ARTEK (4/14/22)

My Heart is Filled with Longing (4/14/22)

Gwendolyn Toth ~ organ & director; Ryland Angel ~ countertenor; Theresa Salomon ~ violin, Chiara Fasani Stauffer ~ violin; Peter Kupfer ~ viola, Dan McCarthy ~ viola; Arnie Tanimoto ~ violoncello; Motomi Igarashi ~ violone; Adam Cockerham ~ theorbo

Sinfonia No. 7 a 5 – Johann Rosenmüller (1617–1684) Grave ~ Allegro ~ Adagio ~ Allegro ~ Allegro Alemanda ~ Correnta ~ Ballo
Trocknet euch ihr heiβen Zähren – Philipp Heinrich Erlebach (1657–1714)
Sonata con altre arie – Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (c. 1620/23–1680) Serenata ~ Erlicino ~ Adagio ~ [Allegro] ~ Ciaccona ~ Campanellae ~ Lamento ~ Campanellae
Ach daβ ich Wassers genug – Johann Christoph Bach (1642–1703)
Hertzlich thut mich verlangen a 5 – Johann Fischer (1646–1716/1717)

Confused yet? The string a 5 pieces included two violins (one voice, this will occur again), two violas (one voice), one cello, one violone (more on that later) and one theorbo (those of you in the know are, of course, in the know). Oh, the reed organ (continuo) is not counted as an instrument. Go figure.

The eight movements of the first piece were very hard to distinguish from one another. Thus, there will be very minor commentary. It opened with a very full sound from all of the strings and the reed organ. The initial sound was slightly somber, followed by a quicker tempo that was still gentle. [LATE ARRIVALS] One movement had a brief theorbo introduction which I rather liked.

Adding the countertenor to the second piece, it had a gentle tempo throughout.

Another eight-movement string piece had a fairly dramatic opening, lively but not overdone. There was a return to drama via tempo changes and volume changes – a slower movement had some tension in the harmonies. After a return to an energetic tempo, there was an almost perpetual movement motion that was then repeated. Fun! The two Campanellae movements were my favorites.

The fourth piece on the program welcomed back the guest countertenor. It had a somber string introduction followed by a feeling of a sad lament all the way through. It ended with a repeat of the opening to complete the piece.

For the last work, there was a full string opening before getting into the tune that was recognizable to me. It was somber, yet also uplifting. At one point, the tune bounced over to the violone, quite effectively. Then the countertenor joined in to the string version of the tune to present the text of the hymn in a straightforward manner.

New to me: violone, an early form of double bass, especially a large bass viol.
It made perfect sense to me when I saw it on stage.

ConcertMeister