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Les Délices in “The Elements” at Lakewood Congregational (Apr. 6)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Les Délices concluded their tenth anniversary season from April 5-7 with evocations of what our Baroque forebears thought to be the basic constituents of the natural world. The three programs sprang from founder and oboist Debra Nagy’s arrangement of Jean-Féry Rebel’s brilliant Les Elements, but also included extracts from the operas of Jean-Philippe Rameau, and a new work commissioned from Theo Chandler. Harpsichordist Mark Edwards provided a complementary interlude: two of Rameau’s keyboard works that express the powers of nature. [Read more…]

Les Délices closes 10th Anniversary Season with The Elements

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by Mike Telin

Over the past ten years the music of Jean-Féry Rebel has become familiar to Les Délices audiences. The ensemble has performed several of the composer’s violin and trio sonatas, scenes from his opera L’Ulysse which highlighted the Odyssey-inspired program Myths & Allegories, and his early choreographed symphonies such as Caractères de la danse, which have become signature pieces for the group.

This week Les Délices will return to the music of Rebel when they present a program titled “The Elements” which is centered around Rebel’s 1737 masterpiece of the same name. The program also includes music of Rameau and the premiere of a new, nature-inspired piece for period instruments by Theo Chandler.

Concerts take place on Friday, April 5 at 7:30 pm at Akron’s Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Saturday the 6th at 8:00 pm at Lakewood Congregational Church, and Sunday the 7th at 4:00 pm in Herr Chapel at Plymouth Church. Tickets are available online. On Saturday beginning at 3:00 pm at the Bop Stop, Les Délices will present “Mother Nature Makes Music,” a free 45-minute program designed for children ages 5-12.

[Read more…]

Lés Delices and Quire Cleveland: “Let the Heavens Rejoice!” (Apr. 28)

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by Mike Telin

Quire & Les Delices LW RehearsalA long-overdue collaboration between two of the area’s eminent chamber ensembles yielded divine results when Les Délices and Quire Cleveland came together on Saturday, April 28 at Lakewood Congregational Church for “Let the Heavens Rejoice!” The program showcased celebratory French Baroque psalms for 22 voices, 14 instruments, and a quartet of vocal soloists, all under the direction of guest conductor Scott Metcalfe.

[Read more…]

Oberlin plans four-concert Historical Performance WinterFest

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by Daniel Hathaway

FlandersRecorderQuartetThe Oberlin Conservatory will present a four-concert Historical Performance WinterFest this month, including performances by the Flanders Recorder Quartet, lutenist Nigel North, the Oberlin Baroque Ensemble, and faculty harpsichordist Mark Edwards. Baroque flute professor Michael Lynn, who has organized the events, said, “They should all be excellent concerts, and the price can’t be beat — free!” The festival includes two public master classes as well as the performances.

HP WinterFest begins on Tuesday, February 20 with an 8:00 pm performance by the Flanders Recorder Quartet in Fairchild Chapel, a stop on the ensemble’s 30th Anniversary Farewell Tour. Founded in Belgium in 1987 and comprising Bart Spanhove, Paul Van Loey, Tom Beets, and Joris Van Goethem, the Quartet began touring following their success at the 1990 Musica Antiqua Competition in Bruges. After a career that has included more than 1,800 concerts in 42 countries, the ensemble has decided to disband at the end of 2018. [Read more…]

Les Délices goes Italian (Oct. 22)

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by Mike Telin

Andrijeski-JulieTry as he did, even Louis XIV’s edicts on style and taste could not suppress the cross-pollination of the “refined” music of late-17th and early-18th century French musicians with that of the more “flashy” Italians. This past weekend, Les Délices, the always-creative and musically polished French Baroque ensemble, opened their season with two performances of a program titled “Inspired by Italy.” I heard Sunday afternoon’s concert in the Herr Chapel at Plymouth Church. [Read more…]

Les Délices’ opening concerts to be “Inspired by Italy”

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by Hannah Schoepe

Les-Delices-galleryOpening a window into the past, Les Délices will explore the polarized yet relational bond between 17th- and 18th-century French and Italian music during its season-opening concerts. “Inspired by Italy” will take place Saturday, October 21 at 8:00 pm at Pilgrim Church in Tremont, and Sunday, October 22 at 4:00 pm at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights. For ticket information click here.

Les Délices, a Baroque ensemble founded in 2009 by Baroque oboist Debra Nagy, initially specialized in French music. This weekend’s concerts will feature Nagy, Baroque violinist Julie Andrijeski, viola da gambist Emily Walhout, and harpsichordist Mark Edwards. When asked about the French name via email, Nagy wrote, “It means ‘the delights.’ Délices also shares the same root as the words ‘delicious’ or ‘delicacy.’ French Baroque music is sometimes considered a fine delicacy. It is rich and diverse, but not often a central part of a listener’s diet. We wanted the opportunity to introduce this music to a wider audience.” [Read more…]

Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute: Week Two, Day Five (Friday, June 30)

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by Daniel Hathaway

LisaCoaching063017Friday morning’s harpsichord master class was the last opportunity to formally pick our mentor’s brains, and performances by the last set of students inspired Mark Edwards and Lisa Goode Crawford to deliver some very useful tips.

Performance No. 1 was a C-major prelude from the Wilhelm Friedemann Bach Notebook — a set of pieces Johann Sebastian Bach expressly selected for the tutelage of his eldest son beginning in 1720. Edwards began by asking what type of piece it was. Answer: a figuration prelude, in style brisé, which is meant to imitate the lute. In fact, Edwards said, the harpsichord is really a giant lute with keys. Advice to student: overhold notes (including octaves in the left hand), let the strings vibrate, and think of articulation in terms of wetness vs. dryness. [Read more…]

Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute: Week Two, Day Three (Wednesday, June 28)

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by Daniel Hathaway

BackToBackContinuo(Clarner)When I went into this two-week immersion, I thought I’d pursue all the daily activities of a harpsichord student and then toss off an article about the experience every evening. Silly me. That plan evaporated the day I realized that I’d left my room before 8 am and hadn’t returned until after ten in the evening. BPI keeps you busy all day! I’ll stick to the article-a-day schedule, but there’s some catchup writing to be done.

On Wednesday, the harpsichord master classes split into two concurrent sessions, one led by Lisa Crawford, the other (mine) by Mark Edwards. After hearing the C-minor Prelude from The Well-Tempered Clavier Book One (advice: use wrist rotation to mirror the texture of the music; differentiate between speaking and singing) and Antoine Forqueray’s La Montigni (originally a viol piece, so prioritize how to play the notes in the bass line; to avoid “claw hand,” let the hands free fall onto the keyboard from overhead height), I was up next with a rather bizarre piece by an English virginalist. [Read more…]

Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute: Week Two, Day Two (Tuesday, June 27)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Beginning-Gamba-ClassBPI people don’t tend to sleep in (no matter how late they’ve been up the night before), but perhaps the most reliable early birds are the beginning viola da gamba players, who circle their wagons every morning at 8:00 sharp.

That’s an instrument that inspires ardent devotion among experienced historical string players and great curiosity in neophytes — some people who have never picked up a bow are giving the gamba a try this week. We’ll hear more from both types of gambists as the week continues.

Oberlin graduate and BPI alumnus Skip Sempé joined the faculty for week two, making his first official appearance in Tuesday morning’s harpsichord class. [Read more…]

Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute: Week One, Day Two (Tuesday, June 20)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Meyerson-HuddleAt BPI, as elsewhere in the musical universe, master classes are the principal conduit for transferring wisdom from teachers to students. Rather than just dryly lecturing on abstract topics, distinguished musicians use performances of selected works as the springboard for discussions of matters both wide and narrow.

Harpsichord master classes on Monday with Lisa Goode Crawford, Mark Edwards, and Mitzi Meyerson offered a long list of takeaways, but also introduced BPI’s 22 harpsichordists to the unique personalities of their mentors [Read more…]

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