Alpha and Omega

6/11/24 and 6/13/24
Nosky's Baroque Band and The Academy Players – Running the Gamut

Alpha. Tuesday, June 11 was the first of this season's Naumburg Orchestral Concerts. Aislinn Nosky was the featured violin soloist. Here's the program:

Sinfonia in D Major, Op. 6, No. 12, (1735) – Evaristo Felice Dell'Abaco (1675–1742)
Concerto Grosso in A minor Op.6. No.4, HWV 322, (1732) – George Frideric Handel (1685–1759)
Concerto Grosso No.1 in G major, (1740) – Unico Wilhelm van Wassenaer (1692–1766)
Concerto Grosso in E flat major, Op. 7 No. 6, "il Pianto d'Arianna" (1741) – Pietro Antonio Locatelli (1695–1764)
Concerto Grosso in C minor, Op. 6 No. 3 (1712 or prior) – Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713)
Quintet (Sinfonia Spirituosa) in D Major, TWV 44:1 – Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767)
Violin concerto in D major, RV 208 "il Grosso Mogul" (1720) – Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741)

You may be asking why is the spacing of the works is all out of whack? I retyped them, as is, from the printed program. You may be asking what is a concerto grosso? It's a piece that pits a larger portion of the orchestra against a smaller portion, with the larger portion being grosso. Almost all of the concerti grosso had multiple movements, so I spared you (and me) from naming all of them.

The band had the usual four strings sections – violins, violas, cellos, and bass – but with added theorbo (does everyone remember what a theorbo is?) and harpsichord. A well-rounded ensemble. The concerti grosso were all played very nicely. The Vivaldi violin concerto was exceptional. Ms. Nosky was interrupted with applause at least three times, akin to what you would experience at a jazz performance. Yes, she was that good.

Omega. Midtown Concerts with Gotham Early Music Scene. Yes, Thursday, June 13 was their final concert until the series picks up again September 12, 2024. Here's the program:

La Gamme – En forme d'un petit Opéra (1723) – Marin Marais (1656–1728)

Marais is a composer whose name I know, but I can't recall ever hearing his music live before. The piece was essentially a through-composed work of many individual movements broken up into two parts. Confused yet? So was I.

Ut-Ré-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Si-Ut-Si (Gravemont-Rondement)
Si (Un peu plus gay)-La-Sol-Fa-Mi-Ré-Ut

The trio was viola de gamba (pretty much a cello held above the gound by the player's legs), harpsichord, and violin. There were interesting sections where each individual instrument was highlighted, but they were few and far between. For the most part it was (for me, at least) what sounded a lot like what I had just heard for the last few minutes, without enough oomph to keep me overly interested. Am I glad I went? Definitely. Will I seek this work out again? Doubtful.

ConcertMeister