estro Armonico with newly composed interludes by Robert Honstein, and has been praised for “beautifully-nuanced playing and thoughtful expressivity” (I Care If You Listen). Their second CD, The Sebastians à 2: Virtuoso Music of the Holy Roman Empire, explores the rich baroque repertoire of music for violin and harpsichord written by composers from modern-day Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. This season, the Sebastians will release a new CD of trio sonatas and vocal works by Corelli, Colista, Handel, and Vivaldi, featuring soprano Awet Andemicael. Praised for his “invigorating, silken” playing and “mysterious atmosphere” (Cleveland Plain Dealer) and as an “evocative” violinist (The New York Times), Nicholas DiEugenio leads a versatile life in music from Biber to Carter and beyond. Along with pianist Mimi Solomon, he has performed in the US and abroad. He has played concerts in St. Petersburg’s Glinka Hall, Merkin Hall, at the CMS of Lincoln Center, and at Caregie’s Weill Hall. Recordings of the complete Schumann violin sonatas with fortepiano (Musica Omnia), as well as with the Sebastians and the Quodlibet Ensemble, will be released this year. Upcoming recordings include works for violin and piano of Steven Stucky and Robert Palmer. A passionate teacher, Nicholas is Assistant Professor of Violin at UNC Chapel Hill, and was previously violin professor at the Ithaca College School of Music. He holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Yale School of Music, where he earned a DMA. www.nicholasdieugenio.com Award-winning violinist Daniel S. Lee enjoys a varied career as a soloist, leader, collaborator, and educator. Praised for his “ravishing vehemence” and “soulful performance” (The New York Times), he has appeared as a soloist and leader with Early Music New York, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Quodlibet Ensemble, and Yale Schola Cantorum, among others. He is the founding director of the critically-acclaimed period ensemble, the Sebastians. As a piccolo violin specialist, he has performed as a soloist in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 and Cantata 140, and has given the modern-day premiere of his own transcription of Johann Pfeiffer’s concerto. He studied at the Juilliard 6.
School (BM), Yale School of Music (MM and AD), and University of Connecticut (DMA), and has given lectures and masterclasses at Connecticut College, Manhattan School of Music, Purchase College (SUNY), University of Kansas, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was recently appointed as a faculty member at Yale School of Music. www.danielslee.com Keyboardist and conductor Jeffrey Grossman specializes in vital, engaging performances of music of the past, through processes that are intensely collaborative and historically informed. As the artistic director of the acclaimed baroque ensemble the Sebastians, this season Jeffrey leads concerts including Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and Handel’s Messiah from the organ and harpsichord, both in collaboration with TENET Vocal Artists, and performs Bach’s six sonatas for violin and obbligato harpsichord with Daniel S. Lee. In recent seasons, Jeffrey has performed with TENET, the Green Mountain Project, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Quodlibet, the Boston Early Music Festival, and numerous other ensembles across the country. For the past thirteen seasons, he has also toured portions of the rural United States with artists of the Piatigorsky Foundation, performing outreach concerts to underserved communities, most recently in Wyoming and southeast Alaska. Jeffrey can be heard on the Avie, Gothic, Naxos, Albany, Soundspells, Métier, and MSR Classics record labels. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he holds degrees from Harvard College, the Juilliard School, and Carnegie Mellon University; he was recently appointed a faculty member of the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. www.jeffreygrossman.com Lauded for his “beauty of tone and keenness of musicianship” (Opera Britannia), cellist Ezra Seltzer is a founding member and principal cellist of the Sebastians, and has performed frequently as guest principal cellist of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Musica Angelica, and Orchester Wiener Akademie. Since 2015, he has been the principal cellist of the Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Early Music New York, and New York Baroque Incorporated. He has also appeared with the Portland Baroque Orchestra, Chicago’s Baroque Band, TENET, the Mark Morris Dance Group, and the Clarion Orchestra, and will appear as a soloist with Apollo’s Fire later this season in Cleveland and at Caramoor. He attended Yale University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in history and Master of Music in cello, and graduated in the inaugural class of Juilliard’s
This concert is made possible by the generous support of the Associate Members of the Collection. 7.
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Tickets may be ordered by telephone at the Yale School of Music box office at (203)432-4158 or over the Internet at: www.yale.edu/music Tickets
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$30.00 each, reserved seating $125.00, series of 5 concerts $25.00 each, senior citizens & Yale staff $15.00 each, students $25.00 each, Associate Member $100.00 series, Associate Member
Cover painTing
Circle of Ippolito Caffi Venice, A view of the molo looking west with the pallazo ducale, the biblioteca and santa maria della salute in the distance Oil on canvas, mid 19th-century Private collection