Wild Men of the Baroque - Programme
PIERS ADAMS – recorders
DAVID WRIGHT – harpsichord
WILD MEN OF THE BAROQUE
ANDREA FALCONIERI (c. 1585–1656)
Brando Dicho El Melo
DARIO CASTELLO (c.1590-c.1630)
Sonata Seconda
ARCANGELO CORELLI (1653-1713)
Sonata in F major Op. 5 No. 4
Adagio – Allegro – Vivace - Adagio – Allegro
GEORG FREDERICK HANDEL (1685-1759)
Prelude in Bb for Harpsichord
MARCO UCCELLINI (1603–1680)
Sonata Nona
JACOB VAN EYCK (1590-1657)
The English Nightingale
JEAN-HENRI D’ANGLEBERT (1629-1691)
Prelude in G minor for Harpsichord
GIOVANNI ANTONIO PANDOLFI MEALLI (c.1630–1670)
Sonata ‘La Cesta’
JACOB VAN EYCK
Boffons
***INTERVAL***
GEORG FREDERICK HANDEL
Sonata in B minor
Largo – Vivace – Furioso – Adagio - Alla breve
JOSEPH-NICOLAS-PANCRACE ROYER (1705 –1755)
Vertigo for Harpsichord
CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862-1918)
Syrinx
HANS MARTIN LINDE (b. 1930)
Music for a Bird
GYÖRGY LIGETI (1923 – 2006)
Continuum for Harpsichord
ASTOR PIAZZOLLA (1921-1992)
Tango: Café 1930
HEINRICH BIBER (1644-1704)
Sonata no. 3
Programme notes
Baroque music revels in the extravagant. The very word ‘baroque’ implies bizarre, irregular and over the top, and the leading musicians of the day were true pioneers, riding the seas of change with wild abandon, ever searching for new musical ideas to titillate the ears and move the souls of the public. Only in retrospect has the mythology of highbrow, rule-bound men of quill and parchment been created; the reality was much more down to earth, the majority of composers living boozy, philandering, extravagantly bohemian lives, intent on maximising their profits through, if necessary, dubious means. Boundaries between high art and street music were yet to be fully established and composers were free to draw inspiration from myriad sources, resulting in a wild and colourful carnival of musical styles.
Most fascinating are the ‘forgotten years’ of the 17th century (Seicento in Italy), well before the reign of established baroque masters such as Bach, Handel and Vivaldi. This was the time when composers broke away from the constrictions of the Stile Antiquo (old style), in which music generally had a religious or social function (sacred choral music, courtly dances) – towards a new, abstract art-form free of boundaries or context. This new style was referred to as the Stile Moderno, and later, the Stylus Phantasticus, and was characterised by rapid and angular changes of mood and tempo, with bursts of rhapsodic intensity, playful dance sections and soulful melodies.
In the first part of tonight’s programme we explore the many facets of the Seicento, from the energetic dance music of Falconiero and the pan-like variations of early recorder maestro Van Eyck, via the rhapsodic meanderings of Uccellini and d’Anglebert to the full-blown insanity of Castello and Pandolfi Mealli.
But by the end of the century the wildest experimentation had given way to more formal structures, the rapid-fire musical ideas expanding and crystallising into extended ‘movements’, and this change was formally marked on Jan 1st 1700 with the publication of Corelli’s Opus 5 – a set of twelve violin sonatas which were to become the benchmark for all instrumental sonatas thereafter, such as the six recorder sonatas of Handel, of which we perform the greatest tonight. A further period of decadence was to follow, however, as the baroque structures gave way the the sturm und drang of the mid 18th century, here represented by the extraordinary harpsichord music of Royer.
As we temporarily leave behind the baroque period it is intersting to compare the parallel lives of the recorder and the harpsichord; both instruments had their golden age in the baroque, and sunk into disuse around the middle of the 18th century, only to be reborn as part of the early music revival from the 1920s onwards. Although still predominently regarded as instruments for the performance of ancient music, both have also acquired a more contemporary repertoire too. The year 1968 produced milestone works for both instruments – Linde’s Music for a Bird, which capitalises on the recorder’s ability to imitate bird-song (in a much more literal fashion that Van Eyck’s avian offering of three centuries before) and Ligetti’s Continuum, a fascinating minimalist work of which the composer wrote: ‘I thought to myself, what about composing a piece that would be a paradoxically continuous sound but that would have to consist of innumerable thin slices of salami?’
The art of transcription has historically been a key aspect of the recorder-player’s trade, with much of the instrument’s genuine baroque literature comprising recycled versions of flute or violin repertoire; it seems logical, therefore to continue that tradition into the 20th century - for instance, with Debussy’s haunting solo Syrinx, and the music of celebrated Argentinian tango composer Piazzolla, which has become hugely popular in recent years amongst musicians across many fields.
To end our recital we return to the Stylus Phantasticus for a transcription of a violin sonata by the greatest and most eccentric master of the style, Heinrich Biber, which takes the genre to its logical conclusion, complete with bizarre, Monty Python-esque ending.
Piers Adams is the modern day wild man of the recorder. His stubborn refusal to accept the natural limitations of his instrument has led the Washington Post to describe him as ‘superhuman’, and International Record Review to declare: ‘The things Adams does with his recorders defy the imagination.’ Born in 1963 he trained initially as a physicist before joining the tail end of the Dutch recorder movement of the 1970s and 80s, rapidly branching out from there to create his own, unique sound and stage personality. Innovations in recorder design – most recently the ‘Eagle Recorder’ featured widely on this album – have enabled Adams to expand the instrument’s repertoire to include every musical genre from renaissance to romantic to rock, and to astonish audiences with its expressive possibilities. His concert tours have taken him to all corners of the globe, performing over 1000 concerts with his iconic baroque quartet Red Priest, as well as recitals and concertos with international symphony and chamber orchestras, and numerous TV and radio appearances. Visit www.piersadams .com for full information about his CD recordings and concert schedule.
David Wright has spent many years trying to shed his reputation as the hard man of the harpsichord, having come to the instrument as a refuge from his East End gangland upbringing. The final spur to pursue a career in music came in 1994 when, as a 17-year old, he found himself facing a sawn-off shotgun at close range in an underground car-park. Since that time he has reinvented himself as something of an 18th century fop and lothario, thanks to several years of study in sundry London music colleges (he was previously self taught) and a penchant for baroque beauty and morals. With his harpsichord he has toured throughout Europe, America and the Far East, sharing the stage with such Early Music luminaries as Emma Kirkby and James Bowman, performing concertos, directing orchestras and operas (including the first modern day performance of Arne's The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green), and championing the instrument’s solo repertoire – in particular Bach’s Goldberg Variations. His unconventional background and unsurpassable technique made him a natural to join Red Priest, with whom he has toured and recorded since 2011.
DAVID WRIGHT – harpsichord
WILD MEN OF THE BAROQUE
ANDREA FALCONIERI (c. 1585–1656)
Brando Dicho El Melo
DARIO CASTELLO (c.1590-c.1630)
Sonata Seconda
ARCANGELO CORELLI (1653-1713)
Sonata in F major Op. 5 No. 4
Adagio – Allegro – Vivace - Adagio – Allegro
GEORG FREDERICK HANDEL (1685-1759)
Prelude in Bb for Harpsichord
MARCO UCCELLINI (1603–1680)
Sonata Nona
JACOB VAN EYCK (1590-1657)
The English Nightingale
JEAN-HENRI D’ANGLEBERT (1629-1691)
Prelude in G minor for Harpsichord
GIOVANNI ANTONIO PANDOLFI MEALLI (c.1630–1670)
Sonata ‘La Cesta’
JACOB VAN EYCK
Boffons
***INTERVAL***
GEORG FREDERICK HANDEL
Sonata in B minor
Largo – Vivace – Furioso – Adagio - Alla breve
JOSEPH-NICOLAS-PANCRACE ROYER (1705 –1755)
Vertigo for Harpsichord
CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862-1918)
Syrinx
HANS MARTIN LINDE (b. 1930)
Music for a Bird
GYÖRGY LIGETI (1923 – 2006)
Continuum for Harpsichord
ASTOR PIAZZOLLA (1921-1992)
Tango: Café 1930
HEINRICH BIBER (1644-1704)
Sonata no. 3
Programme notes
Baroque music revels in the extravagant. The very word ‘baroque’ implies bizarre, irregular and over the top, and the leading musicians of the day were true pioneers, riding the seas of change with wild abandon, ever searching for new musical ideas to titillate the ears and move the souls of the public. Only in retrospect has the mythology of highbrow, rule-bound men of quill and parchment been created; the reality was much more down to earth, the majority of composers living boozy, philandering, extravagantly bohemian lives, intent on maximising their profits through, if necessary, dubious means. Boundaries between high art and street music were yet to be fully established and composers were free to draw inspiration from myriad sources, resulting in a wild and colourful carnival of musical styles.
Most fascinating are the ‘forgotten years’ of the 17th century (Seicento in Italy), well before the reign of established baroque masters such as Bach, Handel and Vivaldi. This was the time when composers broke away from the constrictions of the Stile Antiquo (old style), in which music generally had a religious or social function (sacred choral music, courtly dances) – towards a new, abstract art-form free of boundaries or context. This new style was referred to as the Stile Moderno, and later, the Stylus Phantasticus, and was characterised by rapid and angular changes of mood and tempo, with bursts of rhapsodic intensity, playful dance sections and soulful melodies.
In the first part of tonight’s programme we explore the many facets of the Seicento, from the energetic dance music of Falconiero and the pan-like variations of early recorder maestro Van Eyck, via the rhapsodic meanderings of Uccellini and d’Anglebert to the full-blown insanity of Castello and Pandolfi Mealli.
But by the end of the century the wildest experimentation had given way to more formal structures, the rapid-fire musical ideas expanding and crystallising into extended ‘movements’, and this change was formally marked on Jan 1st 1700 with the publication of Corelli’s Opus 5 – a set of twelve violin sonatas which were to become the benchmark for all instrumental sonatas thereafter, such as the six recorder sonatas of Handel, of which we perform the greatest tonight. A further period of decadence was to follow, however, as the baroque structures gave way the the sturm und drang of the mid 18th century, here represented by the extraordinary harpsichord music of Royer.
As we temporarily leave behind the baroque period it is intersting to compare the parallel lives of the recorder and the harpsichord; both instruments had their golden age in the baroque, and sunk into disuse around the middle of the 18th century, only to be reborn as part of the early music revival from the 1920s onwards. Although still predominently regarded as instruments for the performance of ancient music, both have also acquired a more contemporary repertoire too. The year 1968 produced milestone works for both instruments – Linde’s Music for a Bird, which capitalises on the recorder’s ability to imitate bird-song (in a much more literal fashion that Van Eyck’s avian offering of three centuries before) and Ligetti’s Continuum, a fascinating minimalist work of which the composer wrote: ‘I thought to myself, what about composing a piece that would be a paradoxically continuous sound but that would have to consist of innumerable thin slices of salami?’
The art of transcription has historically been a key aspect of the recorder-player’s trade, with much of the instrument’s genuine baroque literature comprising recycled versions of flute or violin repertoire; it seems logical, therefore to continue that tradition into the 20th century - for instance, with Debussy’s haunting solo Syrinx, and the music of celebrated Argentinian tango composer Piazzolla, which has become hugely popular in recent years amongst musicians across many fields.
To end our recital we return to the Stylus Phantasticus for a transcription of a violin sonata by the greatest and most eccentric master of the style, Heinrich Biber, which takes the genre to its logical conclusion, complete with bizarre, Monty Python-esque ending.
Piers Adams is the modern day wild man of the recorder. His stubborn refusal to accept the natural limitations of his instrument has led the Washington Post to describe him as ‘superhuman’, and International Record Review to declare: ‘The things Adams does with his recorders defy the imagination.’ Born in 1963 he trained initially as a physicist before joining the tail end of the Dutch recorder movement of the 1970s and 80s, rapidly branching out from there to create his own, unique sound and stage personality. Innovations in recorder design – most recently the ‘Eagle Recorder’ featured widely on this album – have enabled Adams to expand the instrument’s repertoire to include every musical genre from renaissance to romantic to rock, and to astonish audiences with its expressive possibilities. His concert tours have taken him to all corners of the globe, performing over 1000 concerts with his iconic baroque quartet Red Priest, as well as recitals and concertos with international symphony and chamber orchestras, and numerous TV and radio appearances. Visit www.piersadams .com for full information about his CD recordings and concert schedule.
David Wright has spent many years trying to shed his reputation as the hard man of the harpsichord, having come to the instrument as a refuge from his East End gangland upbringing. The final spur to pursue a career in music came in 1994 when, as a 17-year old, he found himself facing a sawn-off shotgun at close range in an underground car-park. Since that time he has reinvented himself as something of an 18th century fop and lothario, thanks to several years of study in sundry London music colleges (he was previously self taught) and a penchant for baroque beauty and morals. With his harpsichord he has toured throughout Europe, America and the Far East, sharing the stage with such Early Music luminaries as Emma Kirkby and James Bowman, performing concertos, directing orchestras and operas (including the first modern day performance of Arne's The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green), and championing the instrument’s solo repertoire – in particular Bach’s Goldberg Variations. His unconventional background and unsurpassable technique made him a natural to join Red Priest, with whom he has toured and recorded since 2011.
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