Arts & Events

Coming on the heels of Jordi Savall’s concert on March 4 of French Baroque music from the film Tous les Matins du Monde, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra took the stage Saturday, March 12, at Berkeley’s First Congregational Church in a concert featuring more works from the court of Louis XIV at Versailles plus music by Henry Purcell and Tomaso Albinoni. Early music specialist Skip Sempé served as guest conductor for this concert, which was billed as “From Versailles to the English Court.” What struck me about Skip Sempé was his minimalist style of conducting. Often, especially when concertmaster Elizabeth Blumenstock engaged in solos or in extended passages wth violist Jessica Troy and cellist Phoebe Carral, Skip Sempé stood immobile at the podium. Then, when tutti passages resumed for the full ensemble, Sempé swung into motion, leading the attack with broad gestures.  

The concert opened with Jean-Baptiste Lully’s Ouverture from the opera Atys. Lully, who was born in Italy and came to Paris in 1653 as a violinist and ballet dancer, pleased Louis XIV who soon gave him full control of music events at the king’s court at Versailles. Under Lully’s direction, music and dance flourished at Versailles, and the ensemble known as Les 24 Violons du Roi, actually string instruments of five different registers, set the tone for French music which then dominated Europe. The so-called ‘French Overture’ established a pattern consisting of a stately opening movement featuring ‘dotted rhythms’, in which the first note steals half of the second note’s duration. This rhythmic figure was used by composers to denote grandeur, especially the grandeur of King Louis XIV. A lively second section then ensued with various sections of the orchestra introducing motifs at staggered intervals, forming a sort of fugue.  

Following Lully’s Ouverture to Atys, Philharmonia Baroque performed a Suite from Lully’s fēte, Les plaisirs de l’Ile enchantée. then an Air des Démons from Lully’s opera Alceste, and a Passacaille from Lully’s Armide. Next, without a break, came music by English composer Henry Purcell (1659-1695). Featured here were selections from Purcell’s The Fairy Queen. Rounding out the first half of this concert was Tomaso Albinoni’s Concerto for Oboe in D minor, Opus 9 #2, featuring Philharmonia’s long-time principal oboist Marc Schachman, who is retiring after a 30-year tenure with this orchestra. Perhaps not wanting to distract attention from Marc Schachman, Skip Sempé did not conduct this work but left it in the capable hands of concertmaster Elizabeth Blumenstock and soloist Marc Schachman. Especially noteworthy was Albinoni’s lovely Adagio, exquisitely performed by Schachman, who received tumultuous applause from an audience appreciative of his long and illustrious career with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra.  

After intermission, Sempé conducted a Suite from Marin Marais’s opera Alcione, which premiered in 1806 at Paris’s Académie Royale de Musique, where Marais was permanent conductor. Next came Henry Purcell’s Ode for Queen Mary’s Birthday, written to celebrate her birthday on April 30, 1689. This piece by Purcell pays homage to the grandeur of the ‘French Overture’. Also included here was a rondo by Purcell written in the last year of the composer’s life as incidental music for the play Abdelezar. Next came a Chaconne by Marin Marais from his opera Alcione, and, finally, Henry Purcell’s Ouverture in G minor.  

François Couperin (1668-1733) was a composer at the court of Louis XIV who sought, in Les Goûts-Réunis, to unite the French and Italian styles of music. Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra here performed Selections from Couperin’s Concert dans le goût théatral. To close out this concert Skip Sempé conducted a brilliant Passacaglia from Sonata No. 5 in G Major by French composer Georg Muffat (1652-1704) from his Armonico Tributo. Muffat, who studied under Lully, inherited from his master a fondness for passacaglia form, and this example shares much, including its key, with Lully’s passacaglia heard earlier from his opera Armide. Muffat’s piece featured extended passages for a trio of violin, viola, and cello, performed exquisitely here by Elizabeth Blumenstock, Jessica Troy, and Phoebe Carral. In these trio passages, Skip Sempé stood immobile, deferring to his soloists. By the way, during intermission I asked Lisa Grodin, a long-time violinist with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, what it was like to perform under a minimalist conductor such as Skip Sempé. She replied that she had a long and fruitful history with Sempé going back to conservatory days and was appreciative of his minimalist conducting style. In any case, the results in this concert were splendid.