Naumburg Orchestral Concerts (2023)

 ACRONYM (6/13/23)

Opening Fanfare: Times Square Brass
World premiere (2023) – Martin Kennedy

Anonymous, (Biber?/Schmelzer?), Sonata Jucunda a5 in D minor
Samuel Capricornus, (1628–1665), Sonata a8 in A minor
Francesco Cavalli, (1602–1676), Canzona a8 in C major
Andreas Kirchhoff, (fl.1700), Sonata a6 in G minor
Alessandro Scarlatti, (1660–1725), Sinfonia a4, (from Agar et Ismaele esiliati)
Clemens Thieme, (1631–1668), Sonata a8 in C major
Johann Pezel, (1639–1694), Ciacona a6 in B-flat major
Giovanni Valentini, (1582–1649), Sonata Enharmonisch a8 in G minor
Antonio Bertali, (1605–1669), Sonata a6 in D minor
Johann Philipp Krieger, (1649–1725), Sonata a4 in F major
Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1644–1704), Battalia a10 in D major

OK, I’m sure all of the above actually means nothing to you, including the names of the composers. So, here’s the deal. Acronym is a chamber music ensemble (strings, harpsichord, and reed organ) that plays early music on period instruments, using old-fashioned cat-gut strings. This resulted in much more re-tuning during the concert.

Don’t be put off by the Sonata a8 or the Ciacona a6 in some of the titles. It does not mean eight or six instruments, rather eight or six voices that can be played by small groups of instruments, e.g., three violins can be one voice while two cellos can be another voice.

This is the 118th iteration of the Naumburg concert series but more to the point, it is the 100th anniversary of the newly restored bandshell in Central Park. As a result, each concert this summer will open with a special fanfare. This concert featured a brass fanfare (two trumpets, two trombones, and two French horns) playing a modern, but listenable, fanfare. And it was a world premiere. How lucky am I?

As to the music on the program, it was pretty much similar from piece to piece. Some were chorale-like, some were dance-like.

Of special interest to me was Giovanni Valentini Sonata Enharmonisch a8 in G minor, since it paired parts of the composition in G minor (two flats) and G major (one sharp). It was oddly disjointed but eerily interesting, too.

The last piece on the program Battalia a10 in D major was actually a sonic picture of a battle. It was rhythmic and quick, using tapping bows on strings, while being sometimes out of tune (on purpose).

It was a great introduction to a group I had never heard before, and a great introduction to a five-concert summer series. Oh, did I mention it’s free?

Now the caveat (yes, I am becoming a curmudgeon). Because of the 100th anniversary of the bandshell, there is a special brochure that includes all five concert programs. I either need to bring the oversized brochure to the next four concerts or print out each of the rest of the four programs so that I’m not wielding an unwieldy brochure.

 ConcertMeister