Early Music at Saturday Lunchtimes ...

[doversoul1]

Biber: Jordi Savall: 15 August

Jordi Savall directs Biber's colossal Missa Salisburgensis in a recording made during this year's Resonanzen Festival in Vienna

Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber: Missa Salisburgensis

Hesperion XXI, Le Concert des Nations & La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Jordi Savall (director)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b065wmst

[doversoul1]

Café Zimmermann: 22 August

For this concert from the Schwetzingen Festival, Café Zimmermann focuses on the music of three composers who flourished at the end of the 17th century and who were all virtuoso instrumentalists in their own right
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer
Johann Jacob Froberger,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b066zj7p

Thids should be good.

[doversoul1]

An excellent concert. There is something (to me) very beguiling about these 17th century instrumental works that is ‘lost’ in Bach’s works. I suppose it was just that music grew up. Whatever it is or isn’t, this is a most enjoyable concert.

[Pegleg]

One of the better concerts of recent Saturdays of works of composers that deserve greater exposure on R3. I certainly needed no caffeine stimulant during this musical hour. Cafe Zimmermann are an accomplished and versatile group. String playing was of a high calibre throughout, not a hint of squeal or scratch. Céline Frisch, who I normally associate with the harpsichord, played organ on just one piece. A pity the programme did not allow for more of her at the keyboard.

It's possible that for once the BBC did not actually chop the original concert to fit the 60 minutes, this publicity notice would imply we heard the whole programme:

http://www.cafe-zimmermann.com/ENG/programme6.php

[doversoul1]

Vivaldi & Dall’Abaco: 29 August

Concertos by Vivaldi and Bach played by Cappella Gabetta, an ensemble co-founded by violinist Andres Gabetta and his sister Sol Gabetta. This concert was recorded in May this year at the Schwetzingen Festival, Germany.

Vivaldi: Concerto for two mandolins, RV 532 (arr. Sol Gabetta for violin and cello)*
Evaristo Felice Dall'Abaco: Concerto in D for strings, Op.5 No.6
Vivaldi: Concerto for violin and cello, RV 547
Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No.3, BWV 1048
Sol Gabetta (cello)
Cappella Gabetta, Andres Gabetta (violin and director).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b067x53d

*A pity. I rather like the mandolin but it will be good to hear Dall’Abaco.

[Pegleg]

Can I claim bragging rights? I've already heard this concert in full. No I didn't time travel, I just let my fingers do the walking.

When I first saw this, I thought Cappella sans Gabetta would play on period instruments, but would Sol Gabetta play with guts? Seams I was well behind the curve, as Ms Gabetta has been playing and recording baroque works for some years. No half measure here, she plays a Guadagini cello from 1759 with gut strings (or an Gagliano from 1781) with a baroque bow – well at least she does on some CDS.

But if you're fed up with the cut & paste job R3 does on many of these Saturday slots, there's no need to be robbed on this occasion, hear the whole 2 hours here:

http://www.swr.de/swr2/programm/sendungen/konzerte/cappella-gabetta-raritaeten-und-meisterwerke-des-barock-28/-/id=659392/did=15599440/nid=659392/2v1z3j/index.html

Click on “Audio herunterladen (198,53 MB | mp3)” just below the photo if you want to download it. It's legit and the mp3 file plays at 192kbps 44100Hz and sounds pretty good to me.

If you want to explore other concerts from the Schwetzinger SWR Festspiele 2015 there's a full list here:

http://www.swr.de/swr2/programm/sendungen/konzerte/konzerte-on-demand/-/id=659392/did=8972754/nid=659392/z7tgz2/index.html

[doversoul1]

Thank you for the information, pegleg. It was the same with L'Arpeggiata’s concert at Utrecht early music festival some while ago; two hours plus cut down to an hour. And I had watched the entire concert before the programme.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DtyRKSATx4

Christina Pluhar & L'Arpeggiata - Bertali & Sances - Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht

It is a pity that we can’t have all these concerts as they are. On the other hand, as long as the programme is labelled as early music (i.e. minor interest), we don’t have to worry about it being presented by those ‘high profile’ presenters. A blessing in disguise?

[doversoul1]

Skip Sempé and Olivier Fortin: 5 September

Skip Sempé and Olivier Fortin perform a programme of French harpsichord music from the 2015 Schwetzingen Festival.

Rameau: La Coulicam; La Livri; Air pour les esclaves africains (from Les Indes galantes); L'Enharmonique
Le Roux: Courante
Chambonnières: Sarabande
Le Roux: Gigue
Rameau: Minuets I & II
D'Anglebert: Passacaille d'Armide
F Couperin: Prelude No. 5 in A (from L'art de toucher le clavecin); Allemande (from Concert Royal No. 1)
Rameau: Sarabande in A; Fugue La Forqueray; La Cupis; La Pantomime

Skip Sempé and Olivier Fortin (harpsichords).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b068gsgt

[french frank]

This is a strand which I'd seemingly not noticed - or not registered as an exclusively early music concert. As Andrew (and off-board Honoured Guest) have indicated, this is to be the the new Early Music Late strand with Simon Heighes and Elin Manahan Thomas on Sunday evenings (following Drama on 3).

[doversoul1]

Last Early Music Saturday Lunchtime Concert.

Concertos, arias and motets by Vivaldi and Handel from Carolyn Sampson and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra directed by Petra Mullejans, in a concert recorded in Freiburg last year

Vivaldi: Siam navi all'onde ('L'Olimpiade, RV.725)
Vivaldi: Concerto in F, RV.572 ('Il Proteo ossia Il mondo al rovescio')
Handel: Finche un zeffiro suave (Ezio, HWV.29); Io son quella navicella (Imeneo, HWV.41); Scherza in mar (Lotario, HWV.26)
Vivaldi: Sum in medio tempestatum, RV.632

Carolyn Sampson (soprano)
Freiburg Baroque Orchestra
Petra Mullejans (director).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b069www6

The programme had a shaky start (e.g. repeating already repeated TTN concert with the same script) but turned out to be a treasure for us early music fans with works by many unfamiliar composers, early music in the real sense, and best of all the exemplary presentation. Jonathan Swain even managed to make twice repeated script sound as if he was thinking it up as he went.

Many thanks to Jill Anderson, David Cornett, Ian Skelly, and Jonathan Swain (and John Shea?) for making this uninspiring looking programme so enjoyable. I am very sorry that the programme has come to an end.

[Pegleg]

Early music at Saturday lunchtime came to an end yesterday. There was no goodbye, not even a backward glance, and no mention of the new “Early Music Late” Sunday show. A catchy title that surely must be shorthand for the “Early Music better late than not at all” show.

Will I miss EM on Saturday lunchtime? Nothing like I miss Catherine Bott. We heard some excellent music in the series, but I quickly tired of a presentation deceit that habitually referred to “this concert ..” in a manner that both casual and regular listeners alike might have thought they were hearing complete concerts. This was rarely, if ever, true, as R3 simply chopped up concerts as they saw to fit, changing the play order, dropping pieces and encores etc. in the end, this simply left me feeling cheated and I sought out the originals whenever possible. The alternative sources of EM I discovered are just another reason not to listen to R3.

Will “Early Music Late” continue in the same vain? Or will the new presenters bring added life to these shows? We will soon know.

[MickyD]

I enjoyed the Sampson/Freiburg concert very much on Saturday, especially the Handel arias. Well worth a listen.