Chinoiserie, From Beijing & Versailles: Baroque Music from the Forbidden City
PROGRAM
Joseph-Marie Amiot
Premier divertissement chinois, 'Gua yu gou' (The hook of the divinatory jade)
Teodorico Pedrini
Sonata VIII for Violin and Basso Continuo
Joseph-Marie Amiot
Troisiéme divertissement chinois, 'Dao chun lai’ (The coming of spring’)
François Couperin
Les Barricades Mystérieuses
Marie Antoinette
Portrait charmant for Violin and Harp
Louis-Gabriel Guillemain
Caprice XI in E Minor
Joseph-Marie Amiot
Premier divertissement chinois, 'Qian Fengyun’ (Head wind. The branch of the cinnamon tree)
Teodorico Pedrini
Sonata I for Violin and Basso Continuo
Joseph-Marie Amiot
Deuxiéme divertissement chinois, 'Hua yinyue jing yinyue pu’ (Scores of pure music for the beauty of the moon)
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Air pour les Pagodas
Troisième Piece de clavecin en concert
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
From an extraordinary cultural exchange between China and Europe during the 18th century, came a remarkable and exotic repertoire of music. A handful of missionaries and itinerant musicians who found their way to China, not only learned to perform Chinese songs on viols and harpsichords, but also performed western music for the emperor and his court in Beijing. Images of pagodas, delicate bridges over rushing rivers and fierce red dragons quickly captured the imagination of European painters, furniture makers, architects and composers. The taste for these designs created a remarkable demand for exotic lacquered cabinets, ceramics of Delft and Minton, garden structures and harpsichord cases; all of which presided in Europe’s most sublime residences. While living in Beijing, Amiot, collected traditional Chinese melodies and transcribed them into notation that could be read by European musicians. Pedrini wrote Corellian-style sonatas at the Imperial Court – and the only known manuscript of his music still remains in China. With Couperin and Rameau, the influence of exoticism and the highly florid and ornamented style of chinoiserie became fully realized in their music.
PERFORMERS
Featuring Krista Bennion Feeney '81, violin
Mark Kramer, viola da gamba
Bethanne Walker '15, traverso
Cheryl Ann Fulton, baroque harp
Corey Jamason, harpischord
ABOUT SFCM ALUMNI ARTIST INSIGHTS SERIES:
Alumni Artist Insights is a series of performances and artist talks that showcase performing alumni and their stories. The interactive format shares the artist’s journey with audiences and brings a unique perspective to the music. A special question and answer session with the artists will follow the performance.
ABOUT ARS ANTIQUA:
Ars Antiqua is a period-instrument ensemble comprised of America’s finest baroque music specialists. They are artists in residence at the historic Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Chappaqua, New York where their dynamic performances have received critical acclaim. The group explores seventeenth and eighteenth-century music with a core ensemble that expands with guest artists in performances of larger scale Baroque repertoire. Ars Antiqua concerts are known for their unique integration of exciting musical performances with musicological research. Their innovative programs are designed to illuminate a particular style or genre of seventeenth and eighteenth-century music and are presented within the context of Baroque art and social history. Among the guest speakers who have appeared on the ensemble’s programs is the much celebrated art historian/author Simon Schama. Artistic Director, Mark Kramer, and Mr. Schama have collaborated on a broad range of Ars Antiqua programs including; “A Parisian Picture Gallery: 18th Century French Musical Portraits,” “Speculum vitae: Music, Art & Dutch Society in the 17th Century,” “Versailles: Music, Satire & Revolution” and “Music from the Bach Ancestor Archive: Artistic Families.” Ars Antiqua has also collaborated with New York’s Choir of St. Ignatius Loyola on numerous projects, and have been presented in their Sacred Music in a Sacred Space series in New York City, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and Summer Stars at Ocean Grove. Ars Antiqua has also appeared in collaboration with the Violins of Lafayette in a performance of Biber sacred works at the Austrian Embassy in Washington, D.C. Mr. Kramer is currently working on Ars Antiqua recording projects based on his research of rare musical manuscripts and their integral relationship to the visual arts, history, and literature. A CD recently recorded Six Parisian Quartets: L’art de modulation by François André Philidor with violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch was released in September 2017.