Early Music ALberta Newsletter 2011 - December

7/31/2019 Early Music ALberta Newsletter 2011 - December

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Earlybyrd - Early Music Alberta Newsletter (2011-December)

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experimentation, their sense o extremism atthe onset o it, their discoveries o treatisesand manuscripts their research o periodappropriate, and even region appropriateper ormance practise and ornamentationmeans that today we have a much betterunderstanding and appreciation o the music. O course the research and

experimentation continues! While in manyparts o the world historically in ormedper ormance practise, on period appropriateinstruments has now become main-stream,in other parts o the world, including Alberta,it has not yet.

Among pro essionals, students and amateursin Alberta, there is a signi cant interestin historically in ormed per ormancepractise. Concerts eaturing world classperiod per ormers are regularly sold out,demonstrating that audiences certainly likeit as well. Much like at the time o thosemusicians in Western Europe in the 60s and70s, there are currently very ew musicians inAlberta who regularly practise and per ormon period instruments. O course it becomesa vicious circle: i no one around has theinstruments, then why would one investin a baroque oboe, a natural trumpet or asackbut; where and with whom would oneplay it? And i they have no opportunity toplay, why invest the time and money...?

There also is a large knowledge gap betweenper ormers who grew up with early music(such as those studying in parts o WesternEurope, or those studying at specialized EarlyMusic schools in North America) and thosewho grew up leaning to play early musicwith a very similar approach as any latercomposed music.

Among the last group o musicians thereis a lot o interest, and enthusiasm to diveinto the world o historically in ormedper ormance, i only they would have theinstruments or the opportunity to play them.

Early Music Alberta wants to give themthe opportunity to learn, to experiment,and to per orm. And as the audience wewant to encourage them and share in theirenthusiasm. Like the pioneers o the 70s, itwill not be awless. Like those pioneers, it willbe lled with excitement and enthusiasm.But unlike the pioneers o the 70s; we now

have plenty o examples in other parts o the world. While musicians new to earlymusic can learn a lot rom them, audiencestoo, have heard those per ormers, either inlive per ormances or on their iPods and CDplayers and they may be inclined to comparethe newcomers on the early-music-block tothose established per ormers.

My hope as the president and artisticdirector o Early Music Alberta is that we,as early music community, will encouragemusicians to experiment, per orm and learn.My hope is that the audience is supportiveo those musicians who are new to this, sothat, 30 years rom today, Alberta will havea ourishing early music scene, where itwill be as main-stream as it is in many otherparts o the world, where musicians willwant to move to Alberta because o its earlymusic scene. We will not achieve any o thatwithout help rom musicians, pro essionals,students and amateurs and audiences. I hopemusicians will eel encouraged to take risksin their per ormance, learn about historicper ormance practise and above all: enjoythe process. I hope that, whenever we get a

little discouraged or disappointed becauseperhaps the per ormances are not as awlessas we expected them to be, we will allkeep in mind that we dont yet have manyseasoned period per ormers and singers,so we cannot expect them to miraculouslyappear out o nowhere either. We need tonourish those musicians and singers who arenew to early music; we need to encouragethem, give them per ormance opportunities,support them in their journey and excitethem!

This is why we ounded Early Music Alberta inthe rst place. It will be a long, exciting andrewarding journey! I hope you are all comingalong or the ride! As the organisation growsup, Early Music Alberta will present worldclass musicians in concerts. Early MusicAlberta will also present local musicians, boththose who have been trained in historically

in ormed per ormance practise, as well asthose who have not (yet). Early Music Albertawill o er workshops and masterclasses topro essional musicians and music studentswho are new to period per ormance byvisiting early music specialists.Early music Alberta will also encourageamateur musicians playing periodinstruments, eventually also o eringworkshops and ensemble playing andsinging opportunities.

Ultimately our goal with Early Music Albertawill be to have an instrument bank o historicinstruments so that they can be loaned toquali ed musicians who o ten do not havethe means to purchase an instrument. I youown an instrument you would like to donateto Early Music Alberta, or i you would like toloan that instrument to a musician yoursel ,do contact us!

People have asked me what the bene t o becoming a member is. As a member, youare supporting a grassroots early musicmovement in your province. You will helpsupport the growth and nourishment o musicians and o historically in ormedper ormance practise in Alberta. You will helpsupport a long term vision in which earlymusic on period appropriate instruments,using period appropriate playing and singingstyles, according to the most current historicresearch and knowledge, is one day main-stream.

Thank you or being part o that!

Josephine van Lier President

Singers rom Edmontons choral community and the Strathcona String Quartet came together or a short recording under the direction o John Brough. Everyone generously donated their time and talent so that all o the money earned went to Early Music Alberta!

Early Music Alberta held a wonder ul, intimate house concert and cocktail reception as a undraiser or the new organisation. Audience enjoyed lovely music in a very intimate setting at the home o VP John Brough.


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The Krap Memorial Positive Organ, University o Alberta By Marnie Giesbrecht

On October 11, 2011the University o Alberta welcomed a new positive organ. Built by JamesLouder o Montreal, the organ is named the Krap Memorial organ a ter the late Gerhard Krap ,who taught organ at the U o A rom 1978 to 1987. The organ has a split keyboard with 5 stops:Bourdon 8, Principal 4, Flte chemine 4, Dessus de Nasard 22/3 (treble only), and Flte bec2. The keyboard is transposable to A440, 415 and 392; its native pitch and tuning are at A415. TheKrap organ is currently tuned to a well temperament created by John Brombaugh and modi edby James Louder. The voicing is smooth and gentle, it is a beauti ul instrument in every way!

The builder demonstrated the organ to a group o students and guests on Tuesday October 11in Convocation Hall, where the organ resides. At the Monday Noon Hour Concert on October24th, the organ was rst heard in concert; works by Frescobaldi and Zipoli per ormed by MarnieGiesbrecht ( aculty) and Cynthia Luk (undergrad). It was heard again the next Monday at noonorgan recital, November 21st, where Josephine van Lier and Marnie Giesbrecht per ormed twovery delight ul Boccherini Sonatas or cello and continuo Sonatas. The organ will also be used inthe Madrigal Singers Concert in Convocation Hall on Sunday, Nov. 27th.

The ormal dedication and inauguration o the organ is scheduled or Friday, March 9, 2012 at8:00 pm. Members o the Krap amily will be present and donors will be ofcially thanked. Inthe Department o Music we are excited about how the new organ will boost our early musicper ormance and teaching activities.

Early Music Alberta Event ScheduleFor more details visit www.earlymusicalberta.ca

SundayJanuary 15, 20123:00 PM

Scona Chamber Singers Music from the Sistine Chapel Holy Trinity Anglican Church10037 - 84 Avenue, Edmonton, AB

SaturdayJanuary 21, 20121:00 PM to 3:00 PM

Gilbert Martinez, Harpsichord(from San Francisco)

Masterclass Musicians interested in participating can book by phone: (780) 240-9623 or email: [email protected]

Holy Trinity Anglican Church10037 - 84 Avenue, Edmonton, AB

FridayJanuary 27, 20128:00 PM

Gilbert Martinez, Harpsichord Music by Rameau Holy Trinity Anglican Church10037 - 84 Avenue, Edmonton, AB

SundayMarch 11, 20123:00 PM

Jolaine Kerley, sopranoAdam Wead, luteJosephine van Lier, viola da gamba

English art songs of the renaissance. Holy Trinity Anglican Church10037 - 84 Avenue, Edmonton, AB

FridayMarch 23, 20127:30 PM (Concert 8PM)

Early Music Alberta Fundraiser Cocktail reception and ConcertVery Limited Seating!

In the spectacular and intimate upphall of Holy Trinity Anglican Churc10037-84 Avenue, Edmonton

Friday-Saturday-SundayApril 20, 21 and 22, 2012

Early Music Alberta Festival Details TBA Holy Trinity Anglican Church10037 - 84 Avenue, Edmonton, AB

The Scona Chamber singers,

ounded by Jolaine Kerley and John Brough have per ormed on several very success ul concerts in collaboration with Early Music Alberta.


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Early Music Albertas First Music Festival This past May, Early Music Alberta heldits rst annual Early Music Festival. Anambitious project considering thesociety was still under one year old! The

estival, which included our concerts,two master classes and two workshops

took place rom May 6th until May 8thin two o Edmonton great venues, FirstPresbyterian Church downtown, and Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Old Strathcona.

On Friday May 6th, the estival openedwith guest artists Brian Asawa,countertenor, and Gilbert Martinez,harpsichord, along with local musicians(and EMA Board members) Jolaine Kerley,soprano and Josephine van Lier, baroque

cellist. This spectacular concert eatured works o Purcell, Monteverdi,Bach and Geminiani.

Saturday was the rst ull day o the estival, and began withworkshops led by Jen Hoyer, recorder, who led a Renaissance dancemusic reading session; Ross Hill, a luthier rom Calgary, who lecturedon the di erences among and evolution o string instrumentsthrough the centuries; and violist, violinist, jazz musician, composerand early music enthusiast George Andrix who led a discussion onornamentation and improvisation in the baroque era. Local singerswere also given expert early music vocal instruction by Brian Asawa.

The a ternoon concert eatured local per ormances by Edmontonsmost sought a ter early music specialists eaturing works rom theGerman Baroque on period instruments. Composers eatured on thisprogram were Bhm, Telemann, Bach, Vivaldi, and Quantz. Pe ormersincluded Jen Hoyer, recorder Marnie Giesbrecht, organ, GeorgeAndrix, baroque violin Judy Loewen, harpsichord Josephine van Lier,baroque cello.

Later that evening estival attendees were treated to a recitalby virtuoso harpsichordist Gilbert Martinez rom San Franciscoper ormed works or solo harpsichord by Froberger, Couperin,Marpurg and Bach. He was joined by Josephine van Lier onvioloncello piccolo or the spectacular sonata in D Major BWV 1028

or viola da gamba and harpsichord by Bach.

On the a ternoon Sunday May 8th, the nal day o the estival,Gilbert Martinez held a masterclass or local keyboardists, andthat evening The Scona Chamber Singers, under my direction,

per ormed an evening o English music. They where joined onceagain by leading early music specialists Brian Asawa, countertenorand Gilbert Martinez, harpsichord. The Strathcona String Quartet, anestablishment o the Edmonton music scene since 1987, per ormedwith the choir on period instruments. The concert eatured works byByrd and Purcell.

Although the weekend was very exhausting or those who organizedthe event (especially or Josephine, who played in just about everyconcert, and also hosted our guest musicians or the week), it wasa tremendous success, and all those who attended were treated toworld class historically in ormed per ormances. It would amiss or usnot to thank a ew very important people who made the week such

a success: To Judy Loewen or the use o her harpsichord, MarnieGeisbrecht and First Presbyterian church or our main venue, as wellas Holy Trinity Anglican Church or donating their space or the nalconcert, and to Erik Visser or his help with the graphic design andprogram printing. Also, thanks to the many volunteers who helped atevery event, selling tickets, handing out programs at the door, and allthe other tasks that we take or granted. We are well into preparationsnow or our 2012 estival, and are looking orward to revealing the

details to you in the new year! I you are interested in helping out inany way, please eel ree to contact us.

John Brough Vice President

Opening concert: Jolaine Kerley, Brian Asawa, Josephine an L

Renaissance dance music reading session with Jen Hoyer

Luthier Ross Hill discusses early string instruments


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eorge Andrix: baroque ornamentation

Masterclass with Brian Asawa

ernoon per ormance with Judy Loewen, Jen Hoyer and Josephine an Lier

Marnie Giesbrecht on organ

Gilbert Martinez per orms irtuoso harpsichord music

Te esti al could not ha e happened without enthusiastic volunteer

Gilbert Martinez gi es a masterclass

Te Sona Chamber Singers and the Srathcona String Quartet under the


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Early Music in the 1960s By Ben de Ligt

Let me start by congratulating Josephine van Lier and the rest o theounding members o the board with the birth Early Music Alberta!

I eel very honored to be asked to write some words in this rstnewsletter. In Josephines native country, I was part o the turbulentearly music wave in the sixties. As a young student at the AmsterdamConservatoire/Conservatory/College o Music I was ortunate tostudy with the legendary cellist Carel van Leeuwen Boomkamp,baroque specialist avant la lettre and author o the since long soldout book De klanks eer der oude muziek (The sound-character o early music), published in 1947. And in my last two college years,the young Gustav Leonhardt,now world amous musicologist,harpsichordist, organist, teacherand conductor, became the very

rst pro essor o early music,not only in the Netherlands, butworld-wide. He has been one o the most in uential people in my

musical career. He revolutionizedmy thought towards articulation,tempo, rhythm, dynamics ,improvisation, tone coloring o both Baroque music, and musicper ormance in general.

As an unworldly and rathernave young man o twenty, Ibecame the second cellist o theNetherlands Chamber Orchestra,under the baton o violinistSzymon Goldberg, anotherinvaluably in uential musicianin my li e in the way o stringcoaching and bow control. Butmy years o study with my celloand baroque pro essors con ictedwith Goldbergs interpretation o the yearly Bach Cycle, and so a tereight years I had to resign.

As sel -appointed baroquespecialists o the 1960s, I look back now and realize how little weactually knew about the practice o baroque per ormance. At thattime, we discovered that musicians, including ourselves, had playedup till then all music in a romantic way, regardless o when it was

composed. String players, started by only playing on gut strings. This was not really all that revolutionary, most European musiciansstill played on metal-wound- gut strings except the violin e-string.Although conductor Willem Mengelberg demanded the violinists o the Concertgebouw Orchestra to use gut e-strings, which one canvery clearly heard on their recordings rom the orties.

Vibrato was one o the rst things we tried to abolish, at least aconstant lush vibrato. Most importantly, we developed a greaterattention to baroque articulation, both In playing and in singing. Butwe played baroque music on our instruments that were over theyears adapted to the bigger concert halls, with a longer bass bar,more slanted ngerboard and subsequently higher bridge or moretension on the soundboard.

In the early years o the early music movement, with the still limitedin ormation available, the musicians in the eld were rather i notvery undamental. There was absolutely no room or discussion. Youwere with the gang or not. As a baroque disciple you were deadagainst all romantic music. Full stop. I was reserve player in ConcertoAmsterdam, probably the rst baroque orchestra o its time. I wasquite nervous, being the youngest in the orchestra, but that was tobe expected. As soon as they ound out that I also played jazz and

occasionally listened to romantic and even popular music, I was notasked to play with them again.

Over the year, this sort o attitude has changed. A amous quote,some years ago, by Leonhardt: How do you play a trill in the music o Mu at? No idea, but 30 years ago I knew precisely!

And the mutual interest betweenearly music and jazz players isgrowing steadily, due to thecorresponding rhythmicalvariation and improvisation.

Although publications aboutbaroque per ormance practice is

readily available now in printedliterature as well through theinternet, there is still a lot o debate and di erence o opinionon the subject. The RoyalConservatory o The Hague hasa strong early music departmentwhere students o all nationalitiesget superb instruction, but notall conservatories in our countryhave teachers that possessthe knowledge o historicallyin ormed per ormance practice. There are o course opponentso the historic per ormancepractice, o ten ocusing onwhat they are not allowed todo (vibrato, modern bows, steelstrings and so on) instead o

ocusing on the many nuancesthat baroque technique can addto the repertoire.

I I could give some advice to string players interested in baroqueper ormance practice, I would caution them to not try out a baroquebow on steel strings - it is akin to playing tennis with a badmintonracket! The type o modern bow, as developed by Franois Tourte, the

Stradivary o the bow, between 1785 and 1790, has a totally di erentshape and tension than earlier bows, and the hair is di erentlyattached. Not meant or steel strings.

Having been a member o the ensemble Syntagma Musicum,specialized in Medieval and Renaissance music has helped meenormously in understanding Baroque and later music. It is my wishthat Early Music Alberta continues to thrive in Alberta, and providesthe same sort o inspiration I received.

Ben de Ligt was pro essor o cello, baroque cello and iola da the conser atory o music o the Uni ersity o Groningen, the1996.


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I have lived in Edmonton my whole li eand Ive played the violin since I was three.I started with the Suzuki Talent Educationprogram and got my undergraduate and

Masters degrees in violin per ormance at theUniversity o Alberta. Since (and during) myschooling I have been busy as a pro essionalper ormer, reelancing with the ESO, theCitadel Orchestra, and the Edmonton OperaOrchestra, as well as pursuing interestingprojects as a soloist and chamber musician. The most consistent playing Ive doneis as rst violinist with the StrathconaString Quartet, a group I ounded in 1987.Josephine van Lier joined the quartet shortlya ter she arrived in Edmonton rom theNetherlands in 1996 and we became ast

riends.

My latest project has been playing earlymusic on a baroque violin. The idea came upas a result o the ormation o the Early MusicAlberta society. Josephine has o ten talkedto me about how much she enjoys playingearly music on more authentic instruments

and with the new association needingbaroque violinists the time was right or meto take up the baroque violin. Her husband,Erik Visser, helped me nd a good (but nottoo pricey) baroque violin rom a maker inChina online. I had the bridge replaced witha more authentic baroque bridge by RossHill o Calgary, the avorite luthier or manyAlberta string players, and I was good to go!

I instantly ell in love with this uniqueinstrument. I was struck rst by theinstruments dark nish (which reminded

me o the dark stained modern instrumentI bought outside o Aberdeen Scotland in1987) and the beauti ul inlaid work on the

ngerboard. The rst time I took upthe strange, short, baroque bowand played the instrument it madea beauti ul, intimate sound: a so ter,darker, more mellow sound than Idever made be ore on a violin.

There was a steep learning curveto surmount because we hadper ormances planned and they werecoming up ast. The rst event I wasscheduled to play or was a small

undraiser or the new association atJohn Broughs home, and the nextwas the associations rst estival -

my rst public per ormance on thebaroque violin with two expert earlymusic per ormers as special guests. Ihad to get up to speed with this newinstrument ast!

And there was a lot to get usedto. For starters, theres no chin rest on thebaroque violin. I have an old neck injury roma car accident so I have to cheat a bit on thisscore - I use a shoulder rest. During the rst

ew days o practicing I kept over-estimatingthe length o the bow and alling o theinstrument! The bow is not only shorter but

it also demands a di erent speed than themodern bow, and much less arm weightthan in classical and romantic repertoire. Theinstrument is even tuned di erently: moderntuning starts with tuning the A string to 440,but early music is played at 415 - thats G#! That was disconcerting at rst, but it reallydoes bring a warmer, less strident sound toearly music.

How interesting it is to play on authenticgut strings, the same kind o strings thatall string players have played until quiterecently. Modern gut strings are wound atand have a silk lining between the gut andthe winding, but the historical gut stringswe are using are round and have no lining.You have to lubricate them sometimes withalmond oil to keep them rom buzzing. Theygo out o tune much aster than modernstrings and they are generally much morenicky. They dont much like our dry Albertaclimate and can break or start buzzing atthe worst times. For example, at the dressrehearsal or one o the Early Music Alberta

estival concerts my E string starting buzzing

horribly because the whole instrument hadshrunk in the low humidity. George Andrix( ormer member o the Strathcona StringQuartet, composer, conductor and all aroundRenaissance man) saved the day with a quick x involving a di erent gauge string and abit o olded paper under the bridge. The gutstrings are worth the trouble though; they

make a pretty sound that really brings outthe intimate quality o early music.

O course its not just the instruments thatare di erent in historical per ormance o early music; the style and interpretation isdi erent too. The instruments themselvesalmost orce us to play in a di erent, moreauthentic style, but there are some thingsto learn. Josephine has had training in earlymusic back in the Netherlands and somereal practical experience too - her BachSuite project or example - so she has beena big help. Its also been instructive and alot o un to play with Shannon Johnson;her virtuosic celtic violin ornamentation isclosely related to early music ornamentation,and shes such a exible musician that shesounds like shes always played early musicthis way. Rehearsing with the Early MusicAlberta guests was a huge help too. Both thewonder ul countertenor, Brian Asawa, andthe amazing harpsichordist, Gilbert Martinez,were excellent models o authentic style, andthey were gracious, patient, and pro essional.

Its been un to learn the di erent approachto ornaments: the trills are di erent, theappoggiaturas are longer which makes a verydi erent e ect. But the biggest change o style or me was the approach to vibrato. Inmodern playing we typically vibrate on everynote and usually or the entire duration o the note; there is a lot o expressive variationo vibrato in modern playing but we rarelyplay without it. In early music though, weare much more choosey about when touse vibrato, and when we do it is o ten onlytowards the ends o longer notes. This newapproach to vibrato has been great or myclassical playing too - classical music sounds

so much cleaner with a more judicious useo vibrato than is appropriate or romanticmusic.

And the nal product has been so muchun! I love playing Bach on this old

instrument in this old style, and I love theway the instrument blends with soundso other baroque instruments. It was a realhighlight or me to rehearse and per ormwith everyone or the EMA estival - thepure baroque violin sound matches thecountertenor sound!

Going or Baroque on Violin By Jenni er Bustin


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Membership Type:Individual membership ($50)Individual membership (if belonging to a member institution/ensemble) ($25)Student membership ($25)Ensemble membership ($80)Institution membership ($100)Life Membership ($500)

Institutional/Ensemble Membership benefts: 1 vote at the Annual General Meeting Posting o the institution or ensembles contact in ormation on our links page Announcements o institution/ensemble concerts through our email list and

on our website $25 individual membership to Early Music Alberta (a 50% discount) or mem-

bers o the institution or ensemble

First/Last Name:

Institution/Ensemble/School:

Phone:

Email:

Street:

City:

Province: Postal Code:

Website:

Do you play an instrument?No No, but I would like to Yes: amateur Yes, pro essional

Baroque Violin Bass Harp Baroque Viola Viola da Gamba Harpsichord Baroque Cello Violone Lute Violin Guitar Organ Viola Recorder Piano

Cello Flute Voice Other:

Early Music Interests/How did you hear about it?

Please return your application with a cheque or money order to: EARLY MUSIC ALBERTA Society Josephine van Lier, President 617 Henderson Street Edmonton, AB T6R 1S4 Phone: (780) 240-9623 E-mail: [email protected]

MEMBERSHIP FORM

Become a member:Register online at www.earlymusicalberta.ca or ll out the orm below:

The Harpsichord By Josephine an Lier

In October of this year I bought a harpsichord with the help of harpsichordist Gilbert Martinez in San Francisco. Though I cant playharpsichord to save my life (I will stick to baroque cello, violoncello piccviola da gamba, modern cello.), it is important that Alberta has aharpsichord which can be used for performances. Of course we are luckto have numerous wonderful harpsichords and harpsichordists here, butmany owners understandably feel reluctant to let other people use it,especially if the demand is quite frequent. This instrument is here to beplayed, to be enjoyed. It is a large French single, with two 8 stops and aAnd a large, lush sound!

It was used for a performance of the RCCO on one of their Sundays at3 concerts at First Presbyterian Church on November 20: organist andharpsichordist Wendy Markowsky played a fantastic concert on it, theaudience loved it!

Anyone interested in using the harpsichord for a performance, pleasecontact Josephine van Lier at 780-240-9623 or [email protected]

Te harpsichord tra els fom San Francisco to Edmonton

Moving the instrument fom the concert location

Harpsichordist Wendy Markosky

Documents

Early Music ALberta Newsletter 2011 - December