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| Julia Rovinsky (www.camerata.com) |
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| Teodoro Anzellotti (www.camerata.com) |
Attending
"From the Peaks of America", a concert of the Israel Camerata
Jerusalem's "Passion for Music" series in the Henry Crown Auditorium
of the Jerusalem Theatre on May 23rd 2023, took the listener to America, but
also further afield. The program, conducted by the Camerata's founder and music
director Avner Biron, featured two soloists - harpist Julia Rovinsky and
accordionist Teodoro Anzellotti (Italy-Germany).
The
event opened with George Frideric Handel's Concerto for Harp and Orchestra in B
flat major, Op.4 No.6. The British Library boasts an autographed score of the
“Concerto per la Harpa” by G. F. Handel, written in 1736, a musical
intermezzo for the premiere of “Alexander’s Feast” at Covent Garden. In
the piece, the composer wished to evoke the
minstrel Timotheus’ masterful playing of the lyre in the oratorio. "Alexander’s Feast", which tells the story of how a bard
used music to manipulate Alexander the Great in the celebration after his
conquest of Persia; hence the use of lavish displays of instrumental sounds.
Handel wrote this concerto for the Welsh harpist Robert Powell, whom he admired for his virtuosity. Four of Handel’s
full-scale concert pieces were heard at the festive premiere - his "Ode
for St. Cecilia’s Day", the "Alexander’s Feast" Concerto Grosso,
his Organ Concerto in g minor and, quite remarkable for its time, the Harp
Concerto. The latter was later published as a work for organ and orchestra,
and is most often heard today performed on the organ, but its pared-down
orchestration, muted violins, and pizzicato bass parts still point to the fact
that it was originally conceived for the harp. Julia Rovinsky's playing was
radiant and beautifully poised, her sound fresh and rich in dynamic contrast as
she created interest with each different gesture and mood of the opening Andante
allegro. No less dynamic was the Larghetto, lyrical, noble and pensive, her
playing of Grandjany's cadenza emerging as a rich canvas of ideas and harp
techniques, to be followed by the sheer dancelike joy of the final Allegro
moderato. Although the Camerata is not a period orchestra, the modest number of players chosen here
for the work and their clean instrumental sound made for an ensemble favourable to Baroque
music, the splendid balance of orchestra and harp calling attention to
Rovinsky's bold sense of line, indeed, to the unique possibilities of the harp
itself. For an encore, Julia Rovinsky gave an appealing and sincere rendition
of "Chat without Words" by Israeli composer Al Ravin.
It was the legendary American music patron
Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge who commissioned Aaron Copland to compose a ballet
for dancer/choreographer Martha Graham. The composer was aware that this work -
"Appalachian Spring" - was to reflect "the pioneer American
spirit, with youth and spring, with optimism and hope,” in his own words. With
neither the season nor the mountains on Copland’s mind when he composed
the work, he collaborated with Graham to delineate the characters of the
ballet, its storyline telling of the events of an entire day, from the morning
of the young couple’s wedding (in one of the most effective musical evocations
of sunrise ever composed) to the evening. From the ballet (1944), Copland
extracted a suite and scored it for full orchestra, this earning him the
Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1945. The work, going beyond the world of dance,
has remained a beloved icon of American culture. Copland’s “Appalachian Spring”
marvellously evokes an idyllic sense of country and landscape, the folk element
is strongly present (with reference to square-dance rhythms) as it features a
set of variations on the Shaker song “Simple Gifts.” Maestro Biron's reading of
the suite had a fine, natural flow, sensitivity to colour and to the shaping of
phrases. At times, nostalgic, fleet and delicately textured, at others, exuberant
and energetic, the leaping dance rhythms were taut and sinewy; hearty utterances emerged
with some touches of humour. With many solos allotted to the woodwinds, these
moments rose out of the orchestral weave with poignance and beauty of timbre. Although to some listeners certain movements might tend to sound a little drawn out
without the visual aspect of dancers on the stage, the "Appalachian
Spring" Suite is indeed a splendid concert piece, its score featuring the
unique tonings of pandiatonic harmony (in which a tonal centre is created while
avoiding traditional formulas) in charming, well-crafted and uncontrived
writing. Signing out with a velvety cluster, the Camerata's performance
was characterized by a sense of delicacy, sparkle and imagination.
Astor Piazzolla composed his Concerto for
Bandoneón, Strings, Harp, Piano and Percussion in late 1979. It was a
commission from the Banco de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. The composer himself
was soloist at the premiere on December 15th of the same year. Also given
the title of “Aconcagua” by his publisher Aldo Pagani, who considered the work
the peak of Piazzolla's oeuvre (Aconcagua is the highest mountain peak in South
America), the Concerto for Bandoneón garnered Piazzolla the title of “the
Villa-Lobos of Argentina” .Although the bandoneón, a button accordion (invented
in Germany by Heinrich Band in the 1840s), its sound described by John
Henken, the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Director of Publications, for its
"moaning wheeze, seductive and sarcastic", characterising the
quintessential sound of the tango, it is not unusual to hear this concerto
performed on the accordion, as was the case at the Jerusalem concert. Collaborating
deftly with Avner Biron and members of the Camerata, Italian-born accordionist
Teodoro Anzellotti (known for integrating the accordion into the sphere of
classical music) brought the spirit of Argentinean music and the palpable
elements of Piazzolla's real-life- and musical world into the Henry Crown
Auditorium. Setting the scene, the opening Allegro marcato burst into life with
the typically Argentinean intensity of Piazzolla’s
brand of tango, his complicated harmonies and stinging dissonances, sultry
moments and melancholy. In solo sections and moving tastefully through the
orchestral weave, lending a rich voice to the melody, Anzellotti expresses each turn of mood. Beginning with the accordion alone, ultimately joined by the harp (Julia
Rovinsky) in an elegantly reflective duet, the Moderato movement's dream-like
burgeoning also featured solo violin (concertmaster Natasha Sher) alongside the
accordionist. The highly spirited final movement included some distinctive,
intimate moments - as, for example, when the accordion engaed in duet with gentle
percussion sounds. In this work, Piazzolla provides the soloist with ample
opportunities for drama, pathos and virtuosity. Add to those the sophistication
and subtlety Anzellotti infuses into his music-making. Teodoro
Anzellotti then gave a touching rendition of “Chiquilin de Bachin” (The little
boy at Bachin), a deliciously sentimental waltz-tango, also by Astor
Piazzolla.
The audience enjoyed the Israel Camerata Jerusalem's delightfully imaginative programming.
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