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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Showing posts with label Yael Melzer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yael Melzer. Show all posts
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The Melzer Recorder Consort in a Program of Laments at Beit Avi Chai, Jerusalem
On July 20th 2009, the Melzer Recorder Consort performed a concert at Jerusalem’s Beit Avi Chai. A family affair, the ensemble consists of Michael Melzer, his wife Yael Shimshoni-Melzer and Michael’s brother, Ezer Melzer. In the days preceding the fast day of the 9th of Av, the Hebrew date commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples of Jerusalem, Jews observe mourning. The theme of the concert was that of mourning - “There we sat and wept” (Psalm 137).
The scene was set with the introspective Chaconne from Henry Purcell’s “Dioclesian” (1690). We then heard an arrangement of the J.S.Bach’s keyboard piece “Capriccio on the Departure of his Dearly Beloved Brother” BWV 992 (c.1705). Bach’s brother, Jacob, was leaving to join the Swedish Guard. The piece itself includes the descending minor tetrachord ostinato in the bass line, a motif symbolizing lament. This was the young J.S.Bach’s attempt to write a program work, and, in fact, the composer described details of the minor drama in words on the manuscript itself. The work was performed on soprano- and bass recorders.
The Italian composer and violinist Salamone Rossi of Mantua was a member of the illustrious Italian-Jewish “de Rossi” family, a family which included the controversial Bible scholar Azariah de Rossi and several fine musicians. Rossi’s ancestry can be traced back to their exile from Jerusalem. Rossi is known for his innovative writing of synagogue music; however, the Melzer Consort began by playing a group of his miniature Sinfonias for three recorders. Fine fare for recorder-players, the pieces were presented articulately and were skillfully ornamented. From the composer’s “HaShirim Asher liShlomo” (Songs of Solomon) published in 1623 using the original Hebrew texts, we heard Rossi’s “Kaddish”, composed in the style of the balletto – the most popular vocal form in 17th century Italy. Performing it on soprano-, alto- and tenor recorders, the trio gave expression to its typically Italian mood changes, from serious duple passages to the more joyful triple meter sections. For their instrumental version of Psalm 137 on two alto recorders, tenor and bass, young Shaked Engelberg joined the ensemble in this cantabile, flowing piece which depicts the suffering of exiled Jews and their longing for Jerusalem. Rossi’s dissonances were woven delicately into the cantabile texture, as was the finely crafted end of the piece.
‘By the rivers of Babylon - there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion.
On the willows there we hung up our harps.
For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked us for mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion”.
How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?’
English lutenist and composer John Dowland’s (c.1563-1626) “Lachrimae” (Tears) cycle of pavans, composed in a variety of scorings, is a personal, emotional and spiritual journey, presenting some of the greatest music of Dowland’s time. It also represents the cult of melancholy running through 16th century art, literature and music, and the works quote his song “Flow my Tears”, the beginning of each sounding the four-note descending “tear motif” mentioned above. The work’s importance is also reflected in its use as the basis for works by several other composers. We heard Michael Melzer playing Jacob van Eyck’s variations on Dowland’s Lachrimae. Van Eyck (c.1589-1657) a blind nobleman, was a scientist, carillonneur, a recorder virtuoso and composer from Utrecht. His collection of “Der Fluyten Lust-hof (The Recorder’s Pleasure Garden) contains variations on secular and sacred tunes familiar at the time and offers a rare insight into late Renaissance and early Baroque variation techniques. It is clear that the variations were the results of Van Eyck’s own brilliant improvisations and they are, indeed, more than challenging to perform. We heard Michael Melzer performing van Eyck’s Variations on Dowland’s “Lachrimae” (published 1644) on a Renaissance recorder. He draws his listeners into meaning of the melodic line, giving it time to breathe, then moving on to the increasing intricacies of each variation, never allowing the virtuosic nature of the work to camouflage the musical line. With the unadorned melody returning at the end, Melzer once again reminds us of Dowland’s lament and the theme of the evening.
The cosmopolitan German Baroque composer, organist and keyboard virtuoso Johann Jakob Froberger (1616-1667) is known for his highly idiomatic and personal harpsichord pieces, these being considered early examples of program music. Such was his “Lamento sopra la dolorosa perdita della Real Maesta di Ferdinando IV Re de Romani”. As the first movement of his Partita no 12 (1656), this allemande mourns the death of the eldest of the Emperor’s sons, who was later to have ruled Austria. The movement, scored for soprano-, tenor- and bass recorders, is slow in tempo – a veritable lament - offering Michael Melzer on soprano recorder much scope for expression. It ends with a rising C major scale, possibly symbolizing the 21-year-old’s ascent to heaven.
An interesting item on the program was a Bach duet (Michael and Yael Melzer) followed by a transitional section leading the audience away from the High German Baroque into the oriental fragrances of Ladino song. “Nani,nani” is a Ladino lullaby telling of a wife whose unfaithful husband comes home from visiting his lover. Michael Melzer’s arrangement of this beautiful melody is masterful in its rich array of ideas, his varied use of recorders (and voice) and its attention to style and to exotic effects. The artists’ performance of the work was polished and alluring.
Composer, ‘cellist and teacher Joachim Stutshewsky (1891-1982) was born in the Ukraine to a family of klezmer musicians. He immigrated to Israel in 1938. His “Romance” for solo flute (1956) is an example of the synthesis he endeavored to create of his own musical background with the Yemenite, Ladino and Arabic musical style he was hearing in Israel. Professor Michael Melzer, himself fascinated by the wealth of musical styles from different ethnic groups in Israel, has reworked the piece for three alto recorders, yet carefully preserving the composer’s concept of a single melodic line. This melodic line is passed from one player to the next, to be punctuated by an occasional cluster which rapidly dissipates, restoring the texture to the single thread. The overall effect was poignant, one of sadness but also of hope.
The program included two trio sonatas – one transcribed from J.S.Bach’s organ sonata in D minor BWV 527, the concert ending with a trio sonata by Salamone Rossi Hebreo. The Melzer Consort’s program was thought-provoking, its quality of performance reflecting profound reading into works and a high standard of recorder-playing .
The scene was set with the introspective Chaconne from Henry Purcell’s “Dioclesian” (1690). We then heard an arrangement of the J.S.Bach’s keyboard piece “Capriccio on the Departure of his Dearly Beloved Brother” BWV 992 (c.1705). Bach’s brother, Jacob, was leaving to join the Swedish Guard. The piece itself includes the descending minor tetrachord ostinato in the bass line, a motif symbolizing lament. This was the young J.S.Bach’s attempt to write a program work, and, in fact, the composer described details of the minor drama in words on the manuscript itself. The work was performed on soprano- and bass recorders.
The Italian composer and violinist Salamone Rossi of Mantua was a member of the illustrious Italian-Jewish “de Rossi” family, a family which included the controversial Bible scholar Azariah de Rossi and several fine musicians. Rossi’s ancestry can be traced back to their exile from Jerusalem. Rossi is known for his innovative writing of synagogue music; however, the Melzer Consort began by playing a group of his miniature Sinfonias for three recorders. Fine fare for recorder-players, the pieces were presented articulately and were skillfully ornamented. From the composer’s “HaShirim Asher liShlomo” (Songs of Solomon) published in 1623 using the original Hebrew texts, we heard Rossi’s “Kaddish”, composed in the style of the balletto – the most popular vocal form in 17th century Italy. Performing it on soprano-, alto- and tenor recorders, the trio gave expression to its typically Italian mood changes, from serious duple passages to the more joyful triple meter sections. For their instrumental version of Psalm 137 on two alto recorders, tenor and bass, young Shaked Engelberg joined the ensemble in this cantabile, flowing piece which depicts the suffering of exiled Jews and their longing for Jerusalem. Rossi’s dissonances were woven delicately into the cantabile texture, as was the finely crafted end of the piece.
‘By the rivers of Babylon - there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion.
On the willows there we hung up our harps.
For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked us for mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion”.
How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?’
English lutenist and composer John Dowland’s (c.1563-1626) “Lachrimae” (Tears) cycle of pavans, composed in a variety of scorings, is a personal, emotional and spiritual journey, presenting some of the greatest music of Dowland’s time. It also represents the cult of melancholy running through 16th century art, literature and music, and the works quote his song “Flow my Tears”, the beginning of each sounding the four-note descending “tear motif” mentioned above. The work’s importance is also reflected in its use as the basis for works by several other composers. We heard Michael Melzer playing Jacob van Eyck’s variations on Dowland’s Lachrimae. Van Eyck (c.1589-1657) a blind nobleman, was a scientist, carillonneur, a recorder virtuoso and composer from Utrecht. His collection of “Der Fluyten Lust-hof (The Recorder’s Pleasure Garden) contains variations on secular and sacred tunes familiar at the time and offers a rare insight into late Renaissance and early Baroque variation techniques. It is clear that the variations were the results of Van Eyck’s own brilliant improvisations and they are, indeed, more than challenging to perform. We heard Michael Melzer performing van Eyck’s Variations on Dowland’s “Lachrimae” (published 1644) on a Renaissance recorder. He draws his listeners into meaning of the melodic line, giving it time to breathe, then moving on to the increasing intricacies of each variation, never allowing the virtuosic nature of the work to camouflage the musical line. With the unadorned melody returning at the end, Melzer once again reminds us of Dowland’s lament and the theme of the evening.
The cosmopolitan German Baroque composer, organist and keyboard virtuoso Johann Jakob Froberger (1616-1667) is known for his highly idiomatic and personal harpsichord pieces, these being considered early examples of program music. Such was his “Lamento sopra la dolorosa perdita della Real Maesta di Ferdinando IV Re de Romani”. As the first movement of his Partita no 12 (1656), this allemande mourns the death of the eldest of the Emperor’s sons, who was later to have ruled Austria. The movement, scored for soprano-, tenor- and bass recorders, is slow in tempo – a veritable lament - offering Michael Melzer on soprano recorder much scope for expression. It ends with a rising C major scale, possibly symbolizing the 21-year-old’s ascent to heaven.
An interesting item on the program was a Bach duet (Michael and Yael Melzer) followed by a transitional section leading the audience away from the High German Baroque into the oriental fragrances of Ladino song. “Nani,nani” is a Ladino lullaby telling of a wife whose unfaithful husband comes home from visiting his lover. Michael Melzer’s arrangement of this beautiful melody is masterful in its rich array of ideas, his varied use of recorders (and voice) and its attention to style and to exotic effects. The artists’ performance of the work was polished and alluring.
Composer, ‘cellist and teacher Joachim Stutshewsky (1891-1982) was born in the Ukraine to a family of klezmer musicians. He immigrated to Israel in 1938. His “Romance” for solo flute (1956) is an example of the synthesis he endeavored to create of his own musical background with the Yemenite, Ladino and Arabic musical style he was hearing in Israel. Professor Michael Melzer, himself fascinated by the wealth of musical styles from different ethnic groups in Israel, has reworked the piece for three alto recorders, yet carefully preserving the composer’s concept of a single melodic line. This melodic line is passed from one player to the next, to be punctuated by an occasional cluster which rapidly dissipates, restoring the texture to the single thread. The overall effect was poignant, one of sadness but also of hope.
The program included two trio sonatas – one transcribed from J.S.Bach’s organ sonata in D minor BWV 527, the concert ending with a trio sonata by Salamone Rossi Hebreo. The Melzer Consort’s program was thought-provoking, its quality of performance reflecting profound reading into works and a high standard of recorder-playing .
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