KVT – Gone for Baroque

KVT over the moon because of Stradivaria

What an outstanding treat!

L’Espace brought us Stradivaria as part of their Asian tour

Founded by violinist Daniel Cuiller, Stradivaria is principally a string ensemble that changes its conformation according to works being performed. All of its players are carefully chosen by Cuiller according to their particular skills and performance on baroque period instruments. Stradivaria performs to acclaim and full houses all over the world and on Tuesday night in the L’Espace auditorium we got two violins, a viola, a cello and a positive organ delightfully, beautifully, conversing together in music by Papini, Corelli and Pergolesi…spanning 150 years from 1598.

As it was the Easter season we were particularly lucky and heard Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s ‘Stabat Mater’, a 12-part sacred work meaning the Sorrow of Mary, for strings and two voices. Composed in 1736, the work became extremely popular but the composer died from tuberculosis aged 26 so couldn’t reap the rewards of fame and fortune.

The work was composed for two male voices (soprano and alto), probably for castratti voices, but nowadays is usually sung by soprano and mezzo soprano. However with the recent rise to popularity of the modern male counter tenor, sometimes the alto part is sung by such a voice and we were so so lucky to hear one……. I saw my very favorite version of Handel’s “Messiah” just before Christmas last year, performed a la 1741 with a small scale orchestra, intimate choir, soprano, counter tenor, tenor and bass. Just about perfection!

And just so was the Stradivaria with their version of Stabat Mater. Gloriously played on five instruments and gloriously sung by soprano Anne Magouet and counter tenor, Jean-Michel Fumas. (I explained to a friend who was hearing a counter tenor for the first time and who had difficulty adjusting to that beautiful sound coming from an adult male body that a lot of male band singers would die to be able to sustain the same notes…and those that can for brief periods we applaud it as a part of the guy’s extraordinary vocal range….I hope I’m correct about all this!)

Andreas Scholl has been one counter tenor who has become a modern sensation and in this clip he joins soprano Barbara Bonney in a part of Pergolesi’s work.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2zc0wTORSI[/youtube]

All of this fascination with counter tenors can tend to take the shared emphasis away from the other members of Stradivaria who all deserve equal amounts of praiseworthy text, and Daniel Cuiller lots more. Hopefully this clip of him will help compensate

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb0F5oYsIPo[/youtube]

Real standing ovation stuff.

Thanks L’Espace you truly wonderful people!