Early Music America Fall 2012 - (Page 44)

Back to the Future with the Berkeley ECAUSE THE FUTURE YOUNG PERFORMERS FESTIVAL B Top, Laura Gaynon, cello, and Adam Cockerham, theorbo, of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Baroque Ensemble performing Sonata concertate decima à 3 by Dario Castello. Above, Case Western Reserve University Historical Performance Program students Sian Ricketts and Elena Mullins, sopranos, performing “Chiacona di Paradiso e d’Inferno” (Anon.). of early music rests in the Everyone agreed there will always be an audience hands of today’s young performers and the for live music and for early music in particular. As institutions that shape them, Early Music one musician explained, “More and more people America presented the second Young Performers are becoming open to early music. To build new Festival as part of the Berkeley audiences, you have to expose Festival. Early music ensembles people to early music, and Everyone agreed from six universities and conpeople are being exposed servatories—San Francisco there will always be through TV shows and films Conservatory of Music, Univercenturies, coman audience for live set in earlier the ‘diamond sity of California at Berkeley, mercials like music and for early University of North Texas, Stanmusic’ ad [faux Baroque music ford University, Case Western composed by contemporary music in particular. Reserve University, and the Unicomposer Karl Jenkins], even versity of Southern California— CDs like Sting’s Dowland presented a series of concerts that included a pro- album.” [And, more recently, Joel Frederiksen’s gram of works edited by the students themselves, album of songs by British folk-rocker Nick Drake a concert of “sumptuous” 17th-century music, juxtaposed with works by Elizabethans.—DK]. and music by composers whose lives were cut Some of these young performers have already short during the mid-17th century (“Only the had opportunities to build audiences by introducGood Die Young”). ing early music to children in schools. Said one, The San Francisco Conservatory of “Programs for kids are increasing. For example, a group of young students from Oakland came to Music Baroque Ensemble, co-directed by hear one of our performances. Once they became Corey Jamason and Elisabeth Reed, treated audiinterested, they started asking questions: What ences to a concert of music for viols and voice inspires you to play early music? What’s different that spanned the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. about early music? How do you plan a concert?” A wide variety of composers was represented in Other musicians suggested promoting early music “Exploration of Baroque Music Across Europe,” by trying new ways to perform it—perhaps a presented by the UC Berkeley Baroque chamber version of an opera or by creating Chamber Ensemble, an ensemble founded intriguing concert titles that will entice people to and directed by harpsichordist Davitt Moroney. buy tickets. Richard Sparks directed the University of Why did they choose early music? One musiNorth Texas Collegium Singers (one of four ensembles, including Case Western, Stanford, and cian responded by saying, “Early music is easier to relate to than classical music because of the simUSC, that were awarded EMA travel grants) in a beautiful performance of Victoria’s Requiem, and pler structures. It’s the most enjoyable type of music and the easiest to love.” A second echoed the Stanford University Baroque Vocal those sentiments: “Early music is closer to the Ensemble, conducted by Marie-Louise Catsalis, emotions…it appeals to what we are as presented “Alessandro Scarlatti and His Circle in humans.” Another student, who started as a Rome and Naples,” works newly edited by the drummer, decided to pursue early music as a students themselves from primary sources. The Case Western Reserve University Baroque career after being introduced to the lute and discovering the variety of nuances and styles Ensemble and Collegium Musicum, involved in playing it. For these young performers, coached by Julie Andrijeski and Debra Nagy, specializing in early music gives them more offered an enticing concert of sensuous love songs, erotic sacred texts, and twisted lullabies of options. There’s a wider variety of music to perform because early music encompasses about the 17th century. And the USC Thornton 1,000 years of music while classical music is typiBaroque Sinfonia, led by Adam Gilbert, performed works by composers affected by the Thirty cally locked into a period of roughly 150 years. And the pedagogy has changed. Forty years ago Years War, as well as interludes where musicians students were taught to play solely what’s writimprovised on grounds in the 17th-century style. ten. “Now there’s so much freedom of interpretaI had an opportunity to talk with several of tion. You may be given just a bass line and it’s up these talented performers toward the end of the to you to choose your own chords, to create a Festival. When asked “With so many new artists line from a scrap of melody.” The challenge is to emerging from universities and conservatories, come up with “something new” in a historically will there be any audiences to hear them in the informed way. Doing research provides other future?” these musicians didn’t miss a beat. 44 Fall 2012 Early Music America PHOTOS: CHARLES COLDWELL

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Early Music America Fall 2012

Editor’s Note
EMA Competition
Sound Bytes
Musings: Listening Forward
Profile: A Classical Playlist on Your Cable Television
Recording Reviews
Reconstructing Spanish Songs from the Time of Cervantes
Janet See: Traversist on Two Continents
Musical Mosaic Explores “Perspectives of Interspersing Peoples”
Book Reviews
Ad Index
In Conclusion: Conducting Early Music

Early Music America Fall 2012