VoM Celebrates Xmas with Generous Episode

Violinists Augusta McKay Lodge and Isabelle Seula Lee, soloists for the Vivaldi concerto with David Tayler providing continuo on archlute

Yesterday afternoon Voices of Music (VoM) decided to celebrate the season with the Happy Holidays release of Episode 46 from Season 5. This was a particularly generous offering, since it consisted of two separate programs. The first of these was a complete account of the Vespro di Natale (Christmas vespers) collected in the 1630 publication by Alessandro Grandi. The second was a more secular review of selections from eleven past concerts. Each selection accounted for a different composer as follows:

1. Isabella Leonarda: Sonata Duodecima in D Minor
2. Johann Christian Bach: Symphony Opus 6 Number 6 in G minor (W C12)
3. Arcangelo Corelli: the “Ciaccona” movement from the trio sonata in G major, Opus 2, Number 12
4. Andrea Falconieri: his setting of “Folia”
5. Antonio Vivaldi: the eighth concerto in the Opus 3 collection, L’estro armonico (the harmonic inspiration), composed in A minor with solo parts for two violins
6. Maurizio Cazzati: Ciaconna
7. Giovanni Battista Buonamente: the second composition in the sixth book in the collection entitled Sonate et canzoni a due, tre, quattro, cinque, et a sei voci, a sonata for three violins in D minor
8. Anthony Holborne: “Almaine: The Night Watch” from Pavans, Galliards, Almains and other short Aeirs, both grave and light, in five parts, for Viols, Violins, or other Musicall Winde Instruments
9. Johann Sebastian Bach: “Badinerie,” the final movement of the BWV 1067 (second) orchestral suite
10. Michael Praetorius: instrumental dances from the Terpsichore publication
11. Giuseppe Torelli: Trumpet Concerto in D major (G.9)

It goes without saying that this is a generous list. However, because each of the individual selections was relatively brief, the program as a whole proceeded at an engaging clip. Because each of the pieces was captured on video from a different concert, there was a generous amount of diversity among the contributing performers. However, there was a consistency, particularly in the presence of Hanneke van Proosdij. While most of her work took place behind a harpsichord, she also presented her solid command of the recorder.

The good news is that the YouTube Web page allows the attentive listener to either enjoy the overall “flow” of the selections or take “deep dives” into individual offerings. It has been a while since I heard the old cliché “The Internet changes everything.” Nevertheless, this is a case in which a single Web site serves up a generous wealth of different ways to approach the early music repertoire.