Showing posts with label Laura Heimes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Laura Heimes. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Brandywine Baroque Season Opens with a Virtuous Performance

By Christine Facciolo

If Brandywine Baroque’s impressive inaugural concert of the new season is any indication, we can look forward to a year of eclectic and interesting programs.

This past weekend’s series, called The Triumph of Virtue, was held Friday and Sunday, October 12 and 14 at The Barn at Flintwoods and Saturday, October 13 at The Lutheran Church of Our Savior in Rehoboth Beach. The concerts featured instrumental and vocal works by a range of composers (including several obscure ones) from England, France and Germany.

The ensemble consisted of soprano Laura Heimes, violinist Martin Davids, gambists John Mark Rosendaal and Donna Fournier, and violone player Heather Miller. Karen Flint, founder and artistic director of Brandywine Baroque, played continuo on a 1635 Ruckers harpsichord from the Flint Collection.

The afternoon opened with an excellent rendering by Davids and Rosendaal of the thematically rich and technically demanding first violin sonata by Joseph Gibbs (1698-1788). Published in 1748, the sonata is one of eight exhibiting the Italian influence of Corelli and Geminiani. Especially charming were the expressive Largo, Aria Andante and a series of Variations of real interest, excitement and beauty.

Next up was Vitali’s Partita sopra diverse sonata (c. 1680), featuring Heather Miller playing the violone. It was a rare treat to hear the virtuosic capabilities of this deep-throated instrument in this rarely heard four-movement work.

The prolific Dietrich Buxtehude was represented by two works from his set of six sonatas. The Sonata in A minor (?1694) — a true ostinato sonata — brought Davids, Fournier and Rosendaal together for a vigorous performance that demonstrated their technical mastery, playing concerted solo passages alternating with segments in which they exchanged parts.

Likewise, the Sonata in D major (?1694) featuring Miller and Rosendaal exhibited the same daringly expressive harmonies, masterful fugal technique and virtuosity in the solo movement.

The violone made yet another appearance in the Sonate a 2 in G minor (1610) by Giovanni Paolo Cima, a composer better known for his religious compositions.

The Quatrieme Sonate in E minor (1713) by Jean-Fery Rebel featured some exciting music in the best French baroque style. Davids played every line with affected commitment while his collaborators — gambists Fournier and Rosendaal and harpsichordist Flint — enriched the texture and expressiveness of the music.

The concert also introduced attendees to the secular side of English composer William Croft. Known primarily as a composer of church music, Croft also wrote a set of six sonatas for violin which do not get performed or recorded nearly enough, even though they are in fact some of the earliest examples of English sonatas for the instrument.

Davids’ account of the G minor sonata was thoroughly accomplished in terms of dramatic phrasing and rhythmic vitality. Harpsichordist Flint emerged equally strong, reveling in the sonata’s unusually elaborate bass parts and accompanying with insight and style.

Continuing this nicely varied afternoon of music were three cantatas exquisitely performed by soprano Laura Heimes: John Stanley’s Compell’d by sultry Phoebus’ Heat (1742); Rameau’s L’Impatience (c. 1715-22); and Bousset’s Le Triomphe de la vertu (1735). The ever-dependable Heimes delivered them with persuasion and commitment in a wonderful reading. As always, she was remarkably adept at the style, offering a lithe and bouncing artistry that really brought the music to life. 

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Voices & Viols Filled The Barn at Flintwoods

By Christine Facciolo

First appearing in Spain in the 15th Century, the viola da gamba — or viol — was a most popular instrument in the Renaissance and Baroque eras, holding an honored position even in the court of the Sun King. But by the mid-18th Century, the viol fell out of favor as concert halls grew larger and the more penetrating sound of the violin family became more popular.

The viol attracts little attention today, even though the 1991 film Tous les Matins du Monde about two of the greatest composers for the instrument, Marin Marais and Saint-Colombe, and a number of contemporary composers have written for it.

But the rich sounds of this once princely instrument were duly showcased in Brandywine Baroque’s March 16-18 concerts, “Voices and Viols.”

Joining Brandywine Baroque Artistic Director Karen Flint on vintage harpsichord were violists Catharina Meints, John Mark Rosendaal, Donna Fournier, and Rebecca Humphrey Diederich, flutist Eileen Grycky, soprano Laura Heimes and tenor Tony Boutte.

Meints pointed out that she and Flint had been friends for a very long time because of their passion for collecting period instruments. Meints then proudly displayed her treble viol, which dates back to 1700 and is, remarkably, in virtually the same condition it was when it was first made.

England boasts a very rich history of viol composition and performance, more than likely inspired and encouraged by the royal patronage of Henry VIII, and that tradition was well-represented in the first half of the program as the consort accompanied songs by William Byrd, Henry Lawes and Thomas Morley.

Songs from the French Baroque made up the second half of the program with selections by Michel Lambert, Jean-Baptiste Lully and Etienne Moulinie.

Heimes delivered the clear, unadorned vocal quality and needle-sharp intonation that has earned her respect and admiration. Here in consort with the viol she offered heartfelt, vibrant performances that effectively portrayed the texts without losing touch with the songs lovely vocal characteristics. Standouts included Byrd’s My Mistress Had a Little Dog and Lambert’s Ombre de mon amant.

Tony Boutte’s tenor was pure and emotional, breathing much life into songs like Byrd’s Though Amaryllis Dance in Green and Moulinie’s Enfin la beaute.

Heimes and Boutte delivered some delightful — and expressive — duets, including Henry Lawes’ A Dialogue Upon a Kiss and The Mossy Bank.

The instrumentalists gave imaginative accounts of William Lawes’ Airs in C, Nos. 113 and 109. Flint and flutist Grycky explored the rich textures and dense tapestry of ornaments in the Prelude, Courante and Gaillard in G minor from Jean Henry D’Anglebert’s Pieces de clavecin (1689). The ensemble concluded the concert with a lively rendering of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Concert pour quatre parties de violes.

See www.brandywinebaroque.org

Monday, October 9, 2017

A Mapcap Musical Romp Opens Brandywine Baroque's Season

By Christine Facciolo

There’s no denying Karen Flint’s contribution to the cultural life of our region.

Brandywine Baroque orchestra members rehearse "The Woodman."
Photo courtesy of Brandywine Baroque.
As founding artistic director of Brandywine Baroque, harpsichordist Flint consistently presents programs that feature works by the well-known and not-so-well-known — though no less worthy — composers of the period. Moreover, her collection of rare (and playable) harpsichords draws devotees and scholars from around the country and the world to the Centreville venue, The Barn at Flintwoods.

Flint and company opened the 2017-18 season with a performance of as rare a gem as any: The Woodman (1791) by English opera composer William Shield. This all-but-forgotten work is so obscure that Flint and fellow harpsichordist Janine Johnson had to prepare an orchestration from a piano/vocal reduction, the only existing score for the opera.

Shield is one of those composers whose legacy history seems to have erased. Born in 1748 in Swalwell, Shield arrived in London in 1772 to play the violin in the Coven Garden Orchestra. In 1791, he met Haydn who attended a performance of The Woodman. That meeting inspired him to compose more operas and stage works. Shield’s work as a composer got him noticed in royal circles and in 1817 he was appointed “Master of the King’s Musick.”

Like many of his contemporaries, Shield looked toward folk music for source material. In
fact, it was once thought that he wrote Auld Lang Syne, the melody of which appears toward the end of the overture to his Rosina opera. It is now thought that both he and Burns borrowed the melody — or at least the outline of it — from an old folk tune.

Shield’s work is considered to be the forerunner of the modern musical comedy. The Woodman contains features associated with later English comic opera, including spoken dialogue, a frothy theme and the use of popular and folk melodies. The music is pastoral, even bubbly, with flashes of coloratura.

The plot is a madcap thicket of love found, lost and recovered. Emily (Laura Heimes) has fallen in love with Wilford (Stephen Ng) but his nasty uncle does not approve and sends him off to Europe. When Wilford returns, Emily has fled to the forest where three other men fall in love with her. Mistaken identities and all sorts of mischief follow in this lively romp through the woods capped off by a female archery contest for a price heifer.

Flint assembled a stellar cast of singers and musicians for this superb rendering of this woefully overlooked gem. Heimes is vocally striking — as usual — in her portrayal of Emily. Ng brings a full-bodied tenor and lovelorn urgency to Wilford, her lost love.

Bass Daniel Schwartz excelled in his portrayal of the upright and kindly Fairlop, the woodman, while sopranos Abigail Chapman and Rebecca Mariman were convincing as his daughters, the steady Dolly and coquettish Polly, respectively.

Baritone James Wilson played the lecherous Sir Walter to the hilt accompanied by his ever-loyal sidekick Medley in the capable hands and voice of tenor Andrew Fuchs.Tenor Lawrence Jones displayed a much misplaced confidence as he assisted Wilford in his quest to find Emily.

But it was countertenor Augustine Mercante, wigged in bight orange ringlets, who elicited the most laughter in his portrayal of Miss Dinah “Di” Clackit. Mercante not only possesses a sumptuous voice but also impeccable comedic timing that never missed a beat.

Musicians from the ensemble also took part in the action with non-singing roles: flutist
Eileen Grycky, violist Amy Leonard, double bassist Heather Miller Landin served as archers (Grycky also played Bridget the maid). Violinists Martin Davids and Edward Huizinga played Filbert, the Gardener and Bob, respectively.

Imaginative costumes and props transported the audience from Centreville to an 18th Century English forest.


Tuesday, March 21, 2017

The Nymphs and the Shepherd Close Brandywine Baroque's 16-17 Season

By Christine Facciolo

BrandywineBaroque warmed a late winter night and concluded its 2016-17 season with an all-Vivaldi program.

There was no grand thought or theme unifying the concert at The Barn at Flintwoods on March 10, unless it was the sheer delight in virtuosity and the delightfully relaxed approach to the music by all concerned.

The centerpiece of the evening’s program was a performance of La ninfa e il pastore (The Nymphs and the Shepherd). This rare and beautiful gem was composed in 1715 when the thirty-something Vivaldi became music director of the Ospedale della Pieta in Venice, a charitable institution dedicated to the care of orphaned and abandoned girls.

The work is not an opera but a related dramatic genre — the serenata. Serenatas first appeared in the mid-17th Century and were often composed to mark a festive or celebratory occasion. They usually consisted of two acts presented “in concert” by two or more soloists who did not wear costumes or act. In fact, there was no action to speak of. Rather, serenatas employed laudatory texts that featured discursive debates between allegorical figures. In this instance, the text refers to the trial and imprisonment of Jansenist propagandist Abbe Jean de Tourreil for his refusal to accept papal authority regarding the doctrine of predestination.

The Serenata a Tre: The Nymphs and the Shepherd paints a pastoral scene in which lust triumphs over reason. The lovelorn nymph Eurilla (soprano Laura Heimes) discovers that Alcindo (tenor Tony Boutte) with whom she is smitten is perfect in every respect save one: He is incapable of love. Encouraged by her friend Nice (soprano Julianne Baird) she sets out to correct this flaw. Passion gets rebuffed by false humility, love feigned becomes love in earnest and the chickens come home to roost.

Singers and players gave concertgoers ample opportunity to enjoy Vivaldi’s melodic gifts. The instrumentalists — Eileen Grycky (flute), Martin Davids and Edwin Huizinga (violins), Amy Leonard (viola), John Mark Rozendaal (cello) and Karen Flint (harpsichord) — played with enthusiasm and tonal finesse.

Laura Heimes was a pure-toned Eurilla, singing with lightness and agility while exercising consistent control and vocal precision throughout her impressive range.

Nice was a figure of wisdom as portrayed by Julianne Baird. Her soprano is lush and full-bodied, but she judiciously restrained her instrument to convey a steadfast sagacity.

Tony Boutte was delightful in the role of the hapless protagonist Alcindo who gets his comeuppance at the hands of the cunning nymphs. His tenor was secure and convincing as he negotiated the lion’s share of the virtuosity.

Both acts of the serenata were preceded by performances of flute concertos in G Major (RV 435) and D Major (RV 427). Soloist Eileen Grycky managed everything with her customary technical fluency and charm. These are hardly routine pieces and Grycky points up every turn with playing that uncovers the originality of Vivaldi’s idiom. The accompanying ensemble complemented with playing that was both spirited and superb. 

Friday, October 21, 2016

Brandywine Baroque Opens Season with Beautiful French Program

By Christine Facciolo

Brandywine Baroque opened its 2016-17 season with a wonderfully planned concert of 17th and 18th Century French music. The program — titled “Shades of Love” — was brief in description but generous in its offerings, providing the perfect showcase for the talents of its five instrumentalists, two harpsichordists and soprano Laura Heimes. The music sampled various genres of Baroque instrumental and vocal music, offering a glimpse into the world of the underplayed but brilliant music of the French court.

The concert opened with Michel Pignolet de Monteclair’s chamber cantata Pan & Sirinx composed around 1716. The cantata relates the myth of Syrinx who, pursued by Pan, was turned into reeds by water nymphs. Pan, discovering the effect of his breath across the reeds, turned them into his flute.

Like many Baroque vocal works, the cantata alternates between reflective arias and narrative recitatives. Heimes delivered the arias effortlessly and exquisitely, allowing the melody to flow its course without hindrance. Her soprano gleamed in the recitatives, coaxing just enough reverberation from The Barn at Flintwoods. Flutist Eileen Grycky conveyed the instrumental effect of Pan’s pursuit in the final three sections of the cantata, her playing augmenting the ensemble in timbre and depth.

Grycky was equally effective soloing in the Sonata Op.2, No. 5 in G Major by Jean-Marie Leclair (1697-1764), one of the sonatas for which the composer offered the choice of violin or flute. Her warm burnished tones shape the exquisite phrasing of the slow movements yet convey the Italian-inspired fire and energy in the fast.

Leclair’s Eighth Sonata engages the violin (Edwin Huizinga) and viola da gamba (Donna Fournier) in polite dialogue that becomes more animated with chains of trills in the Finale.

Huizinga captured the joyfulness of Sonata Op. 12, No. 6 in C Major by Louis-Gabriel Guillemain (1705-1770) with the pure, expressive tone of his violin, while Grycky’s flute perked up the entire ensemble, especially when she had rising figures to play.

Gambists Fournier and John Mark Rozendaal explored the changing textures and rhythms of Les batteries by Jean de Sainte-Colombe (fl. 1658-87- c.1701). The two returned after intermission with an exquisite yet deliberate rendering of the quirky but beautiful L’Arabesque by Marin Marais (1656-1728).

The second half of the program featured two main works: Pieces in F by Louis Couperin (1626-1661) and Orphee, a cantata by Louis-Nicolas Clerembault (1676-1728).

The harpsichord is a mesmerizing instrument in the hands of the right artist, and Brandywine Baroque Founding Artistic Director Karen Flint is one of those artists. It was a genuine pleasure to hear Couperin’s F Major played with dignity and clarity and expression. This was a performance to remember.

Heimes returned to conclude the concert with a performance of Orphee. This retelling of the Orpheus legend with a happy ending is replete with gorgeous melodies and embellishments which made it a superb showcase for Heimes’s wide vocal range and dramatic talent. A nice way to end an engaging concert!

See www.brandywinebaroque.org.

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Brandywine Baroque "Glitt'rs" in Latest Performance of Vivaldi & More

By Christine Facciolo

The program may have been titled “Winter’s Glitt’ring Sun” but it didn’t feel anything like winter on Sunday when Brandywine Baroque presented its second concert of the 2015-16 season.

The well-attended concert featured works by Italians Vivaldi, Tessarini, Leo and Facoli and a secular cantata by Englishman Thomas Arne.

The program was heavy on Vivaldi 
— no surprise there. Vivaldi’s fecundity never ceases to amaze. His reputation rests largely on a legacy of nearly 500 instrumental concerti. Yet this incredibly prolific composer was almost unheard of until the 1950s.

The concert opened with a performance of the Concerto for Strings in d minor, RV 128. This work was contained in one of 14 volumes discovered in 1926 sparking interest in the composer’s works.

All three movements are in the same key — unusual but not unprecedented for Vivaldi. It also adheres to the three movement fast-slow-fast order that he standardized. Double bassist Heather Miller Lardin reveled in the particularly active bass line of the Largo, while the entire ensemble engaged in a fugal finale bristling with energy and excitement.

Flutist Eileen Grycky soloed in two of Vivaldi’s flute concerti: the D major and the recently discovered d minor “il Gran Mogol” which received its Delaware premiere. Grycky’s delightful and highly musical formation of the flute solo lines on her mellow, woody instrument were a delight to the ears as was the full-blooded energetic orchestral accompaniment.

The strings had their say in a warm and sprightly reading of Vivaldi’s Concerto in G Major for Two Violins and Two Cellos, RV 575 — with Martin Davids and Kathleen Leidig, violins and John Mark Rozendaal and Donna Fournier, cellos.

Davids joined fellow violinists Leidig and Edmond Chan in a confident, well-balanced and precise rendering of Vivaldi’s Concerto for Three Violins in F Major, RV 551, creating ear-catching textures spiced by Vivaldian virtuosic runs and arpeggios.

The program also featured the works of other lesser-known Italian composers. Davids introduced the Concerto for Violin in A minor by his favorite composer, Carlo Tessarini, by saying he was luckier than Vivaldi because he didn’t wash out of the priesthood and wind up with an orphanage.

Jokes aside, this tricky and challenging music demands a performer with virtuoso credentials and Davids certainly has them, especially in the Allegros of this work.

Harpsichordist Joyce Chen’s elegant technique brought out the dimple counterpoint and right-hand embellishments in Marco Facoli’s Padoana prima dita Marucina & Salterello.

Leonardo Leo’s concerti give little opportunity for virtuosic display; instead, the cello weaves its way in and out of the texture in a relaxed way. This performance by John Mark Rozendaal of the Concerto No. 3 in F minor is appropriately low-key, with the tricky problem of giving the instrument its proper prominence solved with admirable clarity.

Soprano Laura Heimes performed the only non-Italian work on the program: Thomas Arne’s Cantata V: “The Morning” from Six Cantatas. It is always a pleasure to hear Heimes’ bright warm voice in concert. But this work displayed her virtuosity, as these areas demand astonishing breath control, mastery of coloratura and apt decoration. The interaction between voice and instruments proved engaging and inventive.