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CHAMBER MUSIC REVIEW
December 17, 2005
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By Rebekah Ahrendt
Getting into the holiday spirit, Berkeley's First Congregational Church resounded to the festive sounds of El Mundo last weekend. Centered around a selection of Christmas music from Italy, Spain, and Latin America, El Mundo's program was a joyful tour through little-heard repertoire, with old favorite instrumental pieces thrown in for good measure.
The final three pieces in particular were a great discovery. Spanish composer Sebastian Durón, famed for his vocal compositions, was a member of the Spanish Royal Chapel in the late 17th century. El Mundo selected a lovely sacred villancico (song with refrain) called Al dormir el sol (While the sun sleeps). The sun, in this case, is the baby Jesus. This lullaby proved a beautiful vehicle for the splendid vocal duo of Jennifer Ellis and Jennifer Lane. Their returning line, “Roro rororo, go to sleep, God child,” was especially arresting.
After the pastoral lullaby, El Mundo performed a rousing piece by late 18th century Guatemalan composer Rafael Antonio Castellano. Transforming a naughty secular dance form into a sacred composition, Oygan una xacarilla featured Lane in a highly noble mood, accompanied by the strong percussion of Daniel Kennedy and the fine playing of the rest of the ensemble. Though this piece is about Mary's immaculate conception, I guess that's close enough to the Nativity.
The last work on the program also had dance-like elements. A cantar un villancico was written by Roque Ceruti, a Milanese violinist who moved to Peru in 1708. His villancico showed how well he had assimilated the Spanish style, though not without some very Italian flourishes. The piece was introduced by violinists Zachary Carrettin and Susan Feldman, who continued their commentary between the verses. Lane and Ellis provided high comedy in their reading of this tale about two choirboys chatting during a service. Their repartee was interrupted by the need to sing "Benedicamus Domino” at various points in the imagined service. At those moments, both singers visibly stiffened and feigned a solemn look. Their contribution sung, the "choirboys" went back to mocking their elders, much to the delight of the audience. All the elements gelled in this piece, making for a silly and entertaining ending to the evening. The second half of the program also included one of “Christmas' Greatest Hits,” Arcangelo Corelli's concerto “Fatto per la notte di Natale.” El Mundo performed it in a trio sonata version published in London. Corelli was such a superstar in his time that publishers commonly made arrangements of his works, which were produced more or less legally (probably less). Violinists Carretin and Feldman did an admirable job of interpreting this famous concerto. Cellist William Skeen played beautifully, especially in the Adagio and the closing Pastorale. After hearing this piece so many times on the radio and in stores, it was nice to see it in performance. In general, the continuo playing of this ensemble was stupendous. Skeen, keyboardist Corey Jamason, and plucked-string specialist and director Richard Savino provided solid, enjoyable accompaniment throughout the concert. Their flashes of soloistic improvisation punctuated the music nicely and kept it all together. Savino at one point grew so enthusiastic that he broke a string on his theorbo, just like a true rock star.
In fact, it was the fine individual performances of El Mundo that helped save this program. With the members of the ensemble scattered across the country, they probably had little chance for full rehearsals. The many program changes announced in the first half of the concert attest to that fact, especially considering that the program generally goes to press just a few weeks before the concert. As the acoustics of First Congregational are not conducive to unmiked announcements, I couldn't hear the titles of all the inserted pieces — a shame, especially because the new closer for the first half was exceptionally fine (I think it was by Salazar). Despite being confused for most of the first half of the concert, I still enjoyed the music. A number of instrumental pieces were mixed with motets by Claudio Monteverdi and Chiara Margarita Cozzolani. Cozzolani's contribution was quite lovely, with the two singers uniting in a moving Gloria in altissimis Deo. Overall, it was an excellent concert despite the problems of the first half. I especially appreciate El Mundo's explorations of the Spanish-language repertoire, something still uncommon in early-music circles, and I look forward to hearing more in the future.
(Rebekah Ahrendt holds the artist's diploma in viola da gamba and historical performance practice from the Royal Conservatory of the Hague. Currently, she is a graduate student in historical musicology at the University of California, Berkeley.)
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