Baroque (not) - with addendum

Baroque (not) - with addendum

With BCOC performing Haydn this upcoming weekend, this is a good time to reflect on the range of periods appropriate for a Baroque orchestra.

As we have argued earlier, "Baroque" in the term "Baroque orchestra" is a code word meaning (a) the use of period instruments the composer would have recognized and called for, and (b) the study of historical treatises and immersion in stylistic conventions of the period - allowing the claim that performances are historically informed.

Period performances of music from the Classical period and even beyond are trendy in Europe, and many American period ensembles are venturing in this direction also. And there is a practical reason too - if an orchestra carries a lot of players of 18th C. winds, doing a couple of programs a year with a lot of Classical content gives these folks more to do.

BCOC, on the other hand, is totally string-centric. This affords the flexibility to delve into the 17th C. without having to tell any wind players to take the weekend off. A string orchestra core can be augmented with other instruments from the 17th, 18th, or even 19th C. as appropriate.

But ... BCOC attempts to capture the 'spirit of the Baroque," with its emphasis on improvisation and the energy of the dance. So what does it mean for BCOC to perform Haydn, as they will this coming weekend, in the form of a Haydn organ concerto? As a Baroque addict, my reaction to a lot of Classical music is twofold:

* There are a lot of bombastic dynamics used for effect/affect, particularly in the later Classical. This is largely absent from Baroque music.
* The relation of melody and harmony is different. In the Baroque we still have the interplay of melodic lines that is, perhaps, a holdover from the Renaissance (though even in the early Baroque, Renaissance polyphonics was referred to as the stile antico). And the harmonic movement seems more complex. In the Classical there is a sense (maybe an illusion?) of simplicity, both melodically and harmonically.

So what will I find in the Haydn? I'm sure there will be a lot of interesting musical material, but will it engage me the way Baroque music does, even performed with the characteristic energy and panache of BCOC? We shall see ...

-----------------

A glorious closing weekend to BCOC's third season has come and (sadly) gone, and with its departure comes an opportunity to reflect upon the program. The Bach Concerto for Two Harpsichords in C minor will be forever etched in my memory, for the passion and artistry of its rendering as much as for the sheer audacity required to attempt a live performance of it. But happily the Haydn was not found wanting in any way ... it was not the odd guest that makes you wish the party would have ended hours ago. Granted, this was an early Haydn work, and for me it had more in common with the writing of the sons of Bach (at least, those not named Karl Phillip Emmanuel). For Haydn at this time, the Baroque era was still visible in the rear view mirror, and the cliches and mannerisms that must have so delighted the middle Classicists had not yet developed.

2009 will mark the 200th anniversary of Haydn's death, and BCOC will be celebrating. But I expect the party pieces will be as well-chosen as last weekend's. I can't wait to see how Frank and Cynthia meet this challenge!