Trio Is Augmented by Four Guest Artists in Interesting Evening of Musical Delights
By George B. Parous
In a program devoted mostly to the works of Élisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre, last evening, at the Calvary Episcopal Church (and this afternoon at 2:30 at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary), Chatham Baroque did what they do best on a consistently high plane of excellence: they, along with four guest artists, made 17th and 18th centuries’ music sing again. And be played again – all of the actual singing was done by the guest soprano, Sherezade Panthaki. She sings in a vibrantly lively and engaging manner, has a clear, pure voice of ample power and beauty, and has a stage presence of much warmth, conveyed to the audience by an almost constantly pleasant smile. The Los Angeles Times has noted her “full, luxuriously toned upper range,” and the Calgary Herald, her “astonishing coloratura with radiant top notes.” She enjoys an ongoing international career, and the reasons were on full display last night.
The other guest artists were Kathie Stewart (flute); Kathryn Montoya (oboe) and Charlotte Mattax Moersch (harpsichord). Ms. Stewart was recently appointed Curator of Historical Keyboards and Visiting Academic Specialist in Historical Performance at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. To mention just a few of the accomplishments made possible by her talents, she is a founder and principal flutist of the Grammy Award winning Apollo’s Fire: the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra. She is also a faculty member at the Cleveland Institute of music and an avid proponent of Celtic music. Ms. Montoya appears with a wide variety of chamber music ensembles and teaches historical oboes at Oberlin Conservatory. Her varied musical career has included performing for the Grammy Award-winning recording of Charpentier’s La Couronne de Fleurs, and her touring and recording career is too lengthy to detail here. Ms. Moersch has taken first and third prizes in harpsichord competitions in Paris and Bruges. She has played in venues of such renown as Carnegie Hall, the Royal Albert Hall and the Salzburg Mozarteum. She, too, has enjoyed an international career too wide and varied to detail in this piece.
The music the four guests performed with the three members of Chatham Baroque – Andrew Fouts (violin), Patricia Halverson (viola da gamba, violone) and Scott Pauley (theorbo, baroque guitar) – was, as expected, excellently played, and created a warmth between the audience and the performers. The selections rang out exquisitely into the wide expanses of the church, and it’s a sure bet that they’ll do the same at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary this afternoon at 2:30. As mentioned, the focal point of the program is the music penned by Élisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre (1664-1729), a brilliant composer whose works were praised by the public, fellow composers – even King Louis XIV of France; a tremendous accomplishment for a musically gifted woman, such as Jacquet de la Guerre, who lived during her era of history.
Clockwise Left : Charlotte Mattax Moersch, Kathie Stewart, Kathryn Montoya. Center: Sherezade Panthaki. Clockwise Right: Patricia Halverson, Andrew Fouts, Scott Pauley
First on the program was a suite Jacquet de la Guerre arranged from her opera, Céphale et Procris, (or tragédie en musique in five acts with an allegorical prologue), first performed by the Paris Opéra at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal on March 17, 1694. The suite was an excellent choice in that we heard a generous helping of a 1694 opera we’re unlikely to hear any other way. We suspect, from what was heard last evening, that Jacquet de la Guerre selected the best parts of the opera for her suite, because the opera flopped after an initial run of a handful of performances at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal, then vanished until a revival of interest in the work came about in the late 20th century. But we heard the Ouverture, Rondeau, Passepieds I & II; all played beautifully by the instrumentalists (save one brief rough spot by one of the wind instruments, in an apparent display of the fact that these instruments sometimes have minds of their own and make sure everyone knows it). An aria, “Lieux écartez, paisible solitude” (Desolate places, peaceful loneliness), was sung as a lesson in bel canto by Ms. Panthaki. One beautifully sustained phrase melted into the next, over and over; her phrasing and diction were flawless.
Ending the first half of the program, it was a male composer who slipped by; François Couperin (1668-1733). His contribution to the bill was the instrumental Troisiéme Ordre: L’Impérial from Les Nations (1726). The piece included six instrumental selections that were vivid, melancholy, vibrantly tuneful, some shorter than others, all played excellently by the ensemble and guests.
With the second half, the ensemble returned to Jacquet de la Guerre and remained with her music till the evening’s concert concluded. First up was her Prelude in D, Suite I, Pièces de clavecin (Paris, 1687), which gave the spotlight to Charlotte Mattax Moersch and the harpsichord. It also gave her instrument the best chance of being heard, at least from my position, for the harpsichord seemed to struggle, in some of the music, with the acoustic properties of the vast stone church. She was heard to best advantage, of course, in this selection.
Closing the program was the abridged cantata named as the title of the concert – The Isle of Delos, from Cantates françoises, Book III (Paris, 1715). This, much like the opening number, allowed us to hear the entire ensemble, instrumental and vocal alike, and possibly to their best advantage. The final number included instrumental simphonies and several récitatif/air combinations, played by the ensemble in excellent style, and sung by Ms. Panthaki in the manner described earlier. As Patricia Halverson observes in her thoroughly researched and enjoyably informative program notes: “… Considering the poem’s comforting images referencing a haven of restfulness, joyful trees, the banishing of unhappiness, the presiding of wisdom, and an enchanting shore where the water flows amongst the flowers, is there a better antidote to Pittsburgh in February?”
If you’re reading this before 2:30 this afternoon, you have time to grab tickets at the Chatham Baroque website. Tickets are always available at the venue (today’s is the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary). The program is an excellent one, as is Chatham Baroque’s wont, and is highly recommended.
Chatham Baroque – Andrew Fouts, Patricia Halverson and Scott Pauley
If you are reading this on the oSP website or Facebook page and find what you have read to be helpful and informative, please like and share this post. Thanks!
Categories: Reviews
Leave a Reply