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| © Yoel Levy |
Drawing its audiences from all over Israel to four days of festive events,
the 56th Abu Gosh Vocal Music Festival (October 18th to 21st, 2019) was an
opportunity for people to attend a variety of indoor- and outdoor concerts, to
meet, relax and enjoy the last of the warm weather. As usual, the grassy area
surrounding the Kiryat Yearim Church, with its stalls, was a hub of
activity.
Taking place at Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant Church, Kiryat Yearim
on October 21st 2019, “Neapolitan Surprise” performed by the PHOENIX Ensemble
(musical director: Dr. Myrna Herzog) presented both instrumental- and choral
works of the Italian Baroque. Visiting artists were violine player Gio Sthel
(Brazil/Germany) and Francesco Tomasi (Italy) on theorbo and Baroque guitar.
All the singers taking part are Vocal Department students of the Buchmann-Mehta
School of Music, Tel Aviv (Head of Dept: Prof. Sharon Rostorf-Zamir). The
audience was presented with some beautifully-crafted instrumental music -
Giovanni Battista Vitali’s Sinfonia à 6, with its variety of small, contrasting
sections and haunting drum ostinato (Dor Fisher), was followed by the charm,
beauty, mesmerizing rhythms and ample dialogue between ensemble and violins
(Ya'akov Rubinstein, Noam Gal) of a 1669 Ciaconna from the “Varii e Diversi
Capricci per camera e per chiesa” by prolific composer and renowned maestro di
cappella Maurizio Cazzati. Pietro Andrea Ziani succeeded Cazzati as maestro di
cappella at Santa Maria Maggiore, Bergamo, in 1657. Ziani’s Sonata Op.VII
No.17, performed here on strings and organ, is an outstanding work. The PHOENIX
performance gave eloquent and incisive expression to its fugal elements,
recurring motifs and its underlying solemnity, punctuating the second movement
with dramatic pauses prior to a richly ornamented conclusion in a major mode.
Myrna Herzog’s transcription of Bernardo Storace’s keyboard “Ballo della
Battaglia” for ensemble wove much sparkle and timbral colour into the text’s
jaunty dance rhythms, creating lively banter between violins and cornetto with
recorder (Alma Mayer, Inbar Solomon), its “battaglia” energy endorsed by
spirited playing on the part of Tomasi (Baroque guitar) and Fisher
(percussion).
And to the Neapolitan connection: Pietro Andrea Ziani died in Naples. An
early representative of the Neapolitan operatic school, organist and tenor
Cristofaro Caresana had studied under Ziani in Venice before moving to Naples
in his late teens, where he joined the theatre company of Febi Armonici. The
Abu Gosh performance brought to life the rich canvas of Caresana’s cantata “La
Vittoria del Infante” (Victory of the Child), a quasi-theatrical Nativity
cantata, merging sacred and profane, comedy, drama, even references to the
Spanish, and evoking the energy and sparkling musical style and sentiments
characteristic of the Neapolitan Baroque. Under Herzog’s supervision, the young
singers took on board the demands of this music, revelling in its vibrancy and
directness of gesture. Baritone Hagai Berenson (Lucifero) was sonorous, communicative and
compelling, with alto Shir Ordo ((San Michele) displaying a lustrous alto
timbre and musicality. The choral ensembles were alive with the young singers' rich, fresh timbres and involvement. The recorders
(Mayer, Solomon) accompanying the choir of angels added pastoral delight to the rich tableau
vivant.
Francesco Rossi’s oratorio “La Caduta dell’Angeli”
depicts the rebellion of angels led by Lucifer, their defeat by the archangel
Michael and his army of good angels, and their fall into the abyss, a story of
arrogance, rebellion, obstinance, evil and justice that inspired librettist
Salvatore Scaglione and organist/maestro di cappella Francesco Rossi to
produce a work of unbridled Italian emotion. Communicative and confident,
soprano soloists Shira Miriam Cohen (Lucifer) and Sharon Tadmor (San Michele)
presented the text’s meaning, addressing its gestures to the audience. Articulate, expressive and communicative,
tenor Daniel Portnoy (God) displayed good taste and empathy. An interesting
effect of characterization is Rossi’s casting of Lucifer following his fall from grace as a bass-baritone; Yoav Ayalon was imposing and authoritative in this role.
Engaging with the singers, the instrumentalists’ attentive and judiciously-balanced playing emerged in elegant, subtle and alluring timbres. Richly-coloured
ensemble-singing drew the audience’s attention to key words, as the singers joined forces
with the instrumental ensemble in choruses that emoted, endorsed gestures, wove
song into courtly dances and interpreted the course of events in terms of light and
darkness. Under the scrupulous guidance of Dr. Myrna Herzog, twelve budding
opera singers courageously stepped outside of their standard repertoire to
learn and experience the performance practice of this decidedly specific
Baroque style. An auspicious event in this country, the results were exciting
and rewarding to both performers and audience.
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