Reviews

Norfolk Chamber Consort: Worth Your Bux!
Christ and St. Luke's
November 7, 2022
Review by John Campbell

Hurricane Ian forced the postponement of NCC's 54th Season opener scheduled for early October. The program was designed to explore the question of why a twenty year old Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) traveled north 260 miles to meet the 70 year old Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707). Buxtehude's reputation as the greatest living practical musician of his day had spread from Lübeck in the northern Baltic area of Germany to Armstadt in central Germany where Bach had only been exposed to dry, Lutheran music. Bach had come to listen to and study with Buxtehude to hear Lutheran music that was infused with Italian “dolce” (sweet) influence. While there Bach also heard dazzling concert music on a monumental scale, as well as chamber music and intimate devotional works. He also witnessed Buxtehude's special style of organ playing. Bach's stay in Lübeck shaped his musical life and by projection, our own.

Praeludium in G minor BuxWV 149 played by organist Marjorie Setnicky opened the program after a greeting by NCC President Jake Keller who introduced Andrey Kasparov and his notes on the music. Praeludium had a grand beginning with rapid passage-work and strict polyphonic imitation followed by a quiet, stately section with shifts in register and demanding pedal work. The end, with great rumbling in the deeper toned pipes was a fitting conclusion. It must have been a revelation to Bach.

Oksana Lutsyshyn at the harpsichord played Suite in D minor BuxWV 233 in what was termed a typical Baroque dance suite—five short, sweet, movements masterfully played. Ms. Lutsyshyn's skillful playing expressed the composer's contrapuntal skill and ability to create a contrast of devotional atmosphere and raw intensity.

Next came my favorite pieces of the evening. Soprano Bianca Hall backed by a five-piece chamber ensemble (Emily Ondracek-Peterson, violin 1; Gretchen Loyola, violin 2; Anastasia Migliozzi, viola; Elizabeth Richards, cello; Lutsyshyn, harpsichord) performed Buxtehude's cantata “O Gottes Stadt” in C Minor BuxWV 87, conducted by Kasparov. The sweet, enfolding instrumental sound had a gentle, pin-point precise vocal that did not dwell in the range of the instruments. The viola was replaced by David Savige's bassoon as Ms. Hall sang I Know that My Redeemer Liveth” from Handel's Messiah.

After intermission we heard Georg Philipp Telemann's (1681-1767) Ich weis, dass mein Erlöser lebt TWV 1:877 (I know that my Redeemer Lives), sung in German by Brian Nedvin accompanied by violin, bassoon, cello continuo and harpsichord. The text tells of Jesus' arrest, abuse, death and burial. The music highlighted the joy of his Resurrection and its implication of his redeeming all who believe. The singer in the final verse stands prepared to be carried away by angels leaving his body behind. The ensemble was excellent and the text, with translation, was in the program sheets.

Ms. Hall joined Nedvin near the organ to sing an anonymous plainchant, The Song of Mary in which the two voices blended in a single, unaccompanied vocal line followed by a brief passage by organist Bradley Norris as the story of Mary unfolded, one line at a time. The organ statement came from Buxtehude's Magnificat Primi Toni BuxWV 203 and Toccata in D minor BuxWV 155. Norris gave a brief, verbal introduction to the Magnificat Cantile “Meine Seele” (My Soul), also an anonymous plainsong. To conclude the program two sung verses by Hall and Nedvin were followed by the organ prelude Fuga Sopra il Magnificat BWV 733 Meine Seele erhebt den Herren (My Soul Magnifies the Lord) (1708-1717) by J.S. Bach, the pupil who eclipsed his teachers. Since vocal pieces were alternated with organ fragments, it was unclear that the concert was over until a voice from the audience said “It's over” and then we applauded.

Norfolk Chamber Consort: The Art of Improvisation
Monday, February 20, 2023, Chandler Recital Hall
Review by John Campbell

Jake Keller, president of Norfolk Chamber Consort, gave an introduction for the program and told us that each featured Old Dominion University music department faculty member would introduce their own performance.

The definition of improvisation in music has had a shifting meaning over musical history. From the 12th to the 17th century, one part was improvised by one singer to a notated part sung by another. The program began with soprano Bianca Hall singing two songs published in 1601 by Luzzasco Luzzaschi (1545-1607). Luzzaschi broke new ground in the use of written-out virtuosic ornamentation with a new emphasis on the expressive power of the solo voice. Dr. Hall demonstrated great skill in Auro soave (Gentle breeze) and O primavera (Oh, spring) from Luzzaschi's madrigals for one, two or three sopranos, with Oksana Lutsyshyn at the harpsichord. Texts and translations were in the program. The deep, mellow notes of “You awoke love that was sleeping there in my heart” blossomed as the happy text tells of the gentle spirit that brought this about. Following the idea of awakening love, the awakening of spring was a natural pairing. Delicious!

Next came Sonata in F Major, Op 5, No.10 (1700) by Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) as arranged and played by Michael Hall on alto trombone with Elizabeth Richards, cello and Dr.Lutsyshyn, harpsichord. In the 17th and 18th centuries, improvisation meant decoration of the written notes of a melody by shorter notes. Keyboard players also improvised on the figured bass line. Corelli, a consummate perfectionist, only published six sets of opus numbers. This piece, from his most popular chamber sonatas, was written for violin. Dr. Hall says that only Corelli's dance movements were adaptable for trombone. (All six pieces can be found on Dr. Hall's CD Solo Chamber Sonatas from 2004. There you will find his playing flawless). For us the five movements—mellow Preludio, very lively Allemanda, cartoon character march Sarabanda, quick note Gavotte, gig Giga— were a chance to hear live his transcription and ornamentation of a beloved work.

Dr. Andrey Kasparov spoke about J.S. Bach's (1685-1750) Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue, BWV 903 (1717-1723) as the composer writing out harmonies and leaving the performer on his own to fill in around them. Kasparov played the notes with precision and speed—a real tour de force that inspired continued applause from an audience happy to see Andrey back in such fine form.

Fellow listener Adelaide Coles commented afterward that the next selection was her surprise favorite of the evening: Lutsyshyn on piano played Olivier Messiaen's (1908-1992) Premiere Communion de la Vierge No. 11 from his two-hour long Vingt Regards sur l'enfant Jésus (Twenty contemplations of the infant Jesus) (1944). Dr. Lutsyshyn's stunning performance was measured and emphatic, capturing our attention and bringing us into the ambiance of the moment. Later at home I listened to a recording by Yvonne Loriod, Messiaen's wife, for whom the piece was written and found it tepid and “church music-like.” Lutsyshyn's was a live performance, true, but the vivid interpretation made me “hear” it for the first time. The mystically slow chords in the left hand and the tinkly tune in the right gave way to pounded notes and treble clusters, then a repeat of the opening spare, quiet music, always unrushed.

After intermission guitarist Todd Holcomb played Frenchman Roland Dyens (1955-2016) Saudade No. 3 (Nostalgic longing) (1980). It was all about rhythm but was not actually improvised, though it sounded as it if were. Dyens drew on folk music and jazz, making arrangements of music by Fernando Sor, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Thelonious Monk and even French chanteuse Edith Piaf. Many of his public performances included improvisations and sometimes whole concerts were improvised. Holcomb's stellar performance of this music of modern, fragmented sections is a reflection of today's unsettled, challenging times and was deeply engaging.

Next came Ludwig van Beethoven's Six Ecossaises WoO 83. The Grove Dictionary of Music suggests that these works are of doubtful authenticity and may be half of WoO 16. But never mind, if Beethoven wrote them, they prove that he could write vivacious dance music with the best. Ecossaises were originally a popular Scottish country dance form of moderate difficulty. The first playing of the six featured Dr. Lutsyshyn at the piano, then Dr. Kasparov in the next. I'll defer to Ms. Coles on these pieces.

"Ah! I think you missed the magic with the Ecossaises! It’s a short and elementary set of 6 tiny pieces, only 2 pages in total. It’s a simplistic little ditty by the great master that is completely forgettable in comparison to his sonatas, symphonies, etc. But the magic was to show that three unique performers could completely transform this little lark into vastly different performances simply with improvisation. I brought the little score up on my phone and was endlessly entertained at what they did."

"First, Oksana played the six ecossaises in what a listener might describe as a "classical" style, adding embellishments and trills as well as little melodic ornamentations to both hands. Her version was very elegant and polished, and set the stage for the departures to come."

"Then, with the comedic energy of the legendary Victor Borge, Kasparov came up and gave his amusing rendition of the piece as a stream-of-consciousness, hallucination-cum-medley of Beethoven’s greatest hits, including quotations from much more well-known pieces by the composer, with multiple false endings - including one more after leaving the stage and rushing back on!"

I continue: They had prevailed on John Toomey to give his take on the set. His rendition had three sections: an improvised waltz; as a nightclub pianist might play; and as Latin jazz. Each performance was delightful, each in its own way.

Toomey followed with Just Squeeze Me by Duke Ellington (1899-1974), a lively tune that defines the elegant jazz sound of Ellington's era. The playing was bright, warm and engaging, ending on a downbeat.

To close the circle of improvisation from early music to jazz, Bianca Hall returned to sing Claudio Monteverdi's (1567-1643) song Ohimé, ch'io, cado, ohimé (1624) Alas, I am falling. Once again she is falling for the same fatal glances that snared her before. The images that expressed this are 16th century, stiff and formal by modern standards but the sentiment is the same. Here she was accompanied by the jazz combo of Dr. Toomey, piano; David Walker, drums; and Jimmy Masters, double bass. (Mr. Masters has thirty years of experience in a jazz combo with Toomey). The six verse lament of love's pain and pleasure was sung with variations in the instrumentation to end together. We were sorry that they had not prepared an encore!

The evening was indeed a grand display of ODU faculty performing talent! We were happy to see Norfolk Chamber Consort's largest audience of long time patrons and ODU students after three years of Covid challenges.