Monteverdi Anniversary Concert (11/29/17)

Molly Quinn, soprano; Timothy Parsons, countertenor; Johanna Novom, violin; Charles Weaver, lute and vocals; Adam Cockerham, theorbo

Chiome d’oro; Ardo e scoprir – Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643)
Prologue to Orfeo; Et è pur dunque vero; Si dolce è il tormento – Monteverdi
Bel pastor; Damigella tutta bella – Monteverdi
Tempro la cetra; Lamento della ninfa – Monteverdi
Fuge anima mea mundum; Pur ti miro – Monteverdi

This concert was at a new venue for me, Istituto Italiano di Cultura New York, and was suggested to me by my supervisor at work (thanks, Lena!). Since I know a lot of you are curious, a theorbo is an early-music stringed instrument—think of a lute on steroids. It has (at least the one I saw at this concert) a double set of strings, one of them on a neck about four feet long. Do an image search and you’ll see that they vary quite a bit.

Chiome d’oro had a dance-like opening from the violin, lute, and theorbo; they were then joined by both vocalists. It was lively throughout. After some tuning (early-music instruments are notorious for needing frequent retuning), Ardo e scoprir, for lute, theorbo, soprano and tenor (maybe baritone? Mr. Parsons displayed an extremely large range throughout the performances), was much more dramatic.

Prologue to Orfeo, for three instruments only, was gentle and slow but not quite sad. It moved easily into Et è pur dunque vero, which added the soprano and added more drama, as well. It was much livelier for part of the time and Ms. Quinn showed a nice mix and control of a fast vibrato alternating with a basically straight tone (very minimal vibrato). After tuning again, Si dolce è il tormento had an instrumental beginning, joined by Mr. Parsons in his baritenor range in a strophic song that alternated text and instrumental interludes. There were interesting techniques on display by all, all the more so since they were carefully kept in the background.

Bel pastor, a soprano/tenor duet accompanied by lute and theorbo, had both a hint of jollity plus a touch of drama at times. Damigella tutta bella was a madrigal for all five performers which was very brisk and included the lutenist contributing to the vocals.

Tempro la cetra began with all three instruments, joined by Mr. Parsons in his baritenor range again, with more overt vocal techniques on display. Lamento della ninfa seemed to have stereo vocals, with Mr. Parsons and Mr. Weaver bending pitches into a sort of forced dissonance. Ms. Quinn joined in, at which point it truly sounded like a lament.

Fuge anima mea mundum was a motet for soprano, countertenor, and violin, and was brisk and fun, with contrasting slower sections—there was a bouncing back and forth of tempos—and also nice imitative sections that were quite humorous. Pur ti miro, for soprano, countertenor, lute, and theorbo, had gentle strings as an intro followed by the vocal duet, accompanied by the strings, that was also mostly gentle but then picked up tempo after a brief instrumental section.

Early music is not everybody’s cup of tea but I enjoy it quite a bit. It helps that I have performed some of it and have a slightly deeper understanding of the conventions involved—both instrumental and vocal. These five performers gave a most winning performance of a nice range of Monteverdi’s music. Oh, and the anniversary part? The 450th anniversary of Monteverdi’s birth.