San Diego Early Music Society

2011-03-07T18:38:00.000-08:00

Our next concert (only 3 left in the 2010-2011 season) will be Mahan Esfahani playing both the harpsichord and organ in All Souls in Point Loma on April 1. On his program are pieces by Sweelinck, Boehm and Muffat (on the organ), Gibbons, Bull Cambanilles and the great Ouverture in French style BWV 831 by Bach. Hear him play the prelude of the English Suite no 5 in this video.

The New York Times reviews Ensemble 415

2010-10-13T10:23:00.000-07:00

Ensemble 415 will perform in San Diego on Friday Oct. 15, but as part of their US tour, they first stopped in New York at the Frick Collection. Allan Kozinn of the New York Times attended this concert, and you can read his review here. Apparently he seemed to have quite liked it ! What puzzled me however is that he would qualify the Albinoni sonatas on the program as merely 'diverting'. Judging from the recent and absolutely stunning recording that Ensemble 415 made of these sonatas, they are probably among the best pieces Albinoni ever wrote and far more that just 'diverting'. We will just have to find out for ourselves on Friday...

As a reminder, the concert will start at 8pm at the Neurosciences Institute, 10640 John Jay Hopkins Dr. For more details, refer to www.sdems.org.

Windsor Hills Consort April 21st

2010-04-08T08:33:00.000-07:00

Windsor Hills Consort will perform baroque music–Telemann and Handel–on Wednesday, April 21, 7:30 p.m., in Room 801 at the School fo Arts and Communication of Southwestern College in Chula Vista.

Admission is free, but there may a parking fee for lot O.

Performers are Cathe Sobke, recorders and baroque guitar; Elizabeth Rose, viols; Andrew Peterson, harpsichord, and Taylor Smith, bass viola da gamba. For more information, call Elizabeth at 610-466-3091.

A Canadian month

2010-02-02T17:02:00.000-08:00

We have a Canadian month ahead of us: this Friday, February 5th, our friends of the La Jolla Music Society are presenting Tafelmusik in a program titled “The Galileo Project: Music of the Spheres” and exactly one month later, on Friday March 5th, we will be presenting two of the most famous baroque Canadian singers, soprano Suzie Leblanc and countertenor Daniel Taylor accompanied by yet another excellent Canadian baroque orchestra, the Theatre of Early Music in a program of duets (and solos) by Monteverdi, Haendel and others.

It looks like the early music scene is thriving in Canada, and even more especially in Quebec. We already had a very good example of it two years ago with the ensemble Arion and countertenor Matthew White, but it is by far not the end of it. Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver are hosting several other ensembles and countless musicians some of whom we also had the pleasure to present in the past.

We will provide more details about our exciting March 5th concert on this blog soon (some of these details are actually already on our website www.sdems.org, including a couple of audio excerpts) but in the meantime don’t get these plane tickets and enjoy Canada in February with San Diegan weather.

Consort or Crossover?

2010-01-23T16:29:00.000-08:00

"Early music" covers a lot of historical and stylistic ground, and this is bound to generate some friction between self-labled aficionados. Within that group there are those who have little or no interest in anything later than the 15th century, while I personally find such repertoire incapable of keeping me focused for an entire program – I'm more of a 17th and 18th century kind of guy. Indeed, I find much of the so-called Renaissance period to be a little "iffy" – if not downright stuffy – and have tended to cringe and avoid any group that proclaims itself a "consort."

Fortunately for me, I didn't let that get in the way of attending last night's presentation by the Baltimore Consort. The program "Adew Dundee" might have been viewed as a Scottish Renaissance love fest, complete with recorders, crumhorns, and viols, but it was really much more eclectic and should be viewed as "crossover": music and instruments from the period, but arranged and combined in an imaginative way that transcends limited historical practice. In other words, it was not academic, most definitely not stuffy, and indeed a lot of fun. This was a program that might have been based on "early music," but which would appeal to anyone looking for just plain tuneful and toe-tapping music.

Programming was carefully staged and the arrangements made maximum use of the available timbres, keeping the sound fresh. Well-known lutenist Ronn McFarlane wasn't shy about strumming his lute like a guitar, and his nylon-strung instrument was nicely contrasted with the twangy metal cittern played by Marc Cudek. I might add that the lute was very tastefully amplified, a reasonable concession to acoustics, but one that might annoy a purist. One fine moment of theatrics included dancing crumhorns, played by a very animated Mindy Rosenfeld and Larry Lipkis.

So, does the label "crossover" somehow cheapen the music? I hope not: Jordi Savall, Rolf Lislevand, Skip Sempé, and others are effectively introducing early music to those who might otherwise turn up their noses at it. I believe serious music can still be serious fun.

Building Our Future Audience

2009-11-21T10:59:00.000-08:00

It's never too early to recruit our future audiences. Indeed, I can hardly think of a more important activity: if we leave our youth behind, who will attend early music concerts in the coming years? Time is always precious, so why would someone come to an early music concert if they thought of it in terms of ancient and obscure instruments performing old and boring music?

So, the outreach program of the San Diego Early Music Society is more than a duty, it is a passion. This year we were especially fortunate to bring members of Musica ad Rhenum to Oak Park Elementary. I'm embarrassed to admit that Oak Park's existence has eluded me: more properly, it should be referred to as Oak Park Music Conservatory. It is part of our magnet school program, focused on providing a broad education, but with additional exposure to music. I thought music education was largely dead in California public schools, so this was an exciting find for me.

I could hardly imagine a better early music ensemble to bring with us. The five members of Musica ad Rhenum are fun to hang around with: good natured, spontaneous, and generous. I noticed in their formal performance last night that they played as a group of peers – there was no prima donna, but rather a friendly gathering of virtuosi collaborators.

We had lots to show these budding musicians. They were naturally fascinated with the contrast between the small harpsichord we brought and the modern piano. One observant child wondered why the baroque violin didn't have a chin rest. There was a lot of interest in the nearly keyless baroque flute, demonstrated by Jed Wentz; they could relate to this because it was a kind of cross between the recorders and modern flutes they play.

Viola da gamba player Cassandra Luckhardt led a wonderful discussion of the differences between the gamba and cello, assisted by baroque violin cello player Job ter Haar. See the size and feel the energy of this enthusiastic audience. These kids are not only our future audience, they are our musical future.

The Apotheosis of Beauty

2009-11-13T15:14:00.000-08:00

Next Friday, Musica Ad Rhenum will present a program entitled 'Apotheosis of the Beauty' and beautiful it promises to be. We will indeed get to hear two of the 'Paris' quartets which are among the best pieces Telemann ever wrote.

Why Paris ? Some details about his trip there and the compostion of these new quartets can be found in his autobiopgraphy: "My long-planned trip to Paris where I had already been invited several years ago by some of the virtuosi who lived there and had taken great pleasure in [performing] some of my printed music finally took place around Michaelmas, 1737. This trip took 8 months. In Paris I had had engraved in copper for publication, after having received from the king the permission and copyright for 20 years, new quartets (by previous subscription) and 6 sonatas consisting entirely of melodic canons. The astonishing manner in which the quartets were played by Messrs. Blauet, transverse flute, Guignon, violinist, Forcroy, his son on the viola da gamba, and Edouard, violoncellist would deserve to be described here at length if only there were sufficient words available to do so. In short, they pricked up the ears of people at the court and in the city so that they became very attentive and, in a short time, I received general approbation which was accompanied by even greater politeness. [...] Thus I left Paris with a feeling of having achieved great pleasure and in the hope that I would return again in the future. (Translation by Thomas Braatz, 2009)"
Note that Mr Frocroy in this case was no less than Jean-Baptiste Forqueray (whose music we heard played by Blandine Rannou a month ago) and Mr Blauet is the famous Michel Blavet. There is no mention of the harpsichordist which probably means that Telemann himself played in these concert too. And what a concert it must have been !

On the program too -and to keep the "Parisian" link- are pieces by Francois Couperin. It is well known that Couperin always tried to reconcile the Italian and French tastes in music and his 'Grande Sonade en Trio' l'apotheose de Corelli is one of the best example of it. The (delicious) French subtitles read :

"Corelli au pied du Parnasse prie les Muses de le Recevoir parmi elles Corelli charmé de la bonne réception qu'on lui fait au Parnasse, en marque sa joye. Il continüe avec ceux qui L'accompagnent.
Corelli buvant à la source d'Hypocrêne. Sa troupe continue
Enthouziasme de Corelli causé par les eaux d'Hypocréne
Corelli après son enthouziasme s'endort ; et sa Troupe jouë le Sommeil suivant
Les Muses réveillent Corelli, et le placent auprès d'Apollon
Remerciment de Corelli "

Which can be roughly translated as :

"Corelli at the foot of Parnassus prays the Muses to receive him among them
Corelli charmed by the favorable reception given to him on Parnassus expresses his joy. He continues with those who accompany him.
Corelli drinking at the spring of Hippocrene. His troupe continues on.
Corelli's divine frenzy caused by the waters of Hippocrene
Corellu after his divine frenzy falls asleep and his troupe plays the following sommeil.
The Muses awake Corelli and place him at Apollo's side.
Corelli's thanks."

And since we are talking about Francois Couperin, there was no way to omit his solo harpsichord music in such a concert. Michael Borgstede, the harpsichordist of Musica Ad Rhenum and who has just recorded his complete 'ordres' for Brilliant Classics will thus present 5 pieces from the 25th ordre. He will be joined by Jed Wentz, flauto traverso, Igor Rukadze, violin, Cassandra Luckhardt, viola da gamba and Job ter Haar, violoncello, for the rest of the program.
Don't miss this exciting concert. For more details, please visit www.sdems.org. Friday, Nov 20, 8pm, St James by the Sea.

Reviewing the City Musick

2009-10-19T17:01:00.000-07:00

Valerie Scher of the San Diego News Network (www.sdnn.com) has just reviewed our concert by the City Musick. Her review can be found here.

If you have missed it, there was also another article by her a week ago about the SDEMS.

City Musick: Topping Tooters of the Town

2009-10-10T11:48:00.000-07:00

"Waits" were bands of professional musicians who played at civic and ceremonial occasions in Renaissance England. These musicians were primarily wind instrument performers, playing the shawm, sackbut and cornett. A new group, City Musick, has been formed by the William Lyons, known to many from his work with the Dufay Collective, to perform the music of the waits.

The San Diego Early Music Society is fortunate to be able to present City Music on their premier American tour. Their program in San Diego, "The Topping Tooters of the Town," will feature dances, psalm tunes, canzonets and traditional tunes from 16th and 17th century England, and include works by Holborne, Morley, Phillips, Ravenscroft, Dowland among others.

Please join us on October 16th, at 8pm, at St. James by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, 743 Prospect Street, La Jolla for this concert which promises to be historically informative as well as fun! Tickets are available by calling (619) 291-8246, or through our Web site, www.sdems.org. Prices: General public - $25; SDEMS members - $22; students - $10.

Blandine Rannou

2009-09-23T11:16:00.000-07:00

Albeit the opening concert of the 2009-2010 International Series of the SDEMS will be on October 16th with City Musick, we are very pleased to present the first of our two non-subscription concerts on October 9th: Harpsichordist Blandine Rannou will perform pieces by Louis, Francois and Armand-Louis Couperin as well as Forqueray and Balbastre at the Congregational Church in la Jolla

This is actually the second time Blandine Rannou will play for San Diego audiences. Her debut was in October 2003 when she was invited by the San Diego Harpsichord Society. She then played Rameau, Duphly, Royer and Forqueray (excerpts from the 1st suite) and those of us who attended it still remember it vividly and fondly. Jonathan Saville raved about her recital in the San Diego Reader: “I have never heard a harpsichord recital that delighted and moved me more than this splendid concert did.”

No wonder that we are really thrilled to have her back, especially since she will continue her exploration of the French harpsichord repertoire, for which she has a very special affinity (given how well her recordings of Rameau, Couperin and Forqueray have been received by critics worldwide). This time, we will get to hear most of the Couperin family (from the birth of the harpsichord in France with Louis to its death with Armand-Louis and of course stopping at its summit with François), Forqueray again with most of the 5th suite including the beautiful La Sylva and the devastating Jupiter and Balbastre’s all-time favorites La De Caze, La D’Héricourt and La Boullongne.

A concert not to miss for harpsichord lovers.

(October 9th at 8pm at the Congregational Church in la Jolla on Cave street. There is usually free street parking available, and plenty of $3 parking spaces just across the street. Tickets for this concert can be ordered from the SDEMS at (619) 291-8246 or www.tix.com with keyword search "Blandine Rannou".)

Really Early Music

2009-06-27T13:48:00.000-07:00

From the New York Times

Scientists say that a bone flute, found at Hohle Fels Cave in southwestern Germany, is at least 35,000 years old.

Music and sculpture — expressions of artistic creativity, it seems — were emerging in tandem among some of the first modern humans when they began spreading through Europe or soon thereafter.

Archaeologists Wednesday reported the discovery last fall of a bone flute and two fragments of ivory flutes that they said represented the earliest known flowering of music-making in Stone Age culture. They said the bone flute with five finger holes, found at Hohle Fels Cave in the hills west of Ulm, was “by far the most complete of the musical instruments so far recovered from the caves” in a region where pieces of other flutes have been turning up in recent years.

For more pictures and a sound sample go to here

"fiendish virtuosity and expressive elegance"

2009-05-29T11:51:00.000-07:00

The SDEMS is pleased to present an extra non-subscription concert on June 3 at 8pm : Harpsichordist Bertrand Cuiller will perform works by William Byrd, John Bull (the King's hunt), Louis Couperin, J.S. Bach (Italian Concerto) and Domenico Scartlatti. We chose the Congregational Church of La Jolla to hold this event because if its ideal intimacy for recitals, and its exceptional acoustics for harpsichord music (as demonstrated so often during the recitals presented by the San Diego Harpsichord Society in the past).

Bertrand Cuiller is one of the most promising harpsichordists of today. He studied with Christophe Rousset and Pierre Hantai, and was a prizewinner at the Bruges International harpsichord competition. His first solo recording of music by William Byrd, Peter Philips and John Bull, was awarded the prestigious Diapason d'or, and Choc du Monde de la Musique. When reviewing this recording, Diapason wrote : "... between fiendish virtuosity and expressive elegance. [...] This attention to tone color, to density of texture, to the profound meaning of the keyboard language, wouldn't be anything without superior abilities, and those of Bertrand Cuiller seem infinite."

More details on this concert (including a link to Bertrand Cuiller's own website and musical excerpts of his Byrd recording) can be found on www.sdems.org.

Another raving review....

2009-04-20T10:01:00.000-07:00

The Chicago Tribune is also raving (and again on the same program the Mosaiques will perform here on Thursday) :

"... for much of its 24-year history, the Vienna-based Mosaïques set new standards not only for proficiency but also probity and poetry.
Friday's performances made up the most satisfying exploration of Viennese classicism I heard in nearly half a century."

The complete review by Alan G. Artner can be found here

The reviews are in ...

2009-04-18T15:13:00.000-07:00

The Quatuor Mosaiques started its US tour in Philadelphia -and will end it here in San Diego this Thursday with the same program- and the first review is in : " ... the Philadelphia debut of Quatuor Mosaïques at the Kimmel Center's Perelman Theater on Wednesday had such musical intelligence and sensual allure that returning to more conventionally hard-edged groups, from the Juilliard to the Emerson Quartet, is no longer an attractive prospect...".

Read the rest of the review by Inquirer Classical Music Critic David Patrick Stearns at http://www.philly.com/inquirer/magazine/20090418_Early-music_quartet_at_the_Kimmel.html

Introducing the Mosaïques, part II

2009-03-24T12:19:00.001-07:00

When I got a call last year from New York asking whether the San Diego Early Music Society would be interested in presenting the Quatuor Mosaïques, I did not hesitate very long. Such a rare opportunity was too hard to pass up, even if it meant that the concert had to be on a weekday evening. It turns out that San Diego will be the last leg of an impressive US tour: Carnegie Hall New York, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Library of Congress, University of Chicago, Cal Performances in Berkeley, and in Vancouver, a co-presentation by the Friends of Chamber Music and Early Music Vancouver. I must say it feels rather good to be in such a distinguished company of presenters. Not to mention the quartet's usually -sold out- venues in Europe such as the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, Wigmore Hall in London and Theatre de la Ville in Paris.

Sell-outs in Vienna and Paris are no surprise, since three members of the quartet are Austrian (Erich Höbarth, violin Andrea Bischof, violin and Anita Mitterer, alto) and one, the cellist Christophe Coin, is French. But why a French name? It appears that the idea originated with Christophe Coin, who in 1984 founded the Ensemble Mosaïques, a chamber orchestra which he dissolved one year later, keeping the name for the string quartet he then founded with the section leaders of the defunct orchestra. Christophe Coin has had quite an impressive career. He studied cello first with Andre Navarra in Paris, then moved to Vienna where he worked with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and performed in the Concentus Musicus Vienna. He also studied viola da gamba with Jordi Savall in Basle and performed in Hesperion XX.

Coin was also a member and soloist in the Academy of Ancient Music, and he also -more recently- recorded Vivaldi's cello concertos with Il Giardino Armonico. Since 1991 he has been the director of the Limoges Baroque Ensemble, which he brought to international recognition with a series of recordings of Bach cantatas. He also heads the baroque cello and viola da gamba classes at the Paris Conservatory. Needless to say, he is widely regarded as one of the leading cellists and musicians of the baroque movement.

I already introduced Erich Höbarth in the previous post, and the two other members of this extraordinary quartet are also well known in the baroque movement. Andrea Bischof and Anita Mitterer are both permanent members of the Concentus Musicus but have also very impressive achievements elsewhere. Andrea Mitterer has held the position of Konzertmeisterin and soloist of the Austrian Bach Soloists, and is Professor of Chamber Music at the Musikhochschule in Vienna. Anita Mitterer -who plays the violin in the CMV- is also Director of the Baroque Ensemble of Salzburg and teaches violin and viola at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.

This concert will be the last of their US tour, and it will also be the last of our 2008-2009 International Series. This was an early music journey that started in the 14th century with Machaut and Diabolus in Musica, took us through the Renaissance with ALSQ, and let us wander in the baroque era with Bach and Vivaldi. I could not think of a better ending than looking forward to Haydn and Mozart with such extraordinary musicians.

Laurent Planchon

Introducing the Mosaïques, part I

2009-03-12T18:48:00.000-07:00

The last concert of our 2008-2009 season is the Quatuor Mosaïques, and this is one I am especially looking forward to for lots of different reasons. Firstly, I am very fond of Nikolaus Harnoncourt's Concentus Musicus Wien, and being able to present this extraordinary string quartet composed of members (or ex-members in the case of cellist Christophe Coin) of this marvelous ensemble is quite a privilege. But reducing this string quartet to their relationship to the Concentus Musicus is not very fair either, as they have succeeded on their own in becoming the first (maybe with the exception of the Festestics) string quartet playing on period instruments to play at the level of the legendary string quartets (on modern instruments) of the past and of today.

Over the next few entries to this blog, I shall try to present the other members of the Mosaiques, but let me start with first violin Erich Höbarth. Mr Höbarth is probably most famous for having succeeded Alice Harnoncourt as concertmaster and soloist of the Concentus Musicus Wien in the 80s (and as such can be heard in numerous recordings of the ensemble), but -also very impressively- he became a member of the famous Végh-Quartet at only 21, and first concertmaster of the Vienna Symphony at only 24. He was also a member of the Vienna String Sextet, appears as a soloist with countless ensembles such as the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and Chapelle Royale of Paris and is Artsitic Director of the Camerata Bern. Needless to say he is a master of both the modern and baroque violin and plays on a violin by Guarnerius filius Andreae, Cremona 1705.

With the exception of French cellist Christophe Coin (who I guess came up with the French name for this string quartet and whom I shall present next), all the members of Quatuor Mosaïques are Viennese and are also part of the very special Viennese baroque movement (there have been a lot of arguments about how different the Concentus Musicus sounds compared to other ensembles from Amsterdam and elsewhere and how different their baroque technique can be) and being able to hear this fine ensemble in a purely Viennese program (Haydn, Mozart and Schubert) is quite a rare opportunity that I invite you not to miss.

Laurent Planchon

Introducing Arion Baroque Orchestra

2009-01-22T14:57:00.000-08:00

Our next concert of the International Series on February 6th will feature the Canadian ensemble Arion led by cellist Jaap ter Linden with countertenor Matthew White.

There is obviously no need to present Jaap ter Linden to the San Diego audience, and more information about Matthew White can be found on our website (and probably on this blog later), but oddly enough Arion's reputation does not seem to have reached us yet.
It is actually rather surprising as Arion has been in existence for quite some time now (founded in 1981!) and has a very extensive and acclaimed discography (which can be found at http://www.early-music.com/artistes.asp?id=Arion).

But the best introduction comes probably from flutist Claire Guimond, one of its founding member and current Artistic Director, in this video. Claire Guimond will be one of the soloists on February 6.

This concert is also the second part of our two-concert series Vivaldi 2009 with the La Jolla Music Society, and we encourage you to also attend the first concert on January 24th, featuring the Venice Baroque Orchestra (for more details refer to http://www.ljms.org/).

And of course do not forget our next concert of the Museum series on Sunday Jan 25th at 2pm with harpsichordist Takae Ohnishi, who should be by now well known to SDEMS members after her superb performance at the SDEMS house concert last May.

Laurent Planchon

Another upcoming concert....

2008-12-18T14:02:00.000-08:00

The Goliards Quartet will perform music of the middle ages -1100-1600-in the Hibben Gallery at the San Diego Museum of Art from 1-3 pm on Saturday, December 27th.
With voice and multiple instruments, The Goliards will present sacred and secular medieval works of the season that hail from across Europe.

Upcoming "crossovers"

2008-12-10T12:23:00.000-08:00

While the SDEMS is taking a little break until its next concerts on January 25 and February 6, there are a few other interesting events coming up and we will try to post details about some of them on this blog.

Three concerts this weekend are interesting not only for their own sake, but also because they represent a musical crossover between two worlds. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the San Diego Chamber Orchestra teams up with the Bach Collegium under the baton of Jung-Ho Pak for the usual Messiah, while the San Diego Symphony will be led by Nicholas McGegan in a program of baroque music and Messiah excerpts. And then on Sunday evening, the same San Diego Symphony, still under the baton of Mc Gegan will present the full-blown Messiah as well.

What will be interesting to watch and hear during these concerts - and maybe even compare if one gets the opportunity to hear them all - is how the two teams strike the balance between the "modern" tradition represented by the two orchestras using modern instruments and traditional or "romantic" interpretation styles and the so-called "Historically Informed Performance" style (HIP) brought by the Bach Collegium and Nick Mc Gegan.

Also worth mentioning is the fact that the SDCO/Bach Collegium's Messiah production will be yet another crossover by fetauring - as advertised - "a dramatic video presentation of the great masterpieces of art." If the goal of this video presentation is to add some excitement for an audience that has already heard the Messiah way too often, may I humbly suggest that this team present Bach's Christmas Oratorio instead next year?

Laurent Planchon

A Remembrance of Robert Buzzard: June 1926-July 2008

2008-09-07T07:18:00.000-07:00

Few early music lovers in San Diego did not know Robert Buzzard (Buzz), and those who did not know him personally were beneficiaries of his work on the board of SDEMS. We are very sorry to lose such a generous music enthusiast and friend.

Bob’s professional life centered on computers and engineering, but his great love (after family life) was music. Bob began playing recorders in the 1950’s and kept expanding his musical frontiers to include viola da gamba, guitar, lute, theorbo (his favorite), and most recently modern and baroque cello. He was an enthusiastic participant at many early music workshops across the country. A ceaseless proponent of amateur music, he shared his talent, instruments and music generously, and always encouraged beginners.

Wherever Bob settled, he was not long in joining or establishing an early music group to play with. He played with many small ensembles in and around San Diego. One such group for which he was the guiding light was dubbed the “Lunars” and has been meeting weekly for many years. He was steadfast in his attendance and commitment despite failing health and energy, and a true friend to all in the group. In additon, he played weekly with a group in Oceanside, and occasionally played cello with local community orchestras.

Bob barely survived a traumatic auto accident in 1990. His determination to overcome his resulting handicap and to continue his musical life has been an inspiration to us all.

He will be greatly missed and remembered by his friends.

Lynn Lipetzky

A wintry weekend on Mount Palomar

2008-05-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

It was indeed a dark and stormy night as early musicians inched their way up South Grade Road towards the Mount Palomar sixth-grade camp last Friday. Rain, sleet and swirling fog made driving a challenge - and we were all relieved that everyone arrived without mishap.
Despite the fact that enrollment was slightly down this year, classes and activities were as enjoyable as ever. Our two new faculty members, viol players Rebekah Ahrendt and John Mark Rozendaal, were well received, and we welcomed return visits from Mark Davenport, Inga Funck, and of course Janet Beazley. Steve made T-shirts and tote bags which were eagerly snapped up, musical instruments changed hands, and CDs and sheet music were offered for sale.
The Grand Consort and Third Annual Crumhorn Conclave were the highlights of Saturday evening, and we were treated to a wonderful faculty concert on Sunday. But of course, every workshop has its little vignettes which stay in the mind long after the event is over - mine will be the sound of Laury Flora standing outside playing "reveille" on the cornetto at 7:30 on Sunday morning . . .
I was interested but not particularly surprised to discover on my return to San Diego that the temperatures for that weekend were some of the coldest ever recorded in May. I think we all experienced a new-found appreciation for the fact that the cabins are warm, hot water for showers is plentiful and hot beverages are in constant supply!
Next year, the workshop will revert to the weekend prior to Memorial Day (May 15-17). The theme will be the music of Spain and Portugal - and you are advised to bring shorts, sunglasses and mosquito repellent . . .

J.S. Bach - B minor Mass June 8-9

2008-05-20T07:08:00.000-07:00

Bach Collegium San Diego Presents

Sunday 8 June 2008 at 4pm
Monday 9 June 2008 at 7pm

St James by-the-Sea Episcopal Church
743 Prospect Street, La Jolla 92037

Bach's monumental setting of the Latin Ordinary comes to life in the hands of conductor Ruben Valenzuela as he conducts the Bach Collegium San Diego and soloists in San Diegoss debut period instrument performance.

Patron: $60 (Reserved seating)
General: $35 (Non-reserved seating)
Student: $25

Ruben Valenzuela, conductor
Pierre Joubert, leader

Soloists:
Anne-Marie Dicce, soprano
Angela Young Smucker, alto
Vladimir Maric, tenor
John Polhamus, bass

Advance Tickets or Information: (619) 341-1726

Reserved:$60 General:$35 Student:$25

Children under 12: $12

Note: Discussing the B minor Mass: An Overview

Sunday, 1 June 2008 at 6pm (Following Evensong at 5pm)

St Peter's Episcopal Church (Parish Hall)

334 14th Street, Del Mar 92014

An informative discussion provided by music director Ruben Valenzuela in which he discusses the genesis, transmission, and reception of the B minor Mass, in addition to implications for performance practice.

Bach Collegium San Diego

P.O. Box 33754

San Diego, CA 92163 USA

www.bachcollegiumsd.org

Courtly Noyse: Sunday, May 18th

2008-05-17T07:08:00.001-07:00

The San Diego Early Music Society and the San Diego Museum of Art jointly present the “Old Masters” series highlighting local performers of early music. The concerts take place every other month on Sunday afternoons at 2:00 p.m., upstairs in the Hibben Gallery in the Museum in Balboa Park. Admission to the Museum also admits you to the concerts.

May 18, 2008 - 2pm

Courtly Noyse will present a program of vocal and instrumental music of the Renaissance. Instruments may include recorder, viola da gamba, lute, harp, crumhorn, and psaltery. Members are Penelope Hawkins, Laury Flora, John Cassaboom, Vickie Jenkins, Jay Sachs, and Sandra Stram.

Scintillating Sounds

2008-05-13T06:35:00.000-07:00

Local harpsichordist Takae Ohnishi treated SDEMS members to a positively scintillating performance at the season-end house concert, held in the home of a SDEMS patron. Ohnishi graduated from the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, and holds a Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. She is currently Lecturer of Harpsichord at UCSD.

She opened the program with a nice pairing of two works by Johann Jakob Froberger: a Toccata in C major, followed by the Tombeau fait a Paris sur la mort de Monsieur Blancrocher. Ms. Ohnishi demonstrated nice control of articulation in the Toccata, a fine example of Froberger's progressive harmonic language. The Tombeau is arguably one of Froberger's most performed pieces, and deservedly so: this composition speaks a romantic language not heard for another two hundred years. Ms. Ohnishi played it with the abandon the composer directs, choosing to repeat the final section, saving the dramatic "fall" for the conclusion.

Ms. Ohnishi then collected four pieces from Jean-Philippe Rameau's Nouvelles Suites de Pièces de Clavecin (ca. 1728) into a nice suite in A minor. Opening with an Allemande, taken at a very slow temp, the Courante and Sarabande built momentum to the concluding show piece, Les Trois Mains. Ms. Ohnishi played with a singing tone and a nice grasp for the poetry of the music.

Scarlatti sonatas are often used to demonstrate a harpsichordist's technical mastery: most of them dazzling trifles with lots of finger work. Ms. Ohnishi chose instead to program a pair that are less often heard, but that better showed Scarlatti's lyric side. The Sonata K208 is rare in that it has no "gimmics," just a beautiful and plaintive melody that starts solo, with a contrapuntal answer and then a tender development. It is a moving piece, nicely presented by Ms. Ohnishi. The second, Sonata K162, is even more rarely heard: initially a "sedate" piece with a surprise sparkle, providing a contrast between the tender and bold. It was refreshing to have two relative unknowns. She didn't have to strut her stuff with the Scarlatti, because the finale proved her mastery and intensity.

Antonio Soler's Fandango is one of the most Spanish pieces in the harpsichord repertoire; it just asks for castanets and (even better) a dancer! Relatively long and demanding, it can be the 18th century equivalent of Ravel's Bolero, both in its successes and failures at the hand of the performer. Ms. Ohnishi began perhaps just a tad slow, but she sustained and built momentum to a roaring climax. It was an exciting end to a very nicely balanced program that both pleased the senses and satisfied the soul.

When there’s room in the heart, there’s room in the house.

2008-04-15T09:17:00.000-07:00

"When there’s room in the heart, there’s room in the house."

This is the inspiration and theme for the newly commissioned opera for San Diego North Coast Singers. Riding the current wave in the world of children’s choirs, North Coast Singers joins the Children’s Chorus of Washington and the renowned Los Angeles Children’s Chorus as front-runners in developing and performing a children’s opera.

Jung-Ho Pak, conductor of the San Diego Chamber Orchestra wrote,“I believe this opera project is an excellent vehicle for exposing children firsthand to the wonderful world of opera. They will discover the power of being part of a full theatrical production. This is a rare opportunity for a San Diego arts organization to produce an important addition to the children's choir repertoire. I have full confidence that Sally Dean will be able to execute this project with great skill and enthusiasm.”

The chorus’s Board of Directors has commissioned New York composer, Cary Ratcliff, to write an opera based on the award-winning book, Mice and Beans, by acclaimed San Diegan author, Pam Muñoz Ryan. The opera will feature the children’s chorus in an innovative, audience-friendly format. Even those who do not think of themselves as opera buffs will be swept away by the comedic characters and splendid music. Ratcliff is a brilliant choral composer and looks forward to setting this piece specifically for the excellent children’s chorus. The world premier of Mice and Beans: The Opera, will debut at the Birch North Park Theater in San Diego on April 26th and 27th, 2008. In the fall of 2008, NCS hopes to revive the opera for school children in San Diego County.

To order tickets call 619-239-8836 or visit www.birchnorthparktheatre.com/

The Timmstrom Foundation is a long-time donor to and supporter of SDEMS.

Lucidarium - April 28th

2008-04-12T15:16:00.000-07:00

“La Istoria de Purim io ve Racconto”

Monday, April 28, 2008 - 7:30 P.M.
Congregation Beth El, Jacobs Family Community Hall

Lucidarium is one of Italy's premier early music ensembles devoted to the music and poetry of the Jews in Renaissance Italy. It makes its San Diego debut with “La Istoria de Purim,” a richly-nuanced program of rarely heard repertoire which has delighted audiences and critics from Budapest to San Francisco. Lucidarium won the award for musical creation from the European Association for Jewish Culture.

For more information, visit The San Diego Jewish Music Festival website.

40th Annual Weekend Workshop

2008-04-07T12:53:00.000-07:00

40th Annual Weekend Workshop
May 23-25, 2008
Early Music of Germany and the Netherlands

Our workshop is held at the San Diego County School Camp on Palomar Mountain, in the State Park, and near the 200 inch Hale Telescope. This beautiful mountain valley provides fresh air, hiking trails, and even a fishing pond close by. You will be provided warm dormitory sleeping facilities and wholesome family style meals.

Check-in begins at 4:00PM on Friday. You will receive class assignments and schedule at that time, and can set up in your favorite dorm. We will have potluck snacks only on Friday evening, followed by informal playing and singing. Join the group in the main hail or form your own ensemble. Meals and Classes begin Saturday morning at 8:00AM. We will have a conducted “grand consort” for all on Saturday evening.

Faculty includes Rebekah Ahrendt (viols), Janet Beasley (recorders and flute), Inga Func (recorders), Richard Glen (lute & guitar), John mark Rozendaal (viols).

Return of the Crumhorns: the Third Annual California Crumhorn Conclave will take over the main hall for a bit of fun and music of the (mostly) capped double reed variety on Saturday night. Bring your crumhorns, cornamusen, racketts and dulcians to play and share. We again will have Madrigal and Part Song singing on Saturday afternoon. The workshop will wind up by 4:00 PM on Sunday, after class “show and tell” (optional) and a concert by the faculty.

We will have a table for your sale/trade of instruments, sheet music and used CDs. The cost for this exciting weekend is $225 for SDEMS members and early bird registrants, $235 for non-members, and $100 for students. Details, including a map and the application can be downloaded here (600K).

Artistic Director Laurent Planchon in the Spotlight

2008-04-06T14:28:00.000-07:00

San Diego's Union Tribune newspaper featured an article by music critic Valerie Scher about SDEMS artistic director Laurent Planchon in today's paper. The focus of this article is Laurent's "moonlighting" in producing solo harpsichord recitals. We have, in fact, hosted many of the the World's top harpsichordists here in San Diego, including probably of the two top young rising stars today: Mahan Esfahani and Benjamin Alard.

As the article mentions, Laurent has been coordinating about three concerts per year. The final one for this season is will be by a personal favorite of mine, Laurent Stewart. While Stewart is not particularly well known in North America, this will be his third concert in San Diego. Seats for that recital are filling up fast and it looks like we will have a full house: literally.

April 9th: The Goliards at the Carmel Valley Library

2008-04-05T07:10:00.000-07:00

April’s free family music program sponsored by The Friends of the Carmel Valley Library will be presented on Wed., April 9th at 7:00 p.m. in the library’s community room. It will feature the Goliards, who will present a program of authentic medieval music on period instruments. The music comes mainly from the 13th and 14th centuries, and includes bouncy dances, drinking songs, and hauntingly beautiful devotional and art melodies. The performers will be vocalist Wendy Greene, flutist Janet Parish-Whittaker, and harpist David Parish-Whittaker.

Wendy Greene is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, sung for many years in the San Diego Opera Chorus, and presently teaches voice at San Diego City College and Southwestern College. Janet Parish-Whittaker has a master’s degree in performance (flute) from UCSD, and is also a composer. David Parish-Whittaker is a specialist on ancient brass-strung harps and has performed with several early music groups.

The Library is located at 3919 Townsgate Drive in Carmel Valley. For further information call (858) 552-1668.

The popular Athenaeum Mini-Concerts series is now in its 38th season of free one-hour concerts in La Jolla. At the same time, the Athenaeum San Diego Mini-Concerts continue downtown at the Lyceum Theater and in adjacent Horton Square for the 35th year. Performances at both venues feature some of the finest local musicians and ensembles in San Diego. Concerts alternate between the two venues. fall through spring, except for a break during the winter holidays.
Mini-concerts take place every other Monday at Noon and last about an hour.

The Goliards will be performing at noon on on April 21 at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library in La Jolla and April 28 downtown at the Lyceum Theater.

An Evening in Versailles

2008-03-30T11:22:00.000-07:00

It could argued that there never was such a thing as a "harpsichord concert." Recitals for the masses probably didn't happen. Rather, the harpsichord (and most solo instruments, other than the organ) was an instrument of the salon. There is no doubt that the best way to hear the harpsichord is in a salon environment.

SDEMS board members Laurent Planchon and Kemer Thomson have been producing solo harpsichord events for several years now, most frequently in a wonderful private home already filled with antique instruments. The last concert for this season will return to that favored venue, with the return of French harpsichordist Laurent Stewart.

Noted for his fiery, sensitive and passionate interpretations of music of the Grand Siècle, acclaimed French harpsichordist Laurent Stewart returns to San Diego to conclude the season with a recital of pieces by the great 'musicians to the King' Louis XIV Jean-Henry D’Anglebert, Louis Marchand and Antoine Forqueray and rarely heard Rameau’s ‘pieces de clavecin en concert’.

Friday, April 11, 7.30pm
Private residence in Rancho Santa Fe
Suggested donation $20 general/$10 students

For more information
To reserve seats, send email to Kemer Thomson or call him at 619-840-3416.

April 20: buy your tea ticket on line

2008-03-23T07:37:00.000-07:00

We've just added a button to our website to enable you to purchase your tea ticket on line. Go to http://www.sdems.org/ , click on "Tickets" to the left of your screen, and you will be taken straight there.
(Why not buy a ticket for next week's Ensemble Rebel concert while you're at it? There is a wonderful snippet of video on our home page which gives you a sneak preview of the treats in store. All this, and recorder/flute virtuoso Mathias Maute as well . . .)

Monthly Musicmakers

2008-03-19T16:03:00.000-07:00

Come to the San Diego Early Music Society's Monthly Musicmakers

Free and open to all!

On the fourth Saturday of the month, all interested musicians are invited to come sing and play. For our meeting, we will gather at the ClairemontCommunity Center from 1:00 until 5:00 on Saturday , March 22.

Come and bring any music you would like to share, as well as your singing voices, viols, lutes, recorders, sackbuts, jaw harps, crumhorns, or anything else you can use to make some music! This is free of charge to everyone. Email your friends! Don't email your enemies!

Contact Steve Hendricks at 619-459-4522 or steve@thehendricks.net for more information.

The Clairemont Community Center is located at

4731 Clairemont Drive at Lakehurst Avenue
(In the ClairemontTownSquareShopping Center)
San Diego, CA 92117-2704
Phone: (858) 581-4111

http://www.sandiego.gov/servicecenters/locations/clairemont.shtml

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March Reviews

2008-03-17T19:30:00.000-07:00

I have a personal blog, Midlife Music Musings, that includes a number of recent CD reviews. Here's a summary of some of the latest that relate to early music:

Mozart Sonatas & Rondos
Marcia Hadjimarkos, Fortepiano
Avie, AV 2138 (2007)
Her performances are full of life and creativity, with her own distinctive personality stamped on them. The sound of this instrument is glorious: this is the fortepiano I would want, if I could afford one of Clarke's instruments.
Mondonville: Pieces for Harpsichord and Voice or Violin; Sonata No. 4
Shannon Mercer, soprano and Luc Beauséjour, Harpsichord
Analekta AN 2 9920
Opus 5 is really beautiful music, in fact, memorable music. The longest piece, Protector meus, is darkly dramatic, with inventive harmonic twists that make one sit up and pay attention.
Johann Jacob Froberger: Complete Fantasias - Complete Canzonas - Toccatas
Bob van Asperen, Cipri Organ of S. Martino, Balogna (1556)
Aeolus AE-10501 (2006)
However, it seems that van Asperen is often imprecise in his meter and makes little use of articulation. As a result, I often find it difficult to follow the voices, even with score in hand.
The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I
Luc Beauséjour, Harpsichord
Naxos 8.557625-26 (2007)
Beauséjour's approach is very uncomplicated and tempi are on the brisk side: it is a very "pure" reading. For those who find Hantaï excessive, this might have a lot of appeal.
C.P.E. Bach Württemberg Sonatas
Miklós Spányi, Clavichord
BIS-CD-1424 (2007)
Volume 17 of the complete solo keyboard works: one of the best, to-date.
Mr. Abel's Fine Airs
Susanne Heinrich, viola da gamba
Hyperion CDA67628 (2007)
This has turned out to be a marvelous recording on all three fronts: the music is memorable, the sound is top notch, and the performance has just the right combination of heartfelt simplicity that seems to live up to Abel's reputation. I very much like Heinrich's warm and enthusiastic, yet sensible approach.

April 20: Tea and Music

2008-03-16T20:50:00.000-07:00

This year we are look for new ways to branch out. You might have noticed the fabulous venue for the February El Mundo concert: the Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala. I'm sorry I missed a great concert; people I talked to loved both the venue itself and the change of location.

We are trying out another new idea on April 20th: a traditional English-style afternoon tea, followed by a "command performance" by John Holloway, Jaap ter Linden, and Lars Ulrik Mortensen. This renown trio are performing a program titled “Madcap, Red Priest, and Angel" in La Jolla the evening before. The recital following the tea (a rather elaborate affair itself) will to a much more intimate audience. This is being held at the Westgate Hotel in downtown San Diego. I checked out this venue last month: the hotel, which is located behind the Civic Center and nearby Horton Plaza, is elegant in an appropriately baroque way.

The $65 question is: will people come downtown on a Sunday afternoon and spend over three times our usual ticket price to enjoy a concert in a more upscale and intimate environment? Will we get a different audience? The SDEMS board discussed this at length and we finally voted in favor, in agreement that to reach new audiences, we need to try new things. As for myself, it sounds like a lot of fun: a great excuse to dress up, drive downtown, and feel a bit like the rich-and-famous.

Sunday, April 20, 2008
Westgate Hotel
1055 Second Avenue • San Diego, CA 92101
Tea from 2:30pm, onwards • Concert at 4:00pm
Information: 619-226-4266
$65 per person

A Transformation of Media

2008-03-11T20:57:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the first entry for the San Diego Early Music Society's new blog! Like music organizations around the World, SDEMS is discovering that the Internet provides an ideal medium for getting the word out—a better way that saves not only in wasted paper, but in the cost of mailing newsletters that are often merely glanced at before seeing the trash heap! The ones and zeros of the Digital Age are replacing paper media everywhere, redefining the venerable newspaper and magazine. And so, it is our intent to replace our newsletter with this blog.

Actually, moving to the blog format is a natural progression. We retired the newsletter in its paper form last year; instead, we posted PDF versions of the newsletter on our web site. This really was redundant in the truest sense of the word: posting one electronic digest on another. Furthermore, newsletters take a great deal of work to create, yet circumstantial evidence suggests that they are infrequently read. Blogs encourage us to produce a steady stream of smaller articles, lessening the editorial burden, and also encourage readers to give us feedback. Rather than redundantly overlaying our excellent web site, which can be counted on to provide up-to-date information about the organization and upcoming programs, the blog format is ideally suited to providing a different perspective: reviews, commentary, observations, and experiences that we feel may be of interest to the local early music community. Ultimately, we hope that this new medium will help foster interest, grow the community, and contribute to the success of our remarkable organization.

Kemer Thomson