After the Show

With the first round of The Vivaldi Project complete, I think we can all declare it a success. At two very enthusiastically received concerts the Quodlibet ensemble presented the first three Night Scenes from the Ospedale alongside 5 Concerti from L’Estro. I was unprepared for just how cool it felt to move from my introspective, atmospheric interludes to the brilliant, extroverted Vivaldi pieces. Maybe it was because I knew what was coming, but those few seconds of silence between an interlude and a Vivaldi was thick with tension and wonderful expectation. It really made the arrival of the Vivaldi feel like something special and unexpected (not exactly the first words that come to mind when thinking about Vivaldi). To give you a small taste of this electric juxtaposition I’m going to post recordings from the concert followed by the first 30 seconds or so of the Vivaldi concerto that follows.

To start here is the Barcarolle and the first 30 seconds or so of the A minor concerto:

 

And here is the Lamento and the first 30 seconds of the G major concerto:

 

Finally, the Notturno followed by the opening of the B minor concerto:

Lamento

And here is a demo for the next interlude. This interlude features cello. The music is spare, plaintive and atmospheric. Perhaps it is one of the girls alone, pleading or in prayer. You’ll hear the cello pizzicato throughout. In the backgruond a slow, sliding violin melody passes over a flickering and fragile drone. A voice of strange noises emerges in dialogue with the cello as the music intensifies.

Lamento by rhonstein

Notturno

The next interlude features Harpsichord and Double Bass. It is late at night, certainly after midnight, and a teacher plays quietly somewhere in the Ospedale. We continue to hear the nocturnal noises from the Barcarolle. A choir floats in and out of the music, perhaps it is the sound of the harpsichordist humming along as he plays. Check out the demo:

Notturno by rhonstein

If you haven’t done so already check out this post to learn how I made some of the noise sounds. You also might wonder who brought a choir to the party. There’s no choir in a String Orchestra, right? In this piece there is. For Notturno I’ve asked members of the ripieno and continuo who aren’t playing to double as singers. They softly hum in the background as the Harpsichord and Bass spin out their late night tunes.

Barcarolle

Here is a demo for the first interlude ‘Barcarolle’. For this interlude I wanted to evoke being on the canal late at night.  A Barcarolle is a boat song, but my piece isn’t a song so much as music suggesting the possibility of a song. You’ll here some of the noises described in the last post throughout the demo.

Barcarolle by rhonstein

Strange Noises

I am no string player, but I can still make strange sounds on a violin. Below are a series of videos demonstrating some of the sounds I use in the first interlude ‘Barcarolle’.

Bowing the Tailpiece

Bowing on the Bridge

Circular Bowing behind the Bridge

Horizontal Bowing

Pressure Triangle

Noise Brush

The other agenda

If my expressive agenda was to conjure the Ospedale at night, my second, technical agenda was to treat the baroque instruments in a thoroughly modern way. In the spirit of Vivaldi’s experimental inclination, I too wanted to experiment with the instruments, creating unusual and unexpected sounds.

I also wanted to undermine the relationship between the soloist and the ripieno (everybody else). In Vivaldi’s pieces there is a constant back and forth between soloist and ensemble. Sections of tutti playing are quickly contrasted by sections of flashy solo playing. Even the solo sections feature a kind of contest amongst soloists. For example, In the works for 2 and 4 violin soloist Vivaldi will often pass phrases between the soloists or pairs of soloist as if each player were trying to out-do the other in a flurry of pyrotechnics and technical wizardry.

My pieces would have none of that. Instead I wanted to do two things: force the soloists to play second fiddle, as it were, and give the continuo a chance to be soloists. With this in mind one interlude features the Viola, another the cello, another the harpsichord, and another the double bass. Throughout the violins are called upon to create strange noises via a range of extended techniques, including bowing the tailpiece and the bridge, tapping the instrument, bowing horizontal to the fingerboard, and other noise-making techniques.

In my next post I’ll show you some of these strange noises.

The Ospedale

For the concert Daniel and I decided to create a program that seamlessly interwove my music and the Vivaldi.  We decided on presenting five concerti grossi from L’Estro and separating each Vivaldi with a newly composed interlude. I knew from the beginning that I did not in anyway want to copy Vivaldi. In fact I thought the more contrast the better. The interlude format seemed well suited to this contrast, sharpening the juxtaposition between my work and the Vivaldi. For me the challenge became how to connect the interludes. It wasn’t enough to have to have four random pieces sandwhiched between a bunch of Vivaldi. My solution was to create a counter narrative. A story that tied the interludes together and offered a context for both my pieces and the Vivaldi. Enter the Ospedale.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Vivaldi’s career was his relationship to the Ospedale of Venice. The Ospedale were orphanages that provided, among other things, musical training to its residents. Comprised exclusively of young women, the orphanages began as a way to deal with the city’s neglected children. From the beginning music education was an important part of the Ospedale’s curriculum. In time that training became so well regarded that even nobility would pay to have their children educated in the Ospedale system. By the time Vivaldi began working at the Ospedale della Pieta, performances by the girls were a celebrated event. Travelers from all over Europe came specifically to see the girls perform. Their reputation was for supreme musicianship and glorious sound.

Though it seems like a humble position, directing music for the Ospedale was in fact a prestigious and highly visible post. It also required a lot of new music. In his position Vivaldi churned out music for various concerts, ceremonies and special events. The concerti were a part of that output and were  likely intended to show off some of his star soloists (including himself).

When I think that L’Estro and hundreds of other pieces were composed in such a strange setting I can’t help but imagine what was it like? What did it feel like, smell like, sound like to live in the Ospedale? Venice is a city of canals and commerce so there must have been activity everywhere; on the streets, in the canal, likely inside the Ospedale itself. The girls, though rarely allowed to leave the building, surely must have seen and heard the world around them.

These thoughts led me to a story for my pieces. What if I imagined the Ospedale after dark. After the girls were asleep and the music teachers, nuns and clergy finally had the place to themselves. What sort of things would happen and what kind of sounds would they hear. Perhaps because the concerti from L’Estro are so bright and buoyant, I though my pieces needed to be nocturnal and introspective. Music for a dark and damp city.

 

 

L’Estro Armonico

So why Vivaldi? Well, it so happens that 2011 marks the 300th anniversary of L’Estro Armonico. What’s that you say? L’Estro Armonico is the publication that made Vivaldi famous. Published in Amsterdam, it consists of 12 concerto grossi, ensemble pieces featuring combinations of 1, 2 and 4 violin solists. Prior to L’Estro Vivaldi had been writing concerto grossi more or less in the style of Corelli. L’Estro marks a significant departure from that influence. Over the course of the collection Vivaldi maps out a new style, full of formal and technical innovation. The concerti caught on like wildfire and Vivaldi went from a Venetian star to a European star. Among his admirers, the young J.S. Bach (you might have heard of him…) copied out and arranged a number of the concerti from L’Estro. They were a hit.

Daniel decided that 300, being a nice round number, deserved celebration. These pieces are also well suited to our project as they represent a significant innovation for the time. Vivaldi was known for experimentation in his music. He was an inventive and progressive composer, so it seems an apt pairing to put his music back-to-back with brand new, 21st century music.

Listen to Daniel and the Sebastian Chamber Players play the B Minor Concerto Grosso from L’Estro Armonico

01 Vivaldi op.3 10 by rhonstein

Early Music meets New Music

When Daniel and I first hatched our plan for the Vivaldi project we were initially drawn to the juxtaposition of early and new music. They are strange but compelling bedfellows. While early music performance draws from historical records to inform their practice, they are nonetheless undertaking a very contemporary invention of technique and sound. The resurrection and re-imagining of old genres and performance practice creates a new and fresh sound to our modern ears, regardless of how steeped in history that sound might be. To my composer ears the gut strings and baroque bow create a unique, contemporary sound, something that stands out in the wake of modern instruments and modern practice. From Daniel’s perspective he is eager to make period performance practice come alive for more than just 17th and 18th century music. By encouraging composers to tackle these baroque instruments we are staking a claim for that sound in the contemporary musical discourse.

Of course, we also thought it would be a lot of fun too.

Welcome!

Welcome to the Vivaldi Project, a collaboration between me (Robert Honstein) and the Sebastian Chamber Players. Leading up to December’s concerts I’m going to blog about the project, my compositional process, and whatever else seems worth discussing. Daniel and I have been dreaming up this project for quite a while and we’re both thrilled it’s finally taking off. Check back often to see what’s happening. There will be video, audio, and plenty of writing.

More soon!

Robert

This blog is supported by Meet the Composer’s MetLife Creative Connections program. Thank you Meet the Composer and MetLife. We are deeply grateful for your contribution.