JULY 21, 2020 @ 7:00 PM
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
This concert has been canceled, but we can share one of the ensemble’s final performances before the Covid-19 crisis: our posted concert in a slightly changed order.
‘The Well-Caffeinated Clavier’ —
an all-Bach program featuring Richard Egarr, harpsichord soloist —
FIRST PERFORMANCE OF RICHARD EGARR AS MUSIC DIRECTOR OF ENSEMBLE —
Nola Richardson – soprano, James Reese – tenor, Cody Quattlebaum – bass-baritone
J. S. Bach, (1685-1750), Harpsichord Concerto No. 7 in G minor, BWV 1058 —
[no tempo marking]
Andante
Allegro assai
J. S. Bach, Cantata No. 211, Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht, BWV 211, Coffee Cantata —
Nola Richardson – soprano, James Reese – tenor, Cody Quattlebaum – bass-baritone
INTERMISSION
J. S. Bach, Harpsichord Concerto No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052 —
Allegro
Adagio
Allegro
J. S. Bach, Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068 —
Ouverture
Air
Gavotte
Bourrée
Gigue
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
Under the musical direction of Richard Egarr in his inaugural season as Music Director, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale is recognized as “America’s leading historically informed ensemble” (The New York Times). Using authentic instruments and stylistic conventions from early Baroque to late Romantic periods as well as new commissioned works, the orchestra engages audiences through its signature Bay Area series, national tours, recordings, commissions, and education projects of the highest standard. Founded 40 years ago by Laurette Goldberg and led by Nicholas McGegan for the past 35 years, the ensemble is the largest of its kind in the United States.
PBO’s musicians are leaders in historical performance and serve on the faculties of The Juilliard School, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Harvard, and Stanford. It welcomes eminent guest artists including mezzo-sopranos Susan Graham and Anne Sofie von Otter, countertenors Anthony Roth Costanzo and Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, violoncellist Steven Isserlis, and maestros Jonathan Cohen and Jeannette Sorrell. PBO enjoys strong relationships with preeminent artistic collaborators including Mark Morris Dance Group, The Juilliard School, and the American Modern Opera Company (AMO). In collaboration with Cal Performances in 2017, PBO produced its first fully-staged opera, Rameau’s Le Temple de la Gloire, and since then have produced fully-staged productions of Handel’s Aci, Galatea e Polifemo with stage director Christopher Alden and Leclair’s Scylla et Glaucus with Centre de musique baroque de Versailles.
Among the most recorded orchestras in the world, PBO boasts a discography of nearly 50 recordings, including a coveted archival performance of mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson in Berlioz’s Les Nuits D’été, and a GRAMMY®-nominated recording of Haydn symphonies. The orchestra released the world premiere recording of the original version of Rameau’s Le Temple de la Gloire with the unedited libretto by Voltaire in 2018. In April 2020, PBO will release two groundbreaking recordings: a full collection of commissioned works by Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Shaw, and a selection of arias sung by rising star contralto Avery Amereau.
Under the superb direction of Bruce Lamott, the award-winning Philharmonia Chorale is critically acclaimed for its brilliant sound, robust energy, and sensitive delivery of the text. Formed in 1995, the Chorale provides a vocal complement whose fluency in the stylistic language of the baroque period matched that of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. Founded by John Butt, a baroque keyboardist and one of the world’s leading Bach scholars, the Chorale has been led by Lamott since 1997.
Bruce Lamott has been Director of the Philharmonia Chorale since 1997 and also serves as Philharmonia’s Scholar-in-Residence. He first performed with the Orchestra in 1989 as continuo harpsichordist for Handel’s Giustino. Bruce plays a leading role in the organization’s many educational programs for youth and adults. In addition to his lively pre-concert talks, Bruce writes PBO’s program notes and blogs, and gives lectures and demonstrations to groups throughout the Bay Area and beyond.
SOLOIST BIOS
Richard Egarr brings a joyful sense of adventure and a keen, inquiring mind to all his music-making—whether conducting, directing from the keyboard, giving recitals, playing chamber music, or indeed talking about music at every opportunity. After a successful career as Music Director of the Academy of Ancient Music for 14 years, where he succeeded founding director Christopher Hogwood, he joins Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale as Music Director. Richard also holds responsibilities as Principal Guest Conductor of Residentie Orkest The Hague and Artistic Partner at The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in Minnesota, after having served as Associate Artist with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. As a conductor, Richard straddles the worlds of historically-informed and modern symphonic performance, making him an ideal fit for PBO’s parallel commitments to early and new music. Richard is already well-known to the musicians and patrons of PBO, having guest conducted the orchestra four times since 2012 in both regular season offerings and the PBO SESSIONS series. In addition to his conducting genius, he is a brilliant harpsichordist, and equally skilled on the organ and fortepiano.
Richard is a beloved teacher and has been on faculty of The Juilliard School for eight years in their Historical Performance division, has conducted major symphonic orchestras such as London Symphony Orchestra, Lincoln Center Festival Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, and The Philadelphia Orchestra, and regularly gives solo harpsichord recitals at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, the Smithsonian, and elsewhere.
Born in Lincoln, England, Richard trained as a choirboy at York Minster, was organ scholar at Clare College Cambridge, and later studied with Gustav and Marie Leonhardt in Amsterdam, where he makes his home.
American bass-baritone Cody Quattlebaum is quickly establishing himself as one of the most exciting new vocal talents of his generation; equally in demand for both opera and concert in repertoire ranging from the Baroque to contemporary.
Highlights in the 2019/20 season include his debut for Opéra national du Rhin in the world premiere of Until the lions : Echoes from the Mahabharata by Thierry Pécou, Zuniga Carmen for Dutch National Opera, Beethoven Missa Solemnis with BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Berlioz Roméo et Juliette with the RTVE Symphony Orchestra, and a concert tour of Bach Coffee Cantata with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Choraleand Richard Egarr. In future seasons, Quattlebaum will make his debut at the Teatro Real, Madrid, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Recent highlights include his debut at the BBC Proms in Handel Jeptha with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Don Fernando Fidelio with Marc Minkowski at the Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, and Handel Brockes Passion and Bach St John Passion, both at the Barbican with Richard Egarr and the Academy of Ancient Music, Segeste Arminio and Dettingen Te Deum at the Händel-Festspiele in Göttingen where he also performed under the baton of Laurence Cummings. A member of the Dutch National Opera studio for the 2018/19 season, roles here included Geronimo Il matrimonio segreto and Bruno Zirato in the world premiere of Micha Hamel Caruso a Cuba. Prior to this, Quattlebaum was a member of the Opera Studio at the Opernhaus Zürich, performing roles such as Schriftsteller in the world premiere of Der Traum von Dir, Larkens La Fanciulla del West and Zuniga in Barrie Kosky’s acclaimed production.
Quattlebaum was a finalist at the Glyndebourne Cup in 2018 and at the Metropolitan Opera National Council competition in 2017, and the recipient of a Sara Tucker grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation. He studied at the Julliard School where roles included Claudio Agrippina and prior to this studied voice at the University of Cincinnati – College Conservatory of Music.
James Reese is a frequently sought soloist and collaborative musician. His 2019-20 season sees solo debuts with American Bach Soloists, the Gamut Bach Ensemble, Tempesta di Mare, the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, Piffaro, and the Master Chorale of South Florida. He also makes return appearances with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, TENET Vocal Artists, Lyric Fest, Philadelphia’s Bach @ 7 series, and Bach Vespers @ Holy Trinity Lutheran NYC.
Previously, James has appeared in concerts with Nicholas McGegan and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra; the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra; Bourbon Baroque Orchestra; Masaaki Suzuki and Juilliard415; the American Classical Orchestra; and at the Ad Astra Music Festival. In May 2018, he made his Carnegie Hall solo debut in Bach’s B Minor Mass with the New York Choral Society, directed by David Hayes. Of that performance, the New York Classical Review wrote, “the high, easy tenor of James Reese…floated beautifully on its own over the long, gentle lines of the Benedictus.“ In June 2018, he made his European debut with ensemble Seconda Prat!ca.
An advocate for new music, James is a founding member of Philadelphia vocal sextet Variant 6 (variantsix.com). He has premiered works by Caroline Shaw, Ted Hearne, John Luther Adams, Joanne Metcalf, Judd Greenstein, Joel Puckett, and others. James sings frequently with leading American choruses, including The Crossing, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Seraphic Fire, True Concord, and The Thirteen. He has recorded on the ECM, Innova, and Albany labels; including The Crossing’s release of Gavin Bryars’ The Fifth Century, which won a Grammy award for Best Choral Performance in 2018. He also sang on 2016 Grammy-Nominated Bonhoeffer, released by the Crossing.
James is the 2018 winner of the Margot Fassler Award for the Performance of Music at Yale University, and the 2019 winner of the Career Advancement Grant from the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia. He is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, where he studied with Kurt R. Hansen, Alan Darling, and Donald Nally. He completed his masters degree at Yale University’s Institute of Sacred Music, where he studied with James Taylor as part of the Yale Voxtet.
Soprano Nola Richardson is rapidly making her mark as an “especially impressive” (The New York Times) young soloist and has been praised by the Washington Post for her “astonishing balance and accuracy,” “crystalline diction” and “natural-sounding ease.” Her wide repertoire spans from music of the medieval period to several world premieres, and she performs frequently throughout the United States. Some highlights of her current and past seasons include her major symphony debut as the featured soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Philharmonia Baroque, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Symphony and an appearance with the Boston Pops under Keith Lockhart in Simply Sondheim. She also made her debut with Opera Lafayette, The English Concert, The Baroque Chamber Orchestra f Colorado, Musica Sacra, and as the First Lady in Clarion Music Society’s production of Die Zauberflöte. Her recent performance with the American Classical Orchestra was described as a revelation by ConcertoNet.com: “Her single song from the carols, Or nous dites Marie, became a ray of resplendent light, a voice of virginal purity for those very pure songs.”
Previous seasons included her debuts with Seraphic Fire (St. Matthew Passion), the Bethlehem Bach Choir (BWV 68), American Classical Orchestra (C.P.E. Bach’s Magnificat), the Madison Bach Musicians (Dido and Aeneas), and the National Cathedral (in concert with trumpeter Josh Cohen). Other recent appearances include Handel’s Messiah with the Colorado Bach Ensemble; the St. Matthew Passion with the Messiah Festival of the Arts; works of Charpentier and Couperin with Les Délices of Cleveland,OH; Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Oratorio Chorale of Portland, ME; Bach’s Mass in B Minor with the Master Chorale of South Florida and the Baltimore Choral Arts Society; the St. John Passion with Bach in Baltimore; Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Chorus Pro Musica of Boston, MA; Bach’s Coffee Cantata with Mountainside Baroque and Bach’s Magnificat with the New Dominion Chorale.
Particularly noted for her interpretive skills in the Baroque repertoire, Nola was a 2016 First Prize winner in the Bethlehem Bach Competition and took home the Third Prize and Audience Favorite award in the 2016 Handel Aria Competition in Madison, WI. A dedicated ensemble and chamber singer, Nola has enjoyed joining the rosters of GRAMMY® nominated Seraphic Fire of Miami, GRAMMY® nominated Clarion Music Society in NYC, and the GRAMMY® nominated Choir of Trinity Wall Street in Manhattan. She also appears regularly with Yale Choral Artists, and Musica Sacra.
PROGRAM NOTES – BACH
Harpsichord Concerto in G Minor, BWV 1058
Bach had a lifelong affair with the concerto, dating back to his days as court organist for the ducal court in Weimar from 1708 to 1714, where he encountered the concertos by famous Italian composers, most notably Antonio Vivaldi, found in the music library of young Duke Ernst August. Bach not only learned by copying them, he transcribed them so that he could play them on the harpsichord and the organ. Vivaldi’s concertos in particular changed Bach’s approach to musical form, and playing these transcriptions likely planted in him the novel idea of liberating the utilitarian continuo harpsichord from its accompanimental role of improvising harmonies over the bass part to instead become a soloist on a par with Vivaldi’s virtuoso violinists.
Bach also realized the versatility of the concerto form, transcribing and transposing his own violin concertos for the harpsichord, as was the case of this concerto, originally written for violin in A minor and transposed to G minor for the harpsichord. The first is the most “violinistic” of its three movements, with leaping melodic figures that suggest string crossings. Just as the solo violin joins in unison with the first violins at times, the right hand of the harpsichordist disappears into the string ensemble only to resurface in solo episodes.
In the slow movement, the gently pulsing and heaving repeated bass pattern (ostinato) undergirds the plaintive solo with an almost Sisyphean affect of striving and resignation. Above the descending half-steps (chromaticism) in the bass, the solo ventures into almost “bluesy” harmonies.
The rollicking gigue of the third movement begins and ends with a complete ritornello, and in place of the idiomatic violin writing for open and rapidly repeating stopped strings (bariolage), the harpsichord downshifts into a flurry of sixteenth notes scales and oscillating figures, twice the speed of the prevailing eighths in the orchestra.
Bruce Lamott
GLOSSARY : BACH
BWV Not to be confused with “the ultimate German driving machine,” it’s a composition’s listing in the Bach Werke Verzeichnis, the catalog of Bach’s complete works. The works are grouped by genre, not the chronological order in which they were written, as in the Köchel catalog of Mozart’s works. The church cantatas begin with BWV 1, secular cantatas with BWV 200, concertos of all types with BWV 1041, and the orchestral suites with BWV 1066.
cantata An unstaged vocal work (as opposed to the instrumental “sonata”) in several movements with accompaniments ranging from orchestra to continuo alone. Though Bach’s more than two hundred extant sacred and secular “cantatas” are the best-known examples of the genre, the label was applied indiscriminately by nineteenth century editors of his works. Bach titled vocal music for the church simply Musik, Stück (piece), or even “concerto.” However, the word “cantata” appears on the autograph manuscript of Cantata BWV 211, the “Coffee Cantata.”
concerto A piece for orchestra that features a solo instrument in a prominent role, usually written in three movements (fast-slow-fast). Bach also transcribed orchestral concertos for organ or harpsichord alone, using two keyboards (manuals) to differentiate the solo and tutti parts.
continuo The foundation of the Baroque orchestra, consisting of bowed bass instruments (cello, violone) plus chordal instruments (harpsichord, organ, therobo or guitar) who improvise the harmonies corresponding to numerical symbols (figures) above the bass line, called the “figured bass.” The term itself indicates that this group plays, well, continually throughout the composition unless specifically indicated. Passages without continuo are rare and quite evident for their change in the orchestral sound.
obbligato A solo instrument (flute, violin, oboe, etc.) written to be played as a co-equal to a vocal soloist. The choice of that instrument often reflects the content of the text, e.g. a trumpet obbligato for a military text or recorder for text pertaining to birds. In harpsichord concertos, the designation “obbligato” indicates that the “obligatory” right hand part must be played as written and not improvised over the bass line, as it would when playing a continuo part.
ritornello Literally “the little thing that returns,” it is the musical frame that begins and ends a concerto movement played by the entire ensemble (also known as tutti). Portions of the ritornello usually reappear throughout the movement, either as accompaniment or as interludes that signal changes of key.
transcription The process of adapting a composition written for one instrument or group of instruments so that it can be played on another. In transcribing a concerto of Vivaldi, Bach takes works written for soloist(s) and orchestra and merges the parts together until they are playable on the harpsichord by two hands or on the organ, with two hands and feet.
transposition Moving a piece of music from one key to another, usually to accommodate range or a change of instrument. In the case of the first work on this program, the transposition is the change of key from the original A minor to G minor and the transcription is from the original instrumentation of solo violin and string orchestra to that of harpsichord and orchestra.
– Bruce Lamott