Irish Baroque Chamber Soloists at Newman University Church, Dublin, on 7 February 2016
This afternoon’s concert features as guest director the charismatic baroque violinist Pavlo Beznosiuk. He leads a chamber septet with core IBO players – Claire Duff (violin), Sarah Halpin (violone) and Malcolm Proud (harpsichord) – alongside theorbist Paula Chateauneuf and two cornettists: Josué Meléndez and Jamie Savan. This concert celebrates the unconventional and improvised character of early 17th-century Italian music, leaving aside the big set pieces normally favoured by modern concert programmers, and stepping into a more fragmentary musical world.
Any ‘revolution’ needs a status quo to twist away from, and this is provided by the opening pieces, two canzonas by Giovanni Gabrieli. The group’s sound is established from the start, the clarity and openness of the strings augmented by the smooth colours of the two high-toned cornetti. Following this, the ensemble’s approach to Dario Castello’s Sonata X reveals a lively vividness, with impulsive shifts in mood and bold colours. The music gives opportunities to all with even Halpin’s violone (double bass viol) coming out of the accompanying texture to contribute to a vibrant trio. The sense of improvisation is taken a step further in the next piece, as Beznosiuk recreates the playing style of his forebears, improvising on the top two vocal lines of a Palestrina madrigal with brilliant embellishments. For variety this is followed by the Sonata IV sopra ‘L’Aria di Ruggiero’ by Salomone Rossi, putting the two cornetti centre stage in a beautiful duet.
The sense of vivid colour, impulsive freshness and contrast runs right through the programme, with many moments to enjoy. The two violinists, Beznosiuk and Duff, form an effective partnership, as we hear especially in the brilliant Passamezzo Concertato by Biagio Marini, negotiating its interweaving lines and eccentric turns with some stunning playing. The quality and playfulness continue in the second half, with Meléndez even swapping his cornetto for baroque guitar for Buonamente’s Sonata V. Castello’s Sonata XVI features virtuoso playing from both cornetti and violins as well as dramatic echo effects, Duff and Meléndez responding from afar in the distant choir balcony. As if looking ahead in time to the high baroque, the ensemble finishes with a suite of dances by Marco Uccellini, bringing the concert to a close in spirited, festive style.
Programme:
Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzona I à 5; Canzona IV à 6
Dario Castello: Sonata X (Book 2)
Giovanni Palestrina: improvised violin divisions on ‘Vestiva i colli’
Salamone Rossi: Sonata IV sopra ‘L’aria di Ruggiero’
Improvised toccata for solo theorbo (Paula Chateauneuf)
Francesco Rognoni: improvised divisions on ‘Susanne un jour’
Biagio Marini: Passamezzo concertato
Giovanni Battista Buonamente: Sonata for four violins (from Libro Sesto de varie sonate (1636))
Girolamo Frescobaldi: Capriccio sopra la, sol, fa, re, mi
Giovanni Croce: Veni in hortum meum
Buonamente: Sonata V (Book 4) on ‘Poi che noi rimena’
Giovanni Battista Fontana: Sonata XI
Castello: Sonata XVI (Book 2)
Marco Uccellini: Sinfonia VI, Corrente X, Corrente XV, Corrente XIII, Corrente XIV, Corrente XI