Gotham Early Music Scene (1/15/26)

Ben Katz & Friends
Hymn of Apollo 

Ben Katz ~ harpsichord    Dani Zanuttini ~ theorbo   Amanda Beranek ~ harp   
Jackie Hager & Nathan Francisco ~ violoncello

Sarabande de la Reyne – Jacques Champion de Chambonnières (ca. 1601‒1672)
Entrée d’Apollon – Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632‒1687)  

Sonata X for Violoncello and Continuo in C Major – Giuseppe Maria Jacchini (1667‒1727)  

Sonata di basso solo – Gregorio Strozzi (1615‒1687)  

Suite of partimenti (improvisations on figured bass) – Bernardo Pasquini (1637‒1707)  

Capriccio detto hermafrodito – Bellerofonte Castaldi (1580‒1649)
Canzona prima from Quarto libro d’intavolatura per il chitarone – Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger (ca. 1580‒1651)  

Sonata VIII for Violoncello and Continuo in A minor – Giuseppe Maria Jacchini  

Contrapunctus I from The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 – J.S. Bach (1685‒1750)
Sonata Nona, Op. 8, No. 9 – Biagio Marini (1594‒1663) 

Interestingly, and oddly, there was only bio material for Ben Katz in the program notes, and not the other four friends. I liked the layout of the performance—two works to begin, three separate works, a pairing of the Capriccio and the Canzona, the separate Sonata VIII, and the paired Contrapunctus and Sonata Nona. This gave us, the audience, an idea of when applause was appropriate (although applause is always appropriate).

Also interestingly, most of these composers were new to me. A little more info before I get to the music. In most of these early-music concerts, harp equals a hand-held small harp. Nope, this one was full sized. And do we all remember the theorbo—a lute on steroids?

The first work opened with harpsichord and harp and was gentle in both tempo and texture. It became fuller when the theorbo entered but retained its gentle quality. The second work for the trio was fuller still and more dramatic. It was also relatively gentle, adding more energetic rhythms. These two were taken as one group in the printed program, and the audience waited until the end of the second piece before applauding. This is nice programming as far as I’m concerned. 

After mild tuning, because the violoncellos were being added, the piece opened with a cello solo (slow), then the harp joined in, then there was a brisk section, with a contrasting slower section that included all five performers. There was a good mix of tempo changes in the sections—not exactly separate movements—that followed. 

The fourth work was a harpsichord/theorbo duet that was fairly gentle and subdued. Contemplative came to mind, though there was a hint of jaunty at the end.  

The fifth was a harpsichord solo that was pleasant, if a bit lengthy. 

The sixth had harpsichord and theorbo at the beginning, with one cello added to the mix. To my ear, it was rather tame for a capriccio. The seventh piece (part of one grouping) had all three players, though the theorbo was featured and then the cello was featured. Once again, this piece was gentle but it held my interest. 

The eighth had all five players and was slow to begin, before a much faster section when the second of the cellos was added. This was followed with a very full, brisk section that led to a bang-up finish. 

The ninth was a bit of a conundrum. It was simple (as in not complicated), but also not necessarily easy. The next section was expanded though not necessarily expansive. A conundrum, indeed. The last work on the program included all five players, was brisk, followed by a nice mix of tempos and contrasting sections and phrases that still did not rise to the level of actual movements.

All said, this was a really nice program that promoted all five players, though each got a moment to shine. And it was also nice to see a full-sized harp on the stage. 

ConcertMeister

Happy New Year (1/8/26)

Gotham Early Music Scene
Quodlibet Winds
Encore! A Musical Second Chance 

Kelsey Burnham ~ flute; Elise Bonhivert ~ clarinet; Aaron Goler ~ bassoon

Trio No. 2 in C Major – Georg Fuchs (1752‒1821)
Allegro
Rondo Allegro  

Trio No. 3 in D minor – André-Frédéric Eler (1764‒1821)
Adagio – Allegro non troppo
Tempo di Menuetto  

Trio in D minor, Op. 32 – Kaspar Kummer (1795‒1870)
Allegro
Andante grazioso
Rondo – Allegro

New year, new series of concerts, new composers to me.

This was an interesting concept. It took string trios from the Classical period, grew them slightly (datewise), and brought them to the cusp of Romanticism. Were there cut and dried changes? No. It was more like era morphing, if that is a real thing.

The first movement of the first work was bright and bubbly. This combination of instruments does bright and bully pretty darn well. I think the clarinet might have been a period instrument, since it was light brown, not the black that I’m used to seeing. The movement opened with a unison three-note phrase, which was used several times to introduce subsequent sections. The second movement was slightly more subdued—but only slightly. The clarinet had a moment to shine, and then it was the bassoon’s turn. It seemed pretty straightforward, and that made sense since it was the earliest of the three pieces. 

After lots of housekeeping (the bassoonist fiddled with his reeds, the clarinetist ran a cleaning cloth through her instrument a couple of times, and the flutist tinkered with and tweaked her instrument), we were on to the second work. The first movement opened with a unison phrase (actually octaves), and it was slower and a little bit spare, compared to the first work. It got quicker, but just, and was serious without being somber. Still, there was some fancy fingering going on which led to an interesting ending. The second movement was more cheerful even though it was in a minor key. It was nice, and just as I was thinking it was running a little bit long, it ended. 

After more housekeeping, the first movement of the third work had a brief, unison opening again. It was a fairly calm Allegro, though fancy fingering was also featured. It seemed to be a brighter D minor than the previous piece. In terms of leading us to the Romantic, the movements were getting a little longer and a little more sophisticated. The clarinet was featured at the opening of the second movement—a combination of a sedate graceful followed by a graceful that was quicker. Oops, I spoke too soon as this movement was very brief. The third movement was a moderate Allegro with some increased intricacies followed by a relaxed second section though fancy fingering figured in, as well. 

All in all, while I originally thought that the pieces would be too similar when I looked at the program, the journey from Classical to Romantic disabused me of that notion. A good way to start off a new year of concertgoing. 

ConcertMeister

Fun at the Library (1/2/26)

The New York Public Library is so much more than just books. If you go to nypl.org and click on the events tab, you can find performances, concerts, lectures, coloring for adults, movies ... 

While nypl.org has listings for Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island, they don’t include the other two boroughs. Hey, I don’t make the rules, I just let you know about them. Anyhoo, this post is about movies. 

I attended a Friday afternoon showing of Almost Famous (2000). I enjoyed it a lot. The story was good, the cast was good, and the afternoon was fun. Attendance was light (about ten people) but that might have been partially due to the weather (cold but not frigid). Here’s one of the odd things about seeing a movie with a small audience. There were a couple of things in the film that were pretty darn funny. Alas, there was very little audible laughter. I like to think there was at least some inward chuckling going on. Without spoiling the plot too much, it was about a wannabe writer trying to get a story written and printed in Rolling Stone. As a result, the music (rock ’n’ roll) was not quite to my taste, though it made for quite a few interesting scenes—backstage hijinks, lots of booze, beer and dope, and one almost overdose. Oh, and the protagonist was younger than everyone thought he was, which contributed to the arc of the story as well as to some of the humor. Yeah, there was slight intrigue, fledgling romance scenes, and a deflowering (not actually shown on screen). 

This was at the 53rd Street Library (Manhattan between Fifth and Sixth Avenues). It’s a weekly series, and upcoming movies (none of which I’ve seen) include Zoolander, Memento, The Prestige, and Pan’s Labyrinth. I’m sure I won’t attend them all, but I may see one or two. 

All of this is to say that there’s a lot out there for free and for fun. Some (not all) library branches also have jigsaw puzzles in partial stages of completion. Anyone (even non-library-cardholders) can join in the fun. My point is—go exploring. And have a happy new year! 

ConcertMeister