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EARLY MUSIC
08/27/04
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By Heuwell Tircuit
At the fourth and final concert of its August series Friday, the American Bach Soloists chose to present mixed chamber music in the luxurious sonic environment of Grace Cathedral's Chapel of Grace. Six performers presented six different works: a Telemann Quartet, a Trio Sonata attributed to Bach, three Sonatas — one each by Bach, Vivaldi and Handel -- and a Bach transcription of a Vivaldi Violin Concerto, arranged for solo harpsichord. It was the sort of variety that made for ear ease in an all-Baroque evening.
Zachary Isaac Carrettin, Katherine Kyme, Carla Moore and Lisa Weiss performed Telemann's Quartet in D Major for four violins alone. Before that, Moore opened the program with Bach's E Major Violin Sonata, BWV 1016, partnered by harpsichordist Corey Jamason. Then came a sensational performance of Vivaldi's Cello Sonata in B-flat Major, RV 39, by cellist William Skeen with harpsichordist Jamason. Following intermission, there was the Bach Vivaldi arrangement, BWV 972, of the ninth from Vivaldi's Op. 3 concerto collection. Weiss and Jamason gave another highlight of the evening, playing the wig off Handel's Violin Sonata in F Major, Op.1, No.12.
Oddly, the program closed with a Trio Sonata in C Major attributed to Sebastian Bach as his BWV 1037. Nice piece, just not by Bach. Violinists Carrettin and Kyme took the solo roles, supported by Jamason and cellist Skeen. Actually, the overly-anxious scholars who made up the BWV catalog list four Trio Sonatas, only one of which is authentic, the G Major, BWV 1039. Most reference books cite Bach's pupil, Johann Gottlieb Goldberg — the man for whom “Goldberg” Variations was named — as the likely author, but even that's speculation. No matter. It's a nice enough piece to warrant performance, and it was marvelously played, never better in my experience.
The little Telemann Quartet for the four violists was a delight. It's all lightweight, a divertimento more than anything. And sheer fun to play, as was obvious in the smiling faces of the smiling performers. Violinist Weiss continued that feeling during the Handel Sonata, a performance brimming with verve and Handelian bravura, Jamason right behind her every move. . Yet, in several respects, I would give the laurel crown for the evening to cellist Skeen. Admittedly, the Trio Sonata is not a virtuoso stunt piece, but Skeen's performance was downright magnificent. Every little detail was in place, and as a special bonus, no hint of Baroque wheeze or string scraping turned up. It was all so beautifully rounded in timbre and musical in phrasing that it made the piece sound more important than its reality. That's artistry for you. Bach remained an ardent student throughout his life, devouring every score he could get his hands on. Between 1713 and 1716, he was deep into successful Italian concerto style, and copied out 16 of these as harpsichord transcriptions, sometimes adding tiny improvements. Most were from Vivaldi, but Telemann and Ernst Italian-type concertos also made the pack. What's more important is that Bach's studies matured into his own, justly famous Italian Concerto for harpsichord. Jamason played the quasi-Vivaldi ardently and with little hints of rubato, although not always rhythmically exact in the florid bits. The larger problem, for me at least, was that he apparently belongs to the Set-It-and-Forget-It school of dynamics. That frustrated the basis of concerto writing, where the contract between full sonority and soloistic sonority is the vital point of the form.
Those, however, are rather mild objections compared to a cavalier performance of the one totally authentic Bach piece of the evening: the E Major Violin Sonata. Moore and Jamason seemed at odds much of the time. Lack of ensemble unity was the rule, and Moore's intonation was less than pinpoint. Curiously, continuo-based works are usually supported by two instruments, a keyboard or lute, plus a bass instrument like cello or string bass to reinforce the harmonic root of the textures. This practice was followed in the Trio Sonata, but not for the Handel Sonata. Skeen joined the ensemble for the Trio Sonata, but was not there to produce Handel's Sonata continuo line. Why not the Handel as well?
(Heuwell Tircuit, composer, performer and writer, was chief writer for Gramophone Japan and for 21 years a music reviewer for the SF Chronicle, previously for the Chicago American and Asahi Evening News.)
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William Skeen
Corey Jamason