Christ Church Cathedral
Artists: Ensemble Castor; Hélène Brunet, soprano; Rodolfo Richter, violin; Kristina Chalmovska, cello
A fun alternative to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, this concert pairs concertos for Ensemble Castor’s six musicians with arias and motets by the Venetian ‘Red Priest.’ We welcome the wonderful soprano Hélène Brunet who will unleash her dramatic abilities and virtuosic roulades through arias filled with nature characterizations such as birdsongs, tempests, hunts and pastoral life. Vivaldi uses themes from his Four Seasons in several of his vocal arias and ‘Gelido in ogni vena’ echoes the theme of the first movement of his famed Winter concerto.
“These players never fail to find something to say … lovely, imaginative performances on some sweet-sounding instruments!” – Gramophone, August 2017
This concert is generously supported by Simon Murphy.
PROGRAMME
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Concerto for strings in G Major, RV 151, “Alla rustica”
Presto
Adagio
Allegro
Gelido in ogni vena, from Farnace, RV 711
Violin Concerto in F Minor Op. 8 No. 4, RV 297, “L’inverno”
Allegro non molto
Largo
Allegro
Sum in medio tempestatum, RV 632
Allegro non molto: Sum in medio tempestatum
Recitativo: Quid ergo faciam, infelix anima
Largo: Semper maesta, sconsolata
Allegro: Alleluia
Interval
Trio Sonata in D Minor, RV 63, “La Follia”
Agitata infido flatu, from Juditha Triumphans, RV 644
Violin Concerto in E flat major Op.8 No. 5, RV 253, “La tempesta di mare”
Presto
Largo
Presto
Canta in prato, ride in monte, RV 623
Allegro: Canta in prato, ride in monte
Recitativo: Saeva fulgescit nobis
Allegro: Avenae rusticate
Allegro: Alleluia
PROGRAMME NOTES
Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto for strings in G Major, RV 151, “Alla rustica” is a ripieno concerto. Written for orchestra without soloists, such works are important antecedents of the symphony. Unlike the famous Le quattro stagioni (“The Four Seasons”), this concerto has no descriptive text to go with it—the phrase “Alla rustica” itself is deceptive, because the music is not at all rustic or provincial but rather a brilliant example of the late baroque style. The concerto was written some time between the mid-1720s and 1730, during which time Vivaldi was also working on his Il cimento dell’armonia e dell’inventione (“The Contest Between Harmony and Invention”), Op.8, including The Four Seasons. Vivaldi both perfected and popularized the concerto form, establishing its standard three-movement, fast-slow-fast structure.
The aria Gelido in ogni vena is from Vivaldi’s opera Farnace, which had its premiere on February 10th, 1727, at the Teatro Sant’Angelo in Venice. The story tells of dynastic quarrels and calculated alliances in ancient Rome. In this aria, King Farnace mourns the supposed death of his son, whose execution he ordered to keep him from falling into the hands of Roman invaders. The sight of his son’s ghost, Farnace sings, freezes the blood in his veins. Vivaldi composed this unique and frightening aria using themes very similar to those of the first movement of “L’Inverno,” The Four Seasons’s winter concerto.
The motet Sum in medio tempestatum belongs to the category “per ogni stagioni” (“for all seasons”), meaning that it can be inserted into almost any Mass or Vespers service. The latest of Vivaldi’s surviving motets, it is preserved in the Dresden collection of sacred music built up by the Bohemian composer Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745); the text for the motet was also set by the famous Neapolitan composer Leonardo Leo (1690-c. 1730). In an opening aria the singer likens the human condition to that of a ship amid stormy seas. The following recitative voices a resolution to renounce the temptations of the world and follow Jesus. This leads to a second, slower aria expressing the singer’s sense of contentment and security in her new-found faith, before a vivacious Allelluia provides a final burst of exuberance. This motet shows Vivaldi at his most galant.
Vivaldi’s Op.1 is an early work, a youthful homage to the style of Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713). The younger composer nevertheless demonstrates a powerful musical language of his own, one which reappears fully fledged in his famous L’estro armónico (“The Harmonic Inspiration”), Op.3. The most famous piece of Op.1, “La Follia,” is a trio sonata organized as a series of variations. Its thematic material closely resembles that used by Corelli in his own “La Folia” sonata (Op. 5 No. 12). In paying homage to this very famous work by Corelli, Vivaldi brings a new nervous energy to the ancient Iberian theme through an obsessive journey which has little time for lyrical episodes. His virtuosic set of final variations is reminiscent of Corelli’s version but more pounding, impatient and extreme.
Juditha Triumphans is Vivaldi’s only surviving oratorio. He wrote it in 1716 for the musically gifted girls of the Ospedale della Pietà, the Venetian orphanage with which he was associated throughout most of his working life. In 1716, Vivaldi became the Ospedale’s “Maestro di Concerti,” a position that carried the responsibility of writing works to be performed by the girls. In the same year, after a long war against the Turks, Venice obtained a crucial victory in Corfu. The “sacred, military oratorio” Juditha Triumphans was written right after this battle—its biblical subject matter is clearly intended to celebrate the Venetian defeat of the Turks. In the aria Agitata infido flatu, Judith describes her inner turmoil, seeming not to know what to do as she finds herself beloved by her enemy, the Assyrian general Holofernes.
Vivaldi’s twelve concertos of Op. 8 were first published in Amsterdam in 1725; Vivaldi gave them the title Il cimento dell’armonica e dell’inventione and dedicated them to Count Wenzel von Morzin. All twelve concertos in this set are excellent works (although The Four Seasons has come to overshadow the others). Like the first movements of the other concertos, the opening of “La tempesta di mare” is strong and vibrant, featuring driving descending scales; dazzling in its virtuosity, it is a fine specimen of Vivaldi’s art. “La tempesta di mare” (“The Storm at Sea”) and its companion concertos were not—again, unlike The Four Seasons—accompanied by descriptive texts. Instead, the evocative titles of Op. 8 imply a certain emotional state or event; some of the labels appear to have been given as an afterthought to describe already existing music.
Canta in prato, ride in monte is one of Vivaldi’s Roman motets. The singer for whom Vivaldi wrote this piece may well have been one of the principal singers in his operas. This joyful motet is suited to any festival of a saint (who is invoked simply as “Pater Beate” in the recitative). The reference in the first aria to the nightingale, invoked in classical fashion as “Philomela,” calls forth some bird-like warbles, familiar from Vivaldi concertos such as “Il Gardellino.” The second aria stays close to this style with its trilling evocation of rustic flutes.
- Notes by Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt
Ensemble Castor
Ensemble Castor was founded in 2010 by internationally successful Austrian musicians, and is devoted to string chamber music of the period between 1600 and 1750. Their main focus is on the Italian Seicento and Settecento as well as on the pre-classical music in Austria and Germany.
The ensemble’s musical director is the Austrian violinist Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, who studied with Enrico Onofri and Andrew Manze in Italy and London.
Ensemble Castor collaborates with labels as SONY and Note 1 and their recordings have received fantastic international reviews.
Castor works closely together with Enrico Onofri, Rodolfo Richter, Dorothee Oberlinger, Silvia Frigato, Mireille Lebel, Christina Gansch and other famous singers and instrumentalists.
Castor performs at many international festivals such as ‘Internationale Barocktage Melk’, ‘Carinthischer Sommer’, ‘Festival St.Gallen’, Internationale Festwochen Innsbruck, ‘Fränkischer Sommer’, ‘Händel Haus Halle’ , Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Frankfurt, Mosel Musikfestival, Brucknerhaus and Konzerthaus Vienna, Vancouver Early Music, Boston Early Music, Ottawa and New York.
A great ambition of Ensemble Castor is to work with fortepiano on classical music.
In 2015 Castor won the culture prize of the city of Linz. Many excellent concert reviews give evidence of the high quality of their work: ‘The young ensemble offered fulminant interpretations’, ‘Castor awakes early music to completely new life’.
`These players never fail to find something to say…lovely , imaginative performances on some sweet sounding instruments.´, Grammophone magazine
The name Castor refers to the twin stars Castor and Pollux in the zodiac of Gemini.
Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, dir., violin
Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt was born in Linz, Austria. She studied modern violin at the university ‘Mozarteum’ in Salzburg, but discovered very soon her love and passion for the baroque violin and early music. After graduating in Salzburg she moved to London for studies with Andrew Manze and Ingrid Seifert at the ‘Royal College of Music’. There she passed her postgraduate diploma with distinction.
Whilst living in London she won several prizes at early music competitions and was a finalist in the BBC Music Awards. In 2012 she did her Master’s with distinction in Austria with Michi Gaigg and studied for several years with Enrico Onofri at the conservatory in Palermo, Italy.
Beside her passionate work directing and managing Ensemble Castor she is also in great demand leading various orchestras and groups (Innsbrucker Festwochen, Collegium Marianum etc.).
She has participated in many major festivals throughout Europe and South America.
In 2013 her first book ‘Musical – rhetorical figures in Bach’s sonatas for violin and cembalo obligato BWV 1014-1019’ was edited.
Hélène Brunet, soprano
Canadian soprano Hélène Brunet is hailed by the critics as “a singer of tremendous quality” with “a voice of perfect beauty” and “sincere expression”. Recognized for her interpretations of the works of Bach, Handel, and Mozart, her repertoire extends from Baroque to the music of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Hélène is the recipient of a prestigious Juno award (2022) for her first solo album Solfeggio (ATMA Classique) with renowned ensemble L‘Harmonie des saisons. She is the first artist to ever win for a solo album in the category Large Ensembles at the Junos. The critics describe Solfeggio as “a first-rate vocal achievement” (La Presse) and a “red carpet that displays Hélène’s superb and enveloping tone” (Le Devoir). Accolades continue with Solfeggio being selected as one of CBC Music’s Top 20 Classical albums of the year, received with a glowing review: “Hélène Brunet’s gleaming soprano cuts through the gloom of 2020 like a ray of hope on this nicely curated survey of baroque and classical arias”. Hélène is also featured on Las Ciudades de Oro, a second Juno award winning album for ensemble L’Harmonie des saisons (2016). She sings on the Bach album Pour Luther with Montréal Baroque (ATMA Classique 2018), and on the album Cantica Obsoleta with New-York ensemble ACRONYM (2020).
In the concert repertoire, Hélène is invited to perform across North America with ensembles and orchestras, notably at the Lincoln Center in New York City with the American Classical Orchestra, with American Bach Soloists in San Francisco, and the Orchestre Métropolitain under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who says, “Hélène Brunet is the embodiment of class, refinement, and purity.” She also sings with the symphony orchestras of Calgary, Eugene, Florida, Halifax, St. John’s, the Seattle Baroque Orchestra, the Pacific Baroque Festival, Tafelmusik, ensemble Caprice, Arion Baroque Orchestra, I Musici de Montréal and L’Harmonie des saisons.
In opera, Hélène was recently featured in the world premiere of the opera Sleeping Rough by Roddy Ellias and Sandra Nicholls, at the Music and Beyond festival in Ottawa, Canada.
Hélène was a prize winner at the Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition at Carnegie Hall. She is the recipient of generous grants from Musicaction and the Canada Council for the Arts. She studies with voice teacher Neil Semer in New York.
Rodolfo Richter, violin
A never-ending curiosity, combined with a deep passion for music led British/Brazilian violinist Rodolfo Richter to pursue a diverse career as director, soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, concertmaster, teacher and composer.
Richter is a frequent guest director and soloist around the world, including regular engagements with Tafelmusik (Toronto), Arion (Montréal), Portland Baroque Orchestra, Tesserae (Los Angeles), Seville Baroque Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Academy of Ancient Music and B’Rock.
Praised by the international press as ‘one of the most inspirational baroque violinists of his generation’, chamber music has always been at the core of his activities over the years as the leading violinist of many acclaimed groups, such as The Palladian Ensemble, Florilegium, Steinitz Bach Players and Theatre of the Ayre. He often performs in many of the world’s most prestigious concert halls, including London’s The Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Konzerthaus Berlin, Musikverein Wien, Sydney’s City Hall, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall and the Alice Tully and Carnegie Halls in New York.
His love for new and old music, particularly early 20th-century chamber music, resulted in the creation of the Richter Ensemble in 2018. With the aim to explore hidden connections between works from different eras, the group often presents programs as varied as Bach/Webern, Schubert/Schoenberg, Rebel/Part or Vivaldi/Reich/Ligeti.
In great demand as a guest concertmaster, Rodolfo has led The English Concert, Concerto Köln, Capella Mediterranea, Pygmaleon, Ex Cathedra, La Nuova Musica, Die Kölner Akademie and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. He has collaborated with many eminent conductors such as Sir Roger Norrington, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Mark Elder, Gustav Leonhardt, René Jacobs, Christopher Hogwood, Trevor Pinnock, Marris Jansons and Pierre Boulez. He is a former concertmaster of the Academy of Ancient Music (2005-2015) and B’Rock (2009-2018).
Richter’s extensive discography includes Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos with AAM (Harmonia Mundi USA) and Vivaldi’s 4 Seasons with B’Rock (Etcetera) as well as the first recording of the complete sonatas by Erlebach (Linn Records) and Guretzkyi’s violin concerto (Chandos). Currently he has embarked with the Richter Ensemble in a project of recording the complete Second Viennese School string quartets on gut strings, thereby proposing a unique interpretation to this repertory.
Recognising the importance of sharing knowledge, Rodolfo is the director of he Early Music Course and Festival at the Oficina de Música de Curitiba in Brazil since 2012. In addition to giving masterclasses all over the world, from 2007-2015 he was Professor of Baroque violin at the Royal College of Music in London.
Richter started his musical education studying counterpoint, harmony and free composition with Hans Joachim Koellreutter. On Koellreutter’s recommendation, he further developed his knowledge of composition by taking private lessons with Pierre Boulez and participating in master classes with Hans Joachim Hespos, Luigi Nono and Elliot Carter. His works have been performed in concert halls and festivals of new music worldwide. He was the musical director of the “Música Nova” concerts series promoted by the Fundação Cultural de Curitiba in Brazil.
Klaus Wusthoff, I-Fu Wang and Pinchas Zuckermann were Richter’s main violin teachers. He later specialized in the Baroque violin with Monica Huggett. Richter was a prizewinner at the prestigious International Early Music Competition for Ensembles in Bruges (2000) and won first prize at the Antonio Vivaldi International Violin Competition (2001).