From Paris to Rome with the Sebastians in ‘The 24 Violins Cross the Alps’ – Seen and Heard Worldwide

United States Varied – ‘The 24 Violins Cross the Alps’: Sebastians. Brick Presbyterian Church, New York, 11.5.2024. (RP)

Lully – Choices from Atys, Le bourgeois gentilhomme, Les plaisirs de l’île enchantée
Corelli – Concerto grosso No.7 in D main, Op.6; Trio Sonata No.6 in E main, Op.4
Marais – Choices from Trios pour le coucher du roi
Muffat – from Armonico tributo: Sonata No.3 in A main, Sonata No.4 in E minor, Passacaglia Grave from Sonata No.5 in E minor

The Sebastians closed out their 2023/24 season with ‘The 24 Violins Cross the Alps’. The title was a little bit of a misnomer as a result of the orchestra consisted of not solely a full cohort of string devices but additionally a harpsichord, two theorbos and percussion. Nonetheless, it was true in spirit to the fabled ‘Les Vingt-quatre Violons du Roi’, an elite group of 24 musicians established by Louis XIII in 1626. The edge necessities have been {that a} participant needed to be Roman Catholic and have a sterling status. For these lucky few, there have been perks, together with tax exempt standing and the fitting to hold a rapier. Funds points ultimately necessitated that the orchestra be disbanded and merged with the musicians of the Chapelle Royale in the course of the reign of Louis XV in 1761.

Jean-Baptiste Lully’s immediately recognizable music with its distinctive rhythms was the spine of the live performance. It was complemented with works by Marin Marais and Georg Muffat, each of whom studied with him. Arcangelo Corelli’s music was heard too, though the hyperlink was extra tangential. He did cross by way of Paris when he was 19, however apparently didn’t discover favor with Lully.

Lully climbed excessive on the courtroom of Louis XIV, which was all of the extra exceptional for a foreigner. He was born Giovanni Battista Lulli in Italy and didn’t develop into a French citizen till 1661. Recognized right this moment as a composer, performer and grasp of the French Baroque, Lully was additionally a wonderful dancer. His efficiency because the mufti within the ‘Marche Pour la Cérémonie des Turcs’ from Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, for which he composed the music to a play by Molière, was a private favourite of Louis XIV.

Marais, who is thought for his mastery of the bass viol, was additionally a courtroom musician at Versailles, a place he held from 1679 till 1725. As a composer, he’s finest recognized for his works for the bass viol, however he additionally contributed to Trios pour le coucher du rois, though many of the items within the assortment have been by Lully.

Muffat’s reference to Lully is comparatively simple. He was undoubtedly in Paris from 1663 till 1669, and he probably studied with the French grasp. Muffat’s assortment of six concerti grossi entitled Armonico tributo have been impressed by these of Corelli, which he heard within the composer’s dwelling in Rome. Stylistically, nonetheless, the works owe a debt to Lully.

Corelli, one of many nice masters of the Italian Baroque, was particularly essential within the improvement of the sonata and concerto kinds, and for establishing the primacy of the violin. The inclusion of his music in this system prompted the reference to crossing the Alps within the title.

The live performance was carried out in 4 elements with solely transient pauses between works. For much longer breaks have been dedicated to tuning, a follow that Lully discouraged in his day. The music was lovely, sleek and expertly carried out and, because of the Sebastians’s consideration to element, stylistic variations between the music of Lully and Marais and that of Corelli and Muffat have been readily discernible.

Lully’s music was drawn from the opera Atys, and from his ballets. As pronounced because the aforementioned rhythms, made even bolder by Rex Benincasa’s beating of the drum, shaking of the tambourine and tingling of the triangle, there have been stylistic and structural components that have been equally distinctive.

Violinist Daniel Lee led the strings within the well-known premier coup d’archet, the unified preliminary assault for which ‘Les Vingt-quatre Violons du Roi’ was well-known. The custom existed earlier than Lully got here on the scene, though he’s credited with demanding uniform bowing. Every entrance was clear and delivered by the strings with a flourish of their bows. The power with which they performed was visceral.

Equally discernible in Lully’s music was the distinctive sound of music written in 5 equal elements, a mode that prevailed in French instrumental music of the day. Geoffrey Grossman, the Sebastians’s inventive director and harpsichordist, famous in this system that it’s all however unattainable to duplicate the sounds of the number of viols performed on the time. Even so, the Sebastians offered some sense of the sound and musical textures produced by that early group.

Muffat additionally employed five-part writing in his sonatas, though his textures have been thicker, and there was a distinction in articulation from the strings. The transparency and power have been there, however the assaults have been much less pronounced. The well-executed counterpoint within the Muffat sonatas was one other aural signpost within the stream of music.

Most distinctive, nonetheless, was Corelli’s Trio Sonata in E main. Not solely did it include the flavors of the Italian Baroque, but it surely employed simply three solo devices and continuo. It was a showcase for Nicholas DiEugenio and Daniel Lee to show their virtuosity.

This was a joyous live performance in all regards. The music was pleasant, and the enjoying was very good. With such a high-quality ensemble, it’s maybe unfair to single out a single participant, however violinist Daniel Lee is the spirit of the Sebastians, and his pleasure and enthusiasm are infectious. And, after all, the journey of the Sebastians started along with his want to play chamber music with buddies at an excessive degree. Simply how excessive, he won’t have imagined over 20 years in the past.

Rick Perdian