Salish Sea Early Music Festival readies for Jan. 2022 in-person season return

In the interregnum, they share an indispensable performance

||| FROM JEFFREY COHAN for SALISH SEA EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL ||

2021 Salish Sea Early Music Festival
~ Musical Fairy Tales ~

+  +  +  OBBLIGATO: Joseph Bodin de Boismortier  +  +  +

Sonata II in G Minor from Opus 91 by Joseph Bodin de Boismortier

OBBLIGATO
To an instrumentalist familiar with the droves of charming music for wind instruments generated by Joseph Bodin de Boismortier in less than two decades, something striking and new is clearly afoot in his Sonatas for obbligato harpsichord with flute, Opus 91, introduced and dedicated with an eloquent poem to Michel Blavet, the illustrious French flutist of the period. New to Boismortier and unfamiliar to most of his contemporaries, this unusual obbligato format, with both hands fully written out for the harpsichord alongside a violin or a flute, was first explored in Germany by J.S. Bach in the 1720’s, and by Telemann shortly thereafter. Many German composers followed including Förster, Lefloth and later CPE Bach and others associated with the court of Frederick the Great in Berlin including Graun, Schaffrath and Kirnberger. In France Mondonville was the first to explore this “trio” format for two instruments, four years earlier than Boismortier’s Opus 91, but it is Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Pieces de clavecin en concerts in 1741 to which Boismortier so clearly pays tribute with this more modern stylistic direction. Michel Corrette was to follow shortly thereafter in 1742. In France though only Boismortier presented works specifically for flute (not violin or other instruments) with obbligato harpsichord.

1-2-3
Bernward Lohr is such a sensitive and flexible declaimer of two-thirds of the musical material in this recording and is always an enlightening duo partner. Our Gracieusement in particular (an exquisite aria) aspires to conform to what might have been trade secrets of professional 18th-century French musicians from the court of Louis XIV and beyond, who shared a very special and illusive understanding of the motions and meanings of the simplest of dance forms. For example, all triple meter is really duple, divided generally either two-and-one or one-and-two. A lilting triple “One … Two” (with “One …” encompassing 2 printed beats) no longer generates three equal segments as on the printed page! …And then there are regular phrasing modifications and the influence of harmony on pulse.

Bernward is professor at music conservatories in Hannover and Nuremberg, and is one of north Germany’s most prominent period instrument musicians as director of Hannover’s Musica Alta Ripa.

BURNEY’S RAMEAU
Boismortier was surely familiar with, not to mention influenced by, Rameau’s opera Castor et Pollux, from which Susie Napper, Hans-Juergen Schnoor and I arranged selected arias in our “A Journey with Dr. Burney”, the final SSEMF pre-pandemic program in March of 2020 (remember those days?). In the context of this Boismortier we would much appreciate your giving these another listen beginning at 9:51 in: soundcloud.com/simphonie-nouvelle/A-Journey-with-Dr-Burney

… And if you have just shy of an hour to join us again for the complete European tour with Dr. Burney we would be delighted! Susie impersonates the venerable Doctor so beautifully.

• UPCOMING!
  We have many projects in the works for online presentation:
• BASSANO
  Non gemme non fin’oro (“Not gems, not fine gold”) by Ciprian de Rore (1516-1565), with musical commentary by Giovanni Bassano with his teacher Girolamo Dalla Casa contributing as well, for four and five renaissance transverse flutes.
• SERENADES: early 19th Century Flute and Guitar
  A premiere in modern times of a sonata for Russian 7-string guitar and flute by Ignaz von Held (1766-1814) published in about 1798 and previously unavaiable. Also a Serenade by Leonard de Call.
• BLAKE’S BEAUTIES: early 19th-century America
  Selections from Blake’s Select Beauties, published in Philadelphia in 1820 and performed in a flute made in that year. Mozart’s Mio Caro Adone (after Salieri), O Nanny wilt thou gang with me, Coolin’ (The Fair-haired girl) and other favorites from the early 19th-century American flute community. Also Stephen Foster’s Anadolia for solo flute from his “The Social Orchestra”.
• THE PHILIDORS
  Alongside other selections by members of the Philidor family, Suites by Pierre Danican Philidor from 1717, both for two flutes and with other instruments, representing the intricate, deeply moving style of flute playing modeled after the 17th-century vocal airs de cour of the court of Louis XIV.
• A Pandemic bonus: SLOVENIAN LANDSCAPES and WILLIAM O. SMITH
  Works written for us by composers from Slovenia and the Pacific Northwest. Also a celebration of the life of our friend William O Smith (both performed on instruments of the modern period!)

…and much more, up to the beginning of our next in-person season in January of 2022!

The Salish Sea Early Music Festival is proud to be an affiliate organization of Early Music America, which develops, strengthens, and celebrates early music and historically informed performance in North America.