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EARLY MUSIC REVIEW Dutch Cellist Performs Deutsch Baroque November 17, 2002
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By Joseph Sargent
The Dutch cellist and viola da gambist Jaap ter Linden took center stage both literally
and figuratively in Philharmonia Baroque's performance Sunday at First Congregational
Church in Berkeley. Serving double duty as both featured soloist and conductor (a role
he performed from within the ensemble rather than on the podium), Linden led the group
in music of several "German Greats" spanning the late 17th through late 18th centuries.
The result was a case of devilish details disrupting an angelic whole, as the
ensemble's effervescent sound and generally superior artistry sometimes fell victim to
nagging inconsistencies.
A chamber ensemble opened the program with Count Unico Wilhelm van Wassenaer's Concerto
No. 4 in G major from Concerti armonici, a series of works previously attributed
to Pergolesi. If Wassenaer doesn't sound like a household name, it may be because he
has only recently been identified as a composer at all. He took great pains to conceal
his compositional activities during his lifetime, in the belief that such work did not
behoove a man in his position of royalty. The group's performance of the Wassenaer was
low-key, not especially dramatic, and occasionally a bit muddled due to the thickness
of the lower voices obscuring the violins. Only with the concluding fourth-movement
Presto did the work seem to come alive, with clear precision and lyrical presentation
of contrapuntal lines.
The startlingly prolific Georg Telemann, whose compositional output includes about 125
orchestral suites (not to mention more than 1,000 cantatas) was represented twice on
the program. First on the bill was the "Don Quixote" Suite in G major, a seven-movement
musical adaptation of episodes from the classic Cervantes novel. With a full ensemble
of strings and harpsichord now in tow, the group delivered a commanding rendition of
the work, full of sumptuous sound and vivid changes in character. The programmatic
nature of Telemann's suite provides ample opportunities for stark musical contrasts
between movements, and the ensemble responded with just the right amount of gusto
without turning movements such as "Sancho Panza Swindled" (in which repeated octave
skips represent the long-suffering sidekick's being tossed about in a blanket) into
caricatures.
Linden made the transition from ensemble member to solo cellist for Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's Concerto in A major, and it took a while for him to get his bearings. Linden's light touch on the cello, which often yields a wistfully gossamer tone, muted the clarity of the opening Allegro's arpeggios, and intonation was shaky throughout the movement. A retuning of the instrument following the first movement helped matters somewhat, though lapses in intonation continued to plague the performance. Nonetheless, the second-movement Largo was perhaps the most exquisite portion of the entire program: the rich, dark lower-register sonorities of the orchestra, combined with Linden's soaring, lyrical upper-register melodic lines, combined for a powerfully moving effect. Johann Sebastian Bach's "Brandenburg" Concerto No. 3 is one of two "ripieno" concertos in this famous series of six works, scored entirely for strings and continuo without soloist. A ten-member chamber group drawn from the ensemble ably performed the work, although balance and intonation were occasionally disrupted and the overaggressive playing, particularly in the violas, further hampered the work's clarity. Linden returned to the soloist's chair for the second Telemann work, the Suite in D major for viola da gamba. Here the performance was exemplary, as Linden's command of the piece was a model of stability. Particularly affecting were the second-movement, "La trompette," in which Linden dispatched the trumpet-like motives with silky tone and smooth articulation, and the relaxed strains of the third-movement Sarabande, which fits Linden's delicate style of gamba playing like a glove.
Georg Muffat's Sonata No. 5 in G major is the largest in a series of works in concerto grosso style from his publication Armonico tributo. Among its features is a closing passacaglia with 24 variations that outlasts the other four movements combined. The group provided a high-caliber performance of the sonata that displayed its capacity for sustained, full-bodied sound. Violinists Lisa Weiss and Laurie Young Stevens dispatched the numerous violin duets with considerable panache. Coming very close to stealing the show was Linden's engaging stage presence. An animated, spunky performer who instantaneously switched to conductor mode during moments when his hands weren't occupied with his instrument, Linden's emotive gestures were amusingly demonstrative. (One special highlight included a series of gentle bounces on his chair to indicate crescendos.) With frequent plaintive glances to the ensemble and a permanent Cheshire grin attached to his face, Linden was clearly having a ball performing this music. Given the enthusiastic audience response to his efforts, he surely wasn't the only one having a good time.
(Joseph Sargent, a doctoral student in musicology at Stanford
University, is a professional writer and editor as well as a performer,
conductor and scholar of early music.)
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Jaap ter Linden