CURRENT SEASON
We started off the 2009-10 season with our ChamberPalooza performance. Hope you got the chance to see us at the Cincinnati Art Museum in September. Our theme was "animals in music"! Harold played a terrific "Sonata Representativa" by Biber, accompanied by Micah and Rod; this humorous piece from 1669 featured the sounds of a giant bullfrog, a cat, a nightingale, a cuckoo, a hen, a rooster and a quail. Carrying on our animal theme, we also performed "The Marriage of the Hen and the Cuckoo" by Marco Uccelini- the feathers were flying in the final galliard as the hen and the cuckoo took off on their honeymoon!
Our Coming Performance on March 16
Our next performance is Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at 12:10 PM when we are featured on the Music Live at Lunch series at Christ Church Cathedral 318 East 4th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202-4299;
Info at: (513) 621-1817
Performers will be Barbara Lambert (flute), Micah Fusselman (cello), Nina Key-Campbell (harpsichord) and Rod Stucky (archlute) in a program titled: "Trios for 4: Music for Flute, Cello, Archlute and Harpsichord. " We'll be playing music of Jacques Morel, Jean-Pierre Guignon, and Jean-Marie Leclair, as well as some music of Turlough O'Carolan in honor of St. Patrick's Day.
Please come back to Christ Church on April 27, 2010 to hear our Apollo's Cabinet member Harold Byers and Sandra Rivers play music for violin and piano.
Some program notes
- George Frederick Handel's Sonata #5 in G Major for Flute and Continuo, Opus 1
- Jacques Morel's Chaconne en trio in G Major (1709)
- Jean-Marie Leclair's TrioSonata in D Major for Flute, Viola da Gamba and Continuo
- Turlough O'Carolan's music: 3 Irish tunes by the famous itinerant harper (Selections: Sir Festus Burke, Squire Woods Lamentation on the Refusal of his halfpence, Sir John Drury 1rst Air)
George Frederic Händel (23 Feb 1685 – 14 April 1759) was born in Germany in the same year as J.S. Bach and Domenico Scarlatti- certainly an auspicious year! He was trained in Italy, and then settled in London. This flute sonata is one of his Opus 1 compositions, which says that Handel was already showing his talent for beautiful, yet simple, melodies and sparkling counterpoint.. His opus 1 sonatas were written between 1711-1716, after his move to London. This set of sonatas for recorder and flute (certain sonatas are specifically labelled) were first published in 1732. His music was popular with King George I and he received an annual income from Queen Anne. George also had a connection with Ireland- though composed in London, Handel’s most famous oratorio “The Messiah” was first performed in Dublin, Ireland in 1742.
Jacques Morel's Chaconne en trio in G Major was written in 1709, when he was about 19. Not much is known about Jacques Morel (c.1690-1740) except that he was a viol player, who studied with Marin Marais. This chaconne is from his first book of pieces for the viol, published in 1710. A chaconne is a set of variations on a ground. Chaconne's tend to build excitement and impetus as the variations pass between the solo cello and flute, while the continuo instruments (archlute and harpsichord) persist with the 4 bar ground sequence. Come along for the ride!
Links:
Jean-Marie Leclair l'aîné's ("l'aîné" means "the elder") (1697-1764) Trio Sonata in D Major highlights the composer's skill at ornamentation, beautiful melodies and counterpoint. Instead of using the gamba or cello as a continuo instrument, the cello or gamba part becomes a solo part in a trio texture. The flute, cello, and continuo each perform a separate part, which is why we call this a "trio", but since the "basso continuo" can be reinforced by several instruments, plucking, strumming or tinkling (the harpsichord) on the same part, here our trio becomes a quartet with both archlute and harpsichord playing continuo. Movements are: Adagio-Allegro-Sarabanda-Allegro assai
Links:
- Leclair's music in print
- Biographical information on Leclair
Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738) was a blind, itinerant Irish harper and composer. Blinded by smallpox at age 18, one of the accepted means of support for a blind person back then was to become a harper. His benefactress, Mrs. MacDermott-Roe, paid for him to be educated, gave him a guide and a horse set him up to travel the country. He could enliven many a dull evening in his host's house, not only because of his musical talents, but because of his engaging personality, and his love for the "spirits". His tunes are short and “sweet” and are often dedicated to his host, thus marking his stay with them down thru history. This portrait of Turlough Carolan is from R.B. Armstrong "The Irish and Highland Harps", Edinburgh, David Douglas, 1904. (source is Wikipedia).
Links:
- More about Carolan
- Carolan's Music - a Discography
- A great story behind Squire Woods’ Lamentation on the Refusal of his halfpence
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