Alex Waterhouse-Hayward

El Concierto Barroco at St. Anselm's Anglican Church

Sunday, April 14, 2024

St.Anselm's Anglican Church 13 April 2024

Sitting on the first row of St. Anselm’s Anglican Church yesterday my memories for baroque music would not stop.

UBC in conjunction with Early Music Vancouver has an organization The Baroque Orchestra Mentorship (BOMP) that works with young musicians at UBC and the city. One of their instructors was present, was violinist Chloe Meyers.

I had heard at least two of the young performers but I was pleasantly surprised of the professional calibre of the rest of them.

Bach - Buxtehude & Infinity

My experience with baroque music began in Mexico city in the late 60 when I discovered the German records of Archiv. I remember going sometime around 1969 where at a baroque church I first heard Frescobaldi.

In 1990 I heard Marc Destrubé and an orchestra play Antonio Vivaldi’s Gloria RV 589 (my fave Vivaldi). From that point I have been a fan of baroque music and Early Music Vancouver. Composers like Tarquinio Merula, Biagio Marini & Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi Mealli are in my record collection as are the records of countertenor Matthew White and Reginald Mobley.

Unfortunately with our moribund journalism one has to be in the email lists of Vancouver music organizations . There must be a way of convincing and inspiring a younger audience to what in reality is brand new music. A neighbour of mine brought his daughter who readily knew who Bieber was but had no knowledge of Biber.

It is for that reason, that when possible, I write (I am not a serious or professional music critic) about my concert attendances and when given permission to take photographs with my quiet camera. This I did yesterday. Of late I have enjoyed taking slow shutter photographs.

My preview of the concert yesterday

My first observance was that Chloe Myers was sweet in her introduction of the musicians under her mentorship. She also explained in ways that most of us would understand as to what we were going to listen to.

The concert was superb, and my favourite, was the Biber especially with the commanding presence of violinist Grant Sigurdson.

But I will diverge here and state that we live in a Anglo centric northern American hemisphere where we ignore the fabulous baroque music of Mexico composed by Spanish and Mexican composers. At least 25 years ago I was present at a Holy Rosary Cathedral of a Mexican Baroque Mass. We should bring that music back.

In our Anglo centric world we do not read the rich Latin American literature. One important one was Cuban-born Alejo Carpentier. He is the one who invented the term magical realism (lo real maravilloso). What makes his novels exciting is that he was also a renowned music critic. He served as cultural attaché to the Cuban Embassy in France.

His short story (a bloody one) El Acoso (The Chase) happens during a 49 minute performance of Beethoven’s Eroica.

But to connect him to yesterday’s concert that did feature some Vivaldi I want to mention his novella El Concierto Barroco (same title in English and it is available at the main branch of the VPL).

In this novella a rich Mexican decides to go on a tour of Europe in the beginning of the 18^th century. He and his servant (both arrive at the Venice carnival) dress up. He as Montezuma and his servant who is black says he does not need a costume. They go to a Venetian café and notice three men at a corner. One, with red hair, is Vivaldi, the other is Handel and the third is Domenico Scarlatti. It seems that Vivaldi is drunk and asks the Mexican what he is dressed of. It is because of his drunkenness that Carpentier jokingly explains why Vivaldi placed elephants in his rarely played opera Motezuma. In this lively novella you will find out that Stravinksy did not die in Venice but is buried there and that Wagner did die there but is buried elsewhere.

Performers

Brittany St.Clair - soprano

Mikyla Jensen - baroque flute

Catie Akune - baroque violin

Grant Sigurdson - baroque violin

ShinJung Nam - baroque cello

Connor Page - harpsichord

Chloe Meyers - baroque violin, director

BOMP (Baroque Orchestra Mentorship Program)

Program

1. Telemann Concerto for Flute and Strings, TWV51:D1

Andante, Vivace(Fugue)