Wow. I have two albums from the brothers, featuring Piazolla tangos and another featuring baroque works. The pair were joined by another singer, Sergio’s daughter (who sang and played piano), and a percussionist.

They played “in concert” with one another for sure, and every contributor offered a dazzling performance. The stand out was Clarice Assad, whose talents were all over the place. Her vocalizations were articulate and impressive. And only an opening Piazolla number was known to me (Bandeon), the rest being an inventive journey which the artists hoped told a story.

Much of the music was toe-tapping, and some was definitely exotic.

Not often to you get to hear real masters at their craft. These folks were all masters, especially the brothers Assad. If you ever have the opportunity to hear them, I can only recommend it.

I recently heard the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin in Charlottesville, where they played works by Bach, Telemann, and Handel in an all-German program. Here are some notes on the concert experience.

Formed in the early 1980s behind the so-called iron curtain, the ensemble really emerged in the late 1990s to international audiences through their recordings on Harmonia Mundi. They have no sole conductor, but instead invite specialists when working with theatrical repertoire (passions, operas) and otherwise the role of a leader gets tossed between three different violinists.

They play on historical instruments. Their concert featured Bach’s 5th Brandenburg concerto, a suite and double concerto by Telemann, and a concerto grosso by Handel. The other featured work was Bach’s E-major violin concerto, BWV 1042.

The concert had good repertoire, and the players are expert. Among the stand-outs were Mr. Alpermann on the harpsichord, who had a superb solo in the BWV 1050. He took on a conductor’s role in several parts, and in the last piece, pulled out a hidden tambourine which added unexpected zest to the closing concerto, featuring flute and recorder.

The guitar/theorbo player looked bored.

The ensemble performed in Cabell Hall on the campus of the University of Virginia. It was a round auditorium, but was certainly intimate for orchestra-section listeners.

The ensemble suffered from 3 major issues, I thought.

1. the projection of the transverse flute and the male violin soloist (substituted so I don’t know his name) was extremely poor. At times the flute was inaudible.
2. The same violinist took liberties with ornamentation, etc. in the Bach concerto which were nice; however Stephan Mai, playing first ripieno violin, was often louder and took control of leading the group. This left for some awkward pauses and phrasing for both the soloist and ensemble.
3. The opening Telemann suite demanded a larger string ensemble. The piece lacked gravitas in sections with a thin chamber group, and other gestures in the piece could have better been accented with a larger force. At times this piece was sterile enough to make one nod off.

I’ve wanted to hear this ensemble for a long time, and cherished the opportunity. I’d position them as somewhat more virtuosic players than the AAM which I most recently heard last year with a Brandenburg program. Yet, as an ensemble, they are more traditional than a group such as the Italians, Il Giardino Armonico. The likely most reminded me of MAK, without MAK’s signature string sound.

The small details are what set the ensemble apart. The turn of phrase in a line, the way it’s done, was handled well in so many instances with solos. While I noted projection was an issue with some of the players in terms of sound, everyone projected their lines with a definite form and attention that sometimes gets either lost of overlooked. Akamus, as they are sometimes called, do have a sensibility of an interpretation which is nice. It’s just not as extreme or overwrought as other ensembles may go.

Riding home, I put the Handel concerto on the car stereo during the very rainy ride back to Richmond. But it was my Il Giardino Armonico version, not one recorded by the Akademie. It was far more extrovert and the dynamic contrasts were quite extreme. While I like this recording, somehow the one by Akamus was more natural.

With good engineering, this ensemble has faired better in recordings with regards to balance. Visually seeing them play noted for me those members who take a lead in communicating expressively to the others (in particular, Mai and Alpermann). I compared my live view of them with the DVD I reviewed recently of Bach’s Kunst der Fuge. Same thing – the visual expression of one leader over another has a definite impact on the listening experience, and likely the playing of the ensemble. I’ve never experienced an ensemble that rotates who this might be mid-performance in a concert! The result isn’t consistent.

But it’s mostly pretty strong.

From Playbill Arts website:

Les Concerts des Nations is one of the three ensembles Savall will tour with in a rather complicated schedule featuring three separate programs. Savall and Les Concerts des Nations will visit Richmond (April 9), Buffalo (April 12), and Chicago (April 15—the ensemble’s Windy City debut) with a program titled “Les Gout Reunis.” He will also perform with his groups Hesperion XXI and La Capella Reial de Cataunya in Ann Arbor, Michigan (April 14), and Kansas City (April 16). The program in those cities is called “Music of Love and War.” Finally, Savall will present both those programs plus a night of “Passacaglias & Romanescas” during three appearances at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art on April 11, 13, and 18.

I bought the tickets just today for this remarkable recital. I am not sure Les Gout Reunis is very informative, nor was the theme of rococo that the U of Richmond themed the concert as… nonetheless, on the program were works by Couperin, Rameau, Purcell, Rösenmuller, and Leclair. The ensemble was coaxed into playing an encore, it was by Marais, a rather fitting, and toe-tapping march.

As I sat back and enjoyed each number, I silently realized that none of this music being played is famous, at least not to modern ears, and what a remarkable concert it was without any outstanding masterworks. I have never seen Savall live before, and among the over 100 CDs he has recorded, I don’t own too many… yet, I was impressed tonight–both with his ensemble, and with his star violinist, one of my favorites, Manfredo Kraemer of Rare Fruits Council fame.

The program used three violins, a cello, Savall on viola da gamba, a violone, and a harpsichord. The harpsichord was the most unaffective player in the concert; it was difficult to hear, and despite the ensemble playing works by Couperin and Rameau, no features set this instrument, or its player, apart.

The most modern piece played by the ensemble was a Leclair violin sonata; he’s my among my favorite composers. I was hoping the work would be the one Kraemer plays on his Devil/Angel CD, but it was not; this number was far less virtuosic, and seemed to include more of the ensemble. Kraemer’s playing was impeccable throughout the concert; he used an older-style bow than his two comrades. While in the first number he kind of sat back and faded into the ensemble sound, once the second number came up, he dominated the texture ever so slightly, playing in a style more athletic than his other bowed string members. In some instances, he seemed to lead the ensemble.

Savall was first to hit a couple notes that missed their tuning; in general, however, he did his best at playing both the role of violist, and also of the bass. The bass, by the way, from this ensemble was strong: with four players sometimes playing the continuo part, there was plenty to go around, and this richness was a welcome sound. The second most striking player after Kraemer on violin was the guitar/theorbo player. He’s a gifted man with a guitar in his hands, watching his hand pluck, strum, and apreggiate strings was intoxicating and toe tapping fun.

The acoustic of the hall didn’t necessarily support the ensemble well, nevertheless, they did a commendable job at some difficult numbers that changed rhythmic pulses. I am not sure how many audience members got this technique, but a shift of one beat in a square rhythm to the “one” in a three-beat rhythm is a fun thing to hear, and see performed. It’s challenging, and they did it on a number of occasions without a flinch.

One could sit there, amazed at all the different colors the same instruments produced through the colorful tunes of several different composers. I have rarely heard an ensemble that was so effective at each piece they played, so precise and well-practiced. I heard some of the best gamba playing (although his instrument was never really put in the solo role) I’ve heard (it’s a difficult one to play well, in tune, I’ve found), and the color and rhythmic fantasy of the guitar used in this series only helped to increase the pleasure-level already being pumped by baroque superstar, Manfredo Kraemer. A good concert, and an impetus to check out more by Savall and his colleagues on record.

I didn’t like McDuffie’s style of violin playing for Vivaldi. The VBO didn’t use one ounce of vibrato, and McDuffie couldn’t resist using it on any note longer than an 8th. There were some good moments, but I also felt like McDuffie was just rushing through the music. He also landed on some notes that were clearly out of tune. Ouch.

McDuffie vibrated for Vivaldi. And VBO vibrated for Glass. Doesn’t seem fair.

The performance lacked sincerity.

The VBO then reinvented itself after the intermission and performed (sans harpsichord and sans lute and lutenist) the modern work. I mean, how many times do I get to hear favorite composers Vivaldi and Glass at the same venue?

This concerto had issues at times with intonation from the celli/bass department (all 4 of them) but otherwise was a stronger success than the Vivaldi. McDuffie was in his element here, and the concerto was a good piece by Glass.

The NYTimes has a better account than mine, but in all, it was an enjoyable evening.

On Tuesday evening, at 7:30 PM, I attended a recital by the three Hantaï brothers with violinist Ryo Terakado at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Richmond. Their concert consisted of the Pièces de clavecin en concerts by Jean-Phillipe Rameau.

The trio consists of three brothers (Marc, flute; Pierre, harpsichord, and Jerome, viol da gamba)… the most famous, most likely, is the keyboard virtuoso whose recordings I have reviewed more than once here on biberfan.org. He was certainly the most charismatic of the performers; the verve of a conductor was within him; with moments with hands off keyboard, he’d gesticulate in the manner of a conductor and seemed to be feeling the music throughout his whole body.

Another strong player was the Japanese baroque violinist. I own his own recording of these works (with Christophe Rousset). There were a short number of moments where intonation was suspect, however I am sure no one noticed. When playing together with the flute, their intonation together was quite remarkable… since Rameau only wrote three lines (violin, harpsichord, and viol), the flute part was a bit of a improvisation… in some instances, Marc Hantaï played the violin line; other times, he’d turn it over to Mr. Terakado. And in other instances, they’d play in unison… Terakado played in a true baroque style (as did Pierre on harpsichord), with a dizzying array of ornaments that really help define the word baroque for us. Terakado whipped them off with hardly a wink… Hantaï’s flute playing, while not a major portion of the ensemble’s program, was very noteworthy… his tone was remarkably even throughout the registers… I often recall baroque transverse flutes being extremely weak in the low register, and thinner and even out of tune in the higher registers; he seemingly effortlessly command the gamut of his instrument with excellent intonation, dexterity, and an evenness in tone and volume.

Sitting back during the first half, the gamba was my least favorite of the instruments being played. It simply got lost in the texture, and I became suspicious at certain points with regard to intonation. It wasn’t until the second half of the program, when we moved to the front row at request of the performers, did the gamba take on a more assured role, with good intonation and better voice through the trio texture.

The performance of Rameau’s works got tiresome at some points… his use of repeats was a bit much… Jerome Hantaï did the most to bring our attention to changes in dynamics; at some points he’d blast forth enough to drown-out his fellow musicians–this didn’t bother me, he spoke musically with more energy than required, but the gestures were nice breaks from Rameau’s simple, but evident counterpoint.

Terakado’s instrument vanished from perception a few times; the upper register of his instrument sounded veiled compared to the bass; it was in instances such as the fourth concert’s La Rameau where he really shined with a break-neck speed and clarity. At one point during La Forqueray things almost lost cohesion with the ensemble; nevertheless, the one constant among the players was Pierre on harpsichord (on loan from Williamsburg), who seemed at complete ease with the difficult music. We could see his hands bouncing about with some cross-handed playing, and those omnipresent ornaments.

During the recital I felt a few times that “these guys don’t like to slow down; they keep a pretty even tempo throughout…” When listening to the Rousset recording, they do much the same; in comparison, I preferred the Hantaï/Terakado tempos over those by Rousset.

In the end, it was ultimately refreshing to hear these familiar works performed live, and with the additional color of flute. It was most definitely a celebration of Rameau; I would have perferred, perhaps, a mixed program. I caught Mr. Terakado performing a Bach solo work during the ensemble’s warmup before concert time.

My only wish is that more Richmonder’s could have taken advantage of this intimate gathering of excellent music making. We very seldom get performers of this quality in town; I couldn’t help but notice the ensemble looked surprised when they came into the sanctuary at how few people were in attendance.

The ensemble had only been playing for a month together, admitted one of the artists, but they had a variety of pieces to show off each artists’ talents, including one for trio, and eventually, a solo for guitar.

The two artists not mentioned on the website were the bassist (Kiyoshi Kitagawa) and the drummer (Johnathan Blake) who were also good. Kitagawa’s bass performance was marred by an inability to hear him within the ensemble’s texture (amp too small?). Blake had two prominent solos, the second one was the real winner.

Carter and Barron played a duet that was outstanding, combining several verses of Georgia (on my mind) with How Great Thou Art. It was played in the second set, when the ensemble seemed to really find their place, where Johnathan Blake played an outstanding solo, where Carter seemed to break out of her shell and break a sweat, and where the ensemble locked in together with each person contributing something substantial (including vocalist Kurt Elling who is an outstanding vocalist).

An excellent event which brought me to the new and revitalized Center Stage.

It’s not that I simply don’t have time; I obviously have the time everyone else has. It’s been time, however, that I’ve felt less capable at being creative enough to sit down and write. I hope that changes significantly in 2010.

I just returned from visiting my parents south of here, and under the tree, Santa left me a pair of Sennheiser 650 headphones. I’d been using their 580 model for a number of years, the 650 is a similar design, but two notches up in their lineup. At some point, it was their best headphone; today it is eclipsed by the $1300 Sennheiser 800. I didn’t think the 800 was worth the price upgrade, at least in the application I have now.

The plane touched down at 11:00 PM on Sunday night, and now it’s 12:01 Monday morning… I’ve got the pair plugged-in, and already, I notice quite the improvement over my older trusty 580s. Clarity, more stereo separation, and even a little more comfortable. Better defined bass, too. Now, after a week of intense listening, I should be ready to really report on these.

While visiting my parents, my mom bought us all tickets to go see Barrage, an ensemble of five violinists and backup (percussion, bass, guitar). Started out of Calgary, Alberta (not far from the Banff Center), this group played a two-hour show with Christmas songs and some of their more upbeat, standard repertoire. For the most part, the musicanmanship was high and the emotional impact strong.

My dad thought their outfits were a tad lackluster. He evidently wanted something more flashy and show-y. They do a lot of moving around in the show, including dancing, jumping, and twisting about in various formations. While in some cases this choreography was entirely appropriate and apropos to the music, at times, it also looked contrived and overdone. The music, you see, stood on its own without the theatrics.

As my mom said, “The energy and music kept the momentum up the entire evening,” and this was true. You never grew bored, and despite the fact they did include some lower-energy numbers, it all fit together well. Some members of the ensemble would go to the synthesizer to augment the ensemble’s sound closet, and they also all used microphones either to sing, talk to us, or shout throughout the production.

They have a full International lineup planned through March, 2010. If they happen to come through your town, I’d recommend them—no matter your musical taste.

I was at the Banff Center last summer, too bad I missed this! (I was a month too late.)

It’s an honest recording, very live, with commentary from Ms. Huggett. By honesty, I mean, it’s what you’d here right up close as if she was just a few feet away. An intriguing listen, with early baroque sonatas with harpsichord.

I previously saw Egarr’s band in Portsmouth, in 2007, performing Handel. I thought his joviality lent a certain freshness to the ensemble, and they sounded good (in a church). The concert today in Mason’s large performing arts hall was too large for the intimate ensemble, although they did bring in a crowd to fill almost every seat.

Egarr has a dry wit and he used it effectively during stage changes after each concerto by talking to the audience and cracking some jokes. The ensemble’s choice of using one player per part worked, but only to a certain degree.

At times with two strings on a part, you could detect some intonation issues, but honestly, any two string players cannot play each note perfectly in-tune. That’s why orchestras typically opt for multiple players per part: the inconsistencies between tones make for a ‘lush’ sound. While I trust the scholarship behind the 1 per part decision, it worked less ably in a large space. At times the harpsichord continuo got lost. They did ramp-up the volume with continuo, however, by inviting William Carter on theorbo. His bass lute had enough punch, especially with the open strings, for appropriate balance.

The ensemble made their way through all six of Bach’s diverse concerti, although in their own special order: opening with #1, and ending with #4. The fourth ended with a super-fast tempo, one that I thought must have been a special challenge for the violin soloist, Rodolfo Richter. The first concerto suffered from some cohesiveness issues: at times the ensemble did sound as “tight” as possible. #5, in contrast, was far more tight, opening the second half of the concert.

Egarr made reference to Pickett’s allegorical readings of the six concerti, which I have referenced in my own research on Bach’s concertos. Egarr and Beznosuik both played in Pickett’s recording with the New London Consort in the 1990s.

The ensemble at times really looked as it was having fun, especially with seasoned players who felt the freedom of adding ornamentation to Bach’s notes. Especially refreshing were those from the violins in Brandenburg #3. The ensemble’s sound was good, but it suffered from projection issues in the large hall. Especially lacking were some of Richter’s playing (he took the reins from Beznosuik in concertos #1 and #4 as the violin soloist), the double bass, and at times the harpsichord.

The recording by the AAM released on harmonia mundi suffers none of these drawbacks, but the performances are perhaps a little less extrovert in the recording. The ensemble toned-down their ornaments, extremes in tempi, but do treat us with a rich, sonorous sound.

After the concert, the AAM was selling CDs and director Egarr was signing. I snagged his autograph amid the fans and shared quick words with the latest director of Hogwood’s AAM.

Growing up baroque, we had the English Concert and the AAM as mainstays of learning about Bach’s music aurally, using original instruments in the 1980s. A couple years ago, I saw the AAM live for the first time under Egarr’s direction featuring music of Handel.

In preparation for this concert, my friends may wish to read a little bit about the six concerti. For those uninterested in the Wikipedia’s take, here’s the skinny:

Bach presented these six individual works as a collection to the so-called Margrave of Brandeburg supposedly as a résumé for employment. The concerti likely were pulled together among Bach’s more unusual and fanciful concertos that he’d previously used elsewhere, for courtly entertainment. The concertos were “discovered” some 100 years later, likely never played by anyone associated with the Margrave’s entourage.

The six “concertos” are multi-movement works that follow concerto principles of the time, namely, the fast-slow-fast Italian model. Each concerto is scored for a different set of instruments.

• One: horns, oboes, bassoon and strings. Think of a hunting trip. This one has 4 movements.
• Two: think “concertino,” a small group of soloists. Trumpet, violin, oboe, recorder with a small orchestra. The trumpet sits out in the slow movement.
• Three: All strings. 3 violins, 3 violas, 3 cellos, and bass. My favorite.
• Four: Solo violin with two recorders or “echo flutes.” The two recorders kind of act as one instrument.
• Five: think concertino again, this time, transverse flute, harpsichord, and violin. Stylistically, this one seems the most modern.
• Six: the dark concerto for low strings: arm violas, leg violas, and bass. This one rarely gets played fast enough for my taste. Beautiful middle movement that demands we stuff our mouths with caramels it’s so rich and sweet.

Among my favorite recordings are those by:

• Musica Antiqua Köln
• Café Zimmermann
• La Stravaganza, Hamburg
• Il Giardino Armonico

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