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OUR PROGRAMS
In this space you can consult the concert programs that Il Gesto Armonico offers
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PAPA HAYDN
“Papa Haydn”, as he is known for his important contributions to the consolidation of the symphony and the string quartet, spent much of his life in Austria, later developing the rest of his career as a court musician for the Esterházy family, one of the richest and largest of the Hungarian aristocracy. At that time, he was already the most famous composer in all of Europe.
The repertoire offered in this programme reflects some of the best-known and most characteristic pieces of Haydn's chamber repertoire; which, in turn, serve as a mirror to a new era, in which the advent of the bourgeois middle classes gave way to a new public that longed to find new entertainments. These new social classes generalised the teaching of music, which resulted in an ever-growing number of amateurs who met in musical salons (created following the model of literary salons) or in the intimacy of the salons of bourgeois families. This evolution should have a noticeable and real effect on style and musical forms, especially in
the interest revealed for chamber music.
Thus, through this programme we are transported to what could have been an ordinary evening in one of the private salons of Classicism.
REUNIONS IN WURTEMBERG
The programme we present revolves around the figure of two performers and composers from a family of musicians who were intensely active in the late Baroque period, and who were one of the few Catalan musical productions of the Rococo: the Pla brothers, who after having served as musicians at the Spanish court of Philip V, began their European adventure until they reached the court of Duke Charles I Alexander of Wüttemburg in Stuttgart, where they were named Cammermusicus and members of the famous orchestra directed by the composer Niccolò Jommelli, and where they met the composer Ignaz Holzbauer, who was chapel master of Stuttgart Cathedral since 1750.
The fame that the two concert-playing brothers enjoyed throughout Europe, occurring at a time when public concerts were acquiring social and commercial importance, together with the growth of domestic music, resulted in a considerable diffusion of their compositions.
YES, WE BACH
The Bachs are possibly the most musically important family in the history of music, which began to chart its own path to glory during the Baroque period. It was Johann Sebastian Bach himself who began to draw up a genealogy of the family in 1735, which was later completed by his son Carl Philipp Emmanuel, known as the Ursprung der musikalisch-Bachischen Familie.
Music never stopped in the Bach household. Although the best-known Bach is undoubtedly Johann Sebastian, the first musical members of the saga date back to the 16th century, as shown in the aforementioned family tree, with a miller called Veit Bach “whose zither sounded loud amidst the noise of the mill wheels” and who was the father of Johannes (Hans) Bach, the first professional musician in the family. Years later, practically all the members of the family were Lutheran musicians who carried out jobs related to the Church: some, as organists; others, as singers or conductors at heart and also as composers of music for services (cantatas, choral preludes, etc.). Other descendants of Johann Sebastian Bach joined the orchestras or chapels of the courts of the nobility, in municipal ensembles or dedicated themselves to teaching.
The Bachs were always considered so numerous and eminent that the Erfurt musicians were still known as the Bachs, even when there were no longer any members of the family in the city.
Fragment of the Ursprung der musikalisch-Bachisschen Familie, a family tree where up to fifty-three members of the largest and most famous family of musicians in history can be recognized.
The journey that we propose in this program through the music of the Bach clan begins with its Baroque patriarch, Johann Sebastian (1680-1750).
THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN: THE CLASSICAL FLUTE IN CONCERT
The transverse flute was, throughout the 18th century, a highly appreciated instrument among the European nobility. During the Classical period, improvements in the construction of the instrument were aimed at extending the range of the instrument towards the high pitch and making it easier to obtain certain alterations by adding keys. Between 1726 and 1847, a large number of improvements and new mechanisms appeared, since the flute needed to play increasingly chromatic scores and with ever greater volume, due to the increase in the number of members in the orchestra.
In the program we present we have included some of the most representative quartets for this instrument, by two great composers who represent the exponents of Classicism: Mozart and Haydn.
TAFELMUSIK I WITH SIGISWALD KUIJKEN
The expression “Tafelmusik”, or table music, refers to the varied repertoire of music expressly composed to accompany banquets, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries, whether as background music, during appetizers, at the beginning or after dinner.
A tradition that dates back to Ancient Egypt, through the Middle Ages, when the custom of accompanying banquets and meetings (solemn meals, wedding banquets, official court banquets, municipal magistracy celebrations, etc.) with music was common and almost obligatory. During the 17th and 18th centuries, especially in Germany and France, the style seduced composers to the point of being characterized as a true musical genre, in the form of a dance suite. Already at the beginning of the 18th century, the Tafelmusik genre was replaced by the Divertimento.4
Georg Philipp Telemann's musical table is not only the composer's best-known collection of music, but has also become the emblem of a long and rich tradition of Tafelmusik. The complete work, which consists of 3 volumes, consists of over four hours of instrumental music, the collection's cornucopia of styles and orchestration is irresistibly similar to a table filled with all kinds of culinary delights.
Laura Sintes, David Gutierrez, traverse
Daniel Ramirez, oboe
Sigiswald Kuijken, Eva Febrer, Ester Pons, Margalida Gual, violins
Marleen Thiers, viola
Dimitri Kindynis, cello
Sigiswald Kuijken, cello da spalla
Mireia Ruiz, key
MUSICAL DIRECTION: Sigiswal Kuijken
THE SOUNDS OF THE BLACK LEGEND. THE CONJURATION OF VENICE
Venice. Early morning of May 19, 1618. The canals are filled with corpses and the streets with hanging bodies. A bonfire burns two puppets that wish to impersonate the Duke of Osuna, Spanish viceroy of Naples, and the poet Francisco de Quevedo, his secretary. It is the result of the enigmatic and confusing diplomatic intrigue between the Spanish Monarchy of Philip III and the Most Serene Republic of Venice: the Conspiracy of Venice.
The rivalry between Venice and Spain increased in parallel with the ambition of Pedro Téllez-Girón, Duke of Osuna, especially when his secretary and close friend, Francisco de Quevedo, obtained his appointment as viceroy of Sicily, and later, of Naples, through bribery. Osuna, following his policy of consolidating Spanish authority in Italy, devised a plot that intended to create such a situation of chaos and instability in the Most Serene Republic that it would justify the action of the private fleet that the Duke of Osuna kept lurking at the gates of Venice. Thus, a whole network of spies, whores and people of authority that had already been organized by the ambassador of Philip III, the Marquis of Bedmar, reinforced by French and Dutch corsairs hired for the occasion, was given the mission of besieging the nerve centers of the city, blowing up the powerful arsenal and making the Doge disappear by any means necessary to impose a government favorable to Spain. A strategy that seemed brilliant until an anonymous letter betrayed Osuna's plot, confirming its existence to local authorities.
The Venice Conspiracy had failed...or perhaps it had succeeded, if we accept the version that it was all a clever setup by the Venetians to get rid of power-hungry viceroys from far away lands who intended to take control of their sovereignty, and with non-existent plans. In the end, Osuna, Bedmar and Quevedo, who always maintained their denial of responsibility, ended up being dismissed from their posts by the Duke of Lerma.
The programme we present is inspired by the musical fog of this Venetian spring of 1618, as a soundtrack to the controversial Conspiracy of Venice, including composers from the two peninsulas who experienced that moment in their own way and under different circumstances.
LUIGI BOCCHERINI. FROM LUXURY IN BOADILLA TO MISERY IN LAVAPIÉS
Luigi Boccherini (Lucca 1743-Madrid 1805) was an Italian cellist and composer who belonged to a family of artists: his father Leopoldo was a double bass player; his brother Giovanni Gastone, librettist of several operas (among which are some by Antonio Salieri and Haydn); and his sister, a dancer.
After a period of training that took him to Rome and Vienna and several European tours with the string quartet that he himself had created, something exceptional at the time, he ended up in Paris where he published some of his chamber music works that were premiered at the well-known Concert Spirituel.
The Spanish ambassador in Paris, Joaquín Anastasio Pignatelli, was so impressed by Boccherini's music that he convinced him to visit Madrid, promising him a stable job under the protection and patronage of Niño Luís Antonio de Borbón y Farnesio, younger brother of King Carlos III. Love precipitated the composer's decision: he had fallen in love with Clementina Pelliccia, a singer who performed in a Bolognese opera company that was heading to Spain.
Boccherini settled in Madrid in 1768, where he lived for the rest of his life. But his arrival in Madrid was not as spectacular as expected, as Boccherini soon aroused jealousy among the many Italian musicians already settled in the city. Two more years would pass before his luck changed, when in 1770 Niño Lluís finally hired Boccherini as a cellist and composer. At that time, his first string quintet was published and marked the starting shot for a very prolific compositional career, becoming known throughout Europe.
A few years later, a new setback would overwhelm and change Boccherini's life: in 1785 his wife Clementina died, and a few months later his patron, the Infante Don Luis. At that time, King Charles III assigned him a pension and managed to put him at the service of Frederick William II of Prussia, an amateur cellist, as a chamber composer. However, this arrangement would only last a year, since in 1786 he entered the service of María Josefa Pimentel, Duchess of Osuna and Countess of Benavente, directing the private orchestra that she maintained, which allowed him to come into contact with great artistic personalities of the time, such as the painter Goya.
A few years later, Boccherini's life took another turn for the worse when he lost his position alongside the Duchess and the protection that King William had granted him before his death. Dejected and bankrupt, the composer tried to survive by selling some works to Joseph Pleyel, a publisher in Paris, who made a good profit from Boccherini's desperate situation. However, thanks to Pleyel's abuses, the composer came into contact with the French ambassador in Madrid, Lucien Bonaparte, who obtained a paid position for him in 1800.
The series of quintets opus 60 and 62 are proof of his gratitude to the ambassador, and are dedicated here. But the headaches were not yet over for poor Boccherini. A series of family misfortunes, such as the death of his children and his second wife, Maria del Pilar Joaquina Porretti, brought him down into a state of depression combined with his situation of extreme poverty which led to his death from tuberculosis in a cold room in Madrid in 1805.
Musically speaking, Boccherini is best known for his chamber music, which has been classified as part of the gallant style. He is a nostalgic composer, also influenced by the gardens of Aranjuez or La Granja, by French-style luxury and by enlightened rationalism.
His contribution to the history of music is very important, as he was the mentor of the double-cello string quintet, theoretically Boccherini himself was the first to be added to the traditional string quartet formation. This form would later be used by Mozart at the same time.
Boccherini's language was characterized by a refined string technique, especially on the cello, and control of texture, which came to function as molds into which melody and harmony were inserted, giving the impression of drawings that changed every certain number of bars.
Laura Sintes, traverser
Ignacio Ramal and Fèlix Ferrer, violins
Eva Febrer, viola
Dimitri Kindynis, cello
A THOUSAND WAYS
“A Thousand Ways” is a selection of the best opera songs and arias written for the countertenor voice by probably the most important composer in the history of English music: Henry Purcell (1659-1695).
Considered the greatest English musician of all time, there is no music history book today that does not dedicate a chapter to his work and genius. Henry Purcell, born in the county of St. Ann's Lane on 10 September 1659, was the eldest of three brothers, of whom Daniel (the youngest) was also a prolific composer. After his father's death in 1664, he was placed in the custody of his uncle Thomas, who, a Gentleman of the King's Chapel, arranged for his admission as a member of the Westminster Heart.
There he studied with Henry Cooke, Pelham Humfrey and finally with John Blow, who was organist at Westminster Abbey from 1669 until he resigned in favour of Purcell, who was only 22 years old. In 1689 he wrote his opera Dido and Aeneas, a key work in the beginnings of dramatic music, with a marked influence from the French Baroque. Works such as Dioclesian (1690), The Fairy Queen (1692) and The Tempest (165) followed, in which he adapted the eponymous work by William Shakespeare. His catalogue is also completed by countless Hymns, Cantatas and Odes, such as Hail Bright Cecilia (1692) and those dedicated to the monarchs he served throughout his life: Charles II, James II and Queen Mary II.
“A Thousand Ways” is a musical journey through all of this work, along with the emotion and magic intrinsic to English music and, very especially, to that of Purcell, which invites us to rediscover little-known gems from his catalogue, to listen to other more well-known and established ones; and to explore all the areas in which the composer moved, from pieces dedicated to the monarchs for whom he worked, to religious music, passing through the music included in his most famous dramatic pieces.
We invite you to join us on this journey into the world of Henry Purcell.
More information about Victor Jimenez Diaz:
http://victorjimenezdiaz.com/
RENAISSANCE DANCE
The programme we are presenting revolves around one of the arts closely linked to music during the Renaissance: dance. It consists of two distinct parts. Firstly, an introductory talk, which clarifies the sources of information available to researchers to carry out the process of reconstructing historical dances, accompanied by choreographic examples with live musicians.
The 17th century witnessed the emergence of great dance masters and choreographers throughout Europe, especially in Italy. This is the period in which various dance treatises and compilations of choreographies date, allowing artists to
scholars have been able to approach and reconstruct the movements that accompanied dance music. Thanks to the work of great masters such as Domenico da Piacenza, with whom choreography became a professional craft; Guglielmo Ebreo da Pesaro, his disciple and successor; and the prolific Fabritio Caroso (1526-1620) or Cesare Negri (ca. 1535-ca.1605), who worked for the ruling families of the various city-states, the world of historical dance and its notation received a great boost. The Renaissance is the era of the emergence of a choreographic vocabulary, of research and innovation in notation systems, and of the proliferation of differentiated dance styles, especially between Italy and France.
Dances in France in the same period had a different character, according to the written testimonies that have survived. While in Italy there were more dances for couples, with a high technical level, by known authors and a certain academicism and schooling could be seen, in France the dances that appear in descriptions and treatises had at that time a more participatory and choral character, with an accessible technical level and by unknown authors, which denotes a more popular character.
Among the French treatises, the Orchésographie, written by Thoinot Arbeau in 1589, is particularly noteworthy. This author, an anagram of Jean Tabourot, was a cleric from Langres who published a compendium in which he gave a detailed description of many dances of the time, including the corresponding scores. This author and this treatise are the central themes of the second part of the programme, in which, guided by a dance mistress, a Renaissance dance is proposed during which anyone who wishes to can experience what an evening of dance in the purest Renaissance style would be like.
THE GOLDEN RULE. EDITIONS WITH LACE GLOVES
In musical life, the role of composers and the performers are obvious, highlighted and known. Even so, there is everything a guild of professionals who have gone unnoticed in history of music: music publishers.
There have been many companies and printers that have left us the
large number of publications and scores available in the present day. Such well-known and important names throughout history
with Christophe Ballard in Paris, John Walsh in London or Etienne
Roger in Amsterdam have contributed significantly to the dissemination of the printed music of his time through his business
family members who have been passed down from generation to generation, functioning like great dynasties.
But even with a simple glance hasty to music publishers during this period reveals an interesting phenomenon: when a editor, it was not surprising that his widow to continue the business. It was a implausible situation in the world
professional for the moment. It was a time when widows could to see doomed to ruin after the death of their husbands.
Faced with this situation, they had two exits: sell the shares remaining in another publisher in order to receive funds to live on, or continue with the business.
This one program is dedicated to all those widows who decided to continue with the family legacy,
Becoming leaders of successful and influential companies in the musical world.
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