"Maestro Vivaldi's Mandolin" - choral and instrumental music at the 47th Abu Gosh Vocal Music Festival

Taking place from May 22nd to 24th 2015, the 47th Abu Gosh Vocal Music Festival offered some


different and unique events. One of them was “Maestro Vivaldi’s Mandolin”, a concert of Italian music, held on May 23rd at the Church of the Ark of the Covenant, Kiryat Ye’arim, featuring the Shahar Choir, Shmuel Elbaz, Jacob Reuven, Roi Dayan (mandolin), Amit Tifenbrunn (viola da gamba), Ma’ayan Beider-Jacobson (double bass), Yizhar Karshon (harpsichord), Daniel Portnoy (tenor), Eliran Kadussi (countertenor) and Gila Brill, the Shahar Choir’s director, who conducted the concert.

The program opened with the Shahar Choir’s a-cappella performance of LPigarelli’s arrangement of alpinist Antonio “Toni” Ortelli’s (1904-2000) archetypal alpine song “La Montanara” (Song of the Mountains), somewhat of a stranger among the works of Monteverdi and Vivaldi to follow, but offering a well-anchored and forthright choral starter to the concert. Then, to Venice for the rest of the program with “Lauda Jerusalem” (Praise Jerusalem, Psalm 147), one of the major choruses from Claudio Monteverdi’s iconic “Vespers for the Virgin Mary”. Accompanied by organ and viol, Brill’s direction produced a gripping, high-energy performance, the interest of its individual lines emerging from within the dramatic framework.
The rest of the program consisted of works of Antonio Vivaldi, all the choral pieces sacred, opening with the joyful, responsorial setting of Psalm 113 (114, 115) “In exitu Israel” RV 604 for Easter of 1739, the mandolins (playing the violin roles) adding much variety to the homophonic choral style. A more varied and profound work, Vivaldi’s “Credo” in E-minor was given an outstanding performance. Accompanied by all six instrumentalists, it opened with vivid block chords; the “Et incarnatus” was performed in a meditative, devout manner, its musical text offering some dissonance, followed by the grieving “Crucifixus” sung to sparse, detached chords (the sharps written into the score for altered notes actually in the shape of crosses!), this section to be contrasted by the frenetic energy poured into “Et resurrexit”. The rarely performed and challenging oratorio “Dixit Dominus” RV 595, only rediscovered in the late 1960s in Prague, made a bold statement with its opening choral pointillism, accented by incisive rhythmic writing and word-painting, the performance colored with its mystery and tension and moments of lyricism. This superb setting of Psalm 110 offered the audience a fine opportunity to enjoy the Shahar Choir’s stable, vivid choral sound, its well-coordinated female section, its palette of timbres, some exciting music-making and two of its soloists. Performing two movements, tenor Daniel Portnoy (also heard in the opening work of the concert) expressed the text’s gestures in articulate, lively and unmannered singing. Young Eliran Kadussi, singing in the countertenor range for only three months, displayed a powerful voice and promise in the “Judicabit”, its melismatic passages a demanding task for any singer!

The concert included two Vivaldi instrumental works. Trio Sonata opus 1 no.2 in E-minor for two violins and basso continuo RV 67 is the second of the 12 composed in 1705. The violin parts were performed here on mandolin players Shmuel Elbaz and Jacob Reuven, the acoustic resonance of the Kiryat Ye’arim Church most favorable to the timbril combination of mandolins, organ, viola da gamba and double bass. Vivaldi’s trio sonata rang out in clear, transparent sounds, the opening Grave movement empathic, followed by Elbaz and Reuven in articulate interchange, enjoying the fiery concept of the Italian Corrente. This (enigmatically) was followed by a Giga, taken at a somewhat calmer pace, allowing for a vibrant and elegant playing. The sparkling viol solo (Amit Tiefenbrunn) in the final movement was yet another attractive aspect of the performance. Of the almost 600 concertos Vivaldi wrote, the Concerto in D-major RV 93 is one of four he composed in the 1730s with the lute in mind, these including the technical brilliance associated with lute players. Here, the soloist was Shmuel Elbaz, with Jacob Reuven and Roi Dayan taking on the violin roles. Certainly authentic in sound, Elbaz’ reading of the solo was expressive and singing, his playing of the central Largo movement free, pensive, delicate and tastefully ornamented, set against a pizzicato accompaniment. The final movement, dancelike, lively and varied, was no less rewarding.

Under the keenly attentive direction of Gila Brill, here was a concert of excellent choral singing and well-coordinated and supportive instrumental playing on the part of the basso continuo. As to the Israeli tradition of mandolin-playing, originating in Beer Sheva, we should hear more of its exponents in our concert halls.

 

Songs of Solomon and David - music of the Jews of northern Italy - S.Rossi and B.Marcello

A lecture-concert at Jerusalem’s Beit Avi Chai December 12th 2009 focused on the subject of “The Songs of Solomon and David”, music of the Golden Age of north Italian Jewry. Professor Michael Melzer discussed and presented works inspired by the harmonious synagogue music of Venice and Mantua of the 17th and 18th centuries. Performing with him were soprano Yeela Avital, countertenor David Feldman, tenor Ya’acov Halperin and bass Yair Polishook; Yael Melzer and Michael Melzer played recorders, Amit Tiefenbrunn viol and Yizhar Karshon played spinet and organ.

The program consisted of instrumental- and vocal works by the Mantuan Jewish violinist, singer and composer Salamone Rossi Hebreo (c.1570-1630) and the Venetian composer Benedetto Marcello (1686-1739). Strange bedfellows? Well, not as strange as one might think. Melzer drew parallels and contrasts between the music of the two composers in a juxtaposition that offered a stimulating and enjoyable evening of music and ideas.

Marcello was born in Venice to a noble family. He combined a career in law and public service with music. The fact that he was financially secure meant that he felt no obligation to compose music that would prove “popular” to Venetian audiences. His oeuvre is diverse – church music, oratorios, hundreds of solo cantatas, duets, sonatas, concertos and sinfonias. He was, however, best known, during his lifetime and after his death, for his settings (using somewhat free Italian paraphrases by G.A.Guistiniani) of the first fifty Psalms, the work he called “Estro poetico-armonico” (Venice 1724-1727); the Psalms are scored for one to four solo voices with figured bass, with some pieces including solo instruments. In this collection, his last and most ambitious work, he used motifs from Venetian Jewish liturgy of his time, having heard music sung in the synagogues there. The texts are dominant, but the works themselves have much to offer to performers and listeners in a mix of sophisticated harmonies and counterpoint, melismas, modulations and dissonances. With his mission of reviving the “true” music of the Ancient World, Marcello advised that performance of the Psalms be “precise and without arbitrary ornament, particularly in the solo parts, keeping in mind that we are singing to God”… The performance at Beit Avi Chai, Melzer commented, would be the first of Marcello’s “Estro poetico-armonico” in Israel.

Serving at the court of the Gonzagas from 1587 to 1628, Rossi’s output includes sonatas and dances for string ensemble, madrigals, canzonettas, music for dramatic productions at Mantua and Psalms to the Hebrew texts. Rossi has been referred to as the “father of the trio sonata”. Despite his being a court composer, (he was exempted by his Christian patrons from wearing the badge of “shame”) Rossi lived in the Jewish ghetto of Mantua, as did his sister, a successful singer known as “Madame Europa”. An innovator in his instrumental music, Rossi was the first Jew to compose, perform and publish polyphonic settings of synagogue liturgy for mixed choir.

The concert opened with a Sinfonia and Galiarda by Rossi, performed on recorders, with basso continuo. In Rossi’s Sonata sopra la Bergamesca (the Bergamesca was a popular repeated bass line in Europe), the artists colored the variations with ornaments and differing textures. In his Sonata sopra l’aria di Ruggiero (the Ruggiero ground bass, in a major scale, consists of four short phrases) the players entertained the audience well, addressing the virtuosic nature of Rossi’s instrumental writing. Melzer, introducing another pair of court dances on the program, mentioned that some of the dances (despite their being composed for the entertainment at the Gonzago court) had been named after certain people in the Jewish ghetto of Mantua. The pleasing performance of these lilting galliards was supported by elegant and attentive continuo playing on the part of Tiefenbrunn and Karshon.

Rossi’s “Ha-shirim asher le-Shlomo” (The Songs of Solomon) were published in 1623. The 33 motets, set for from three to eight voices, include Psalms, hymns and prayers for Sabbath and holyday services as well as one wedding ode. The pieces, though reverential, are predominantly homophonic, polyphonic, decidedly early Baroque-style works, lacking in any association to traditional synagogue music, save the Hebrew texts. In publishing this work, Rossi relied on the spiritual support of his friend Rabbi Leone Modena (1571-1648), who issued a responsum in 1605, approving polyphonic singing in the synagogue. The “Ha-Shirim asher le-Shlomo” collection does not, in fact, include any texts from the biblical “Song of Solomon”, leading musicians to suppose that the title is actually a play on words referring to Rossi’s first name. We heard Keter (Kedusha) and Psalm 67 performed by the vocal quartet. (It is supposed that the songs were first performed by four singers only.) We heard fine choral singing, a combination of articulate, expressive melodic strands combined with rich, unaffected harmonies.

One hundred years after Rossi, Marcello’s Psalm settings present an entirely different musical approach. Melzer pointed out Marcello’s late Baroque less harmonioustendencies, his inclusion of dissonances and of unconventional harmonic turns. This non-conservative approach can be seen in Marcello’s choice of problematic verbal texts. Take, for example, Psalm 42, an expression of spiritual depression. Yair Polishook, in his solo performance of it, utilized his rich palette of vocal colors and agility to present a convincing reading of this theatrical piece, with its drama and mood changes. Marcello’s instrumental interludes added interest.

Most of Psalm 22 expresses David’s agony and suffering.
.. ‘Roaring lions tearing their prey
Open their mouths wide against me.

I am poured out like water,
And all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
It has melted away within me….’

With orchestration changing from one small section to the next, Marcello does not shy away from strange instrumental writing. The final melody of this miniature drama comes from Ashkenazi synagogue liturgy. The work was sung by countertenor David Feldman. His voice is mellifluous and pleasing. In this personal and vehement outpouring of the soul, however, he holds back, somewhat too unflustered by what he is expressing.

Psalm 37 compares the fate of godless people to that of the righteous. The vocal quartet performed with organ accompaniment, the singers’ articulate phrasing and expressiveness drawing out the polyphonic dimensions of the piece. Yeela Avital’s bell-like timbre and sense of the authentic quality of Baroque music never fails to delight her audience. A new face was young tenor Ya’acov Halperin, a student of the vocal faculty of the Jerusalem Academy of Music.

Michael Melzer’s lecture-concerts are highly enjoyable, well presented, informal yet well researched and accessible to audiences. A printed program would be still an advantage to those present.



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