Russell Sherman and Frank Kelly montage. (BMInt staff photo)

There was a memorable Schumanniade last Sunday in Emmanuel Music’s Chamber Series. The pianist was Russell Sherman; the tenor was Frank Kelley — both long time friends of Emmanuel. Kelley has been singing in Emmanuel’s  various series for many years, and Sherman was the NEC piano teacher of Emmanuel’s founder, Craig Smith (1947-2007). The two compositions on the program were both, in a way, episodic character pieces: one for piano solo, Schumann’s Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood) op. 15, and the other for voice and piano, the composer’s Dichterliebe (Poet’s Love), op. 48.

A recital does not get better than this! Russell Sherman began with Kinderszenen, a twenty minute evocation of the moods of childhood rather than a set of pieces written for children. In Sherman’s highly personal and imaginative approach the “Träumerei” (Reverie, Dreaming) movement had melting tone and an overpowering poignancy. And the last movement, “Der Dichter Spricht” (The Poet Speaks), had delicious Luftpausen or interruptions. Yet in some of the other songs, those interruptions (including one for a page turn) and Sherman’s dreaminess may have given the impression of arrhythmia. Sherman has a special way with rubato, and employs elaborate colorations with the damper pedal and una-corda. At his best Sherman’s results are subtle and affecting and very recognizable as his own, but at times during Kinderszenen one yearned for more simplicity.

Schumann’s Dichterliebe is set to the German romantic poems of Heinrich Heine. The piano comments upon the emotions of each song, especially in the postludes, and in his role of responsive poet Sherman impressed with his tonal magic, yet during the song accompaniments Sherman showed surprising deference to the tenor. And Frank Kelley excelled as a communicative artist, giving us the impression that he was confiding in us individually. His German enunciation was impeccable. The student from Cologne sitting next to me never looked down at the texts. Kelley’s burnished tone was just right for the wood paneled 200-seat auditorium. His legato was admirable, but his sensitivity to the texts and the shifts of mood was superlative.

Those who were not Germanophones benefited from the excellent translations by James C. Liu with assistance from Alison Hickey, Emily Spear, and James Wilkinson. The overflow audience included a substantial number of students from the Sherman/Byun studio at NEC who were accommodated in another room. Despite the somewhat still air, concentration was palpable and not a cough or rustle could be heard.

Larry Phillips studied music at Harvard, the Montreal Conservatory, and at New England Conservatory. In 1974 he was a prizewinner at the International Harpsichord Competition in Bruges, Belgium.

Artem Belogurov (BMInt staff photo)

The Thursday noonday concerts at First Church Boston continue at a high level. The first of three programs included in this review was a performance on Dec. 1, by harpsichordist Nickolai Sheikov, consisting of a suite by Handel and three sonatas by Scarlatti.

First up was Handel’s (1685-1759) familiar Suite in E Major (HWV 430.) There are four movements in the suite: Prelude, Allemande, Courante, and an Aria with 5 Doubles. The Prelude was played on the main keyboard and sounded improvised, which is a good thing. The Allemande sported repeats on the upper keyboard. A fast tempo characterized the Courante, which was played on coupled keyboards. In the famous Aria known as the “Harmonious Blacksmith,” Sheikov proved his velocity, as he played on full registers.

There were three sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757), announced from the stage: K. 211 and K. 212 in A Major; and K. 56 in C minor. The K. 56 was memorized (à la Paul Cienniwa) and played on full registers.

On December 8th the excellent Russian émigré pianist, Artem Belogurov, offered a tantalizing preview of an intriguing larger recital devoted to late 19th and early 20th century composers of the so-called Boston Second School. The program from composers associated with the Harvard Musical Association showcased  short works by George W. Chadwick (1854-1931), Arthur Foote (1853-1937), Arthur Whiting (1840-1923), Ethelbert Nevin (1862-1901), and John Knowles Paine (1839-1906), which Beloruov is planning  to record.

Chadwick’s piece was Les Grenouilles (Humoresque.) It’s sillier than one might expect from an illustrious former President of the New England Conservatory. Foote’s work is more serious and evocative: excerpts from Five Poems after Omar Kayyam, Op. 41. Whiting’s offering was another Humoreske — another charming  trifle. Nevin’s Etude in a form of Scherzo, Op. 18, no. 2.  had some real substance. Paine’s, Fuga Giocosa, Op. 41, no. 3.  has as its fugue subject a tune which unfortunately is familiar to all who remember the Three Stooges. Still, it’s intriguing to hear such a program from a young pianist not at all embarrassed to explore this realm. His immersion seemed total.

One could quote Stephen Ledbetter who recently said of this genre, “Now that the cultural wars of the 19th and early 20th centuries are several generations behind us, it is easier to absorb the music of our more distant past with historical understanding and to accept and enjoy music that our grandparents thought outdated, and to recognize its own value and beauty, and the pioneering work of its creators.”

As an aside I note that I live in the building commissioned in 1884 by Oliver Ditson, the great music publisher. In 1909 his son invited Foote and several other musicians to form the Society for the Prevention of Destitute Musicians. I like to think that this decision was made in my living room. Foote was music director at First Church in Boston (the site of this concert) for over thirty years.

F:Paul Ciennewa, Hilary Walker, R: Cynthia Miller Freivogel, Harold Lieberman,Zoe Weiss, Asako Takeuchi (BMInt staff photo)

I’ve left the best to last. On Dec. 15, mezzo-soprano Hilary Anne Walker performed, in its entirety, J. S. Bach’s (1685-1750) Cantata 35, “Geist und Seele,” complete with a small baroque band: baroque violinists Asako Takeuchi and Cynthia Miller Freivogel; baroque violist Harold Lieberman; and baroque cellist Zoe Weiss with series organizer Paul Cienniwa playing the elaborate organ part. The ensemble was well-tuned and bright of sound without giving in to the sometimes fashionable exaggerated accents and swells on individual notes one sometimes hears from early musicians.

There are seven movements in this cantata divided in two parts, two sinfonia, three arias, and two recitativos. It was a feast to hear such music. The two sinfonias were of unequal length, whereas the first aria, “Geist und Seele wird verwirret” is much the longer one. Walker displayed clear understanding of German as well as intense emotional involvement with her light but sumptuous mezzo-soprano voice. Her bio mentions the physicality of her singing, but her intellect is also quite in evidence.

The second aria has a melisma on “alles” (everything.)  The English translation of the third aria is worth quoting in full: “I wish only by God to live,/Ah, if only the time were already here,/A joyful Halleluah/With all the angels I would raise./My dearest Jesus, lift yet/The sorrowful yoke of suffering/And let me soon in Your hands/End my tormented life.” Bach and the performers succeeded at the conveying the deep meaning and sentiment.

The series resumes in January. The free Thursday afternoon concerts start at 12:15 pm and last until 12:45 pm.

Now to the good things. On Oct. 20 we had a treat: Ukrainian coloratura soprano Olga Lisovkaya and collaborative pianist Boris Fogel. Her title was “Songs My Mother Taught Me.” Wearing Ukrainian garb, she offered seven folk and opera songs which she grew up hearing. Rain, she told us, was her mother’s favorite; and Oh, do not shine, moon was very popular in Ukraine. It was quite a performance.  Even a memory lapse in the last folk song did not faze her.

On Nov. 3, the church presented Italian harpsichordist Giuseppe Schinaia, currently tenured professor of mathematics and statistics at the University of Rome (“La Sapienza”). He organized a program of Johann Jakob Froberger (1616-1667), Jean-Henri d’Anglebert (1629-1691), and Jacques Duphly (1715-1789.) The Froberger was a sad piece, Lamentation faite sur la mort très douloureuse de Sa Majesté imperiale, Ferdinand le troisième.

He inserted a short prélude non mésuré before the regular pieces, a Chaconne in C Major from the Pièces manuscript, and Tombeau de M. de Chambonnières. The prelude was played on the main keyboard, the lower 8’, whereas the chaconne was played on coupled keyboards. D’Anglebert really knows how to make the harpsichord sound. Duphly was represented by his Chaconne in F Major (from 3me Livre de Pièces de clavecin), also played on coupled keyboards.

I learned of a new composer on Nov. 10: Charles Wakefield Cadman (1881-1946.) As a warm-up for their subsequent Harvard Musical Association concert The Claremont Trio — twin sisters violinist Emily Bruskin and cellist Julia Bruskin with pianist Donna Kwong, offered the Piano Trio in D Major, op. 56, which dates from 1913. The opening movement beginning with a bang contains a lovely cello solo with piano. The Andante Cantabile movement had an exquisite melody and nice dialoguing at the beginning. The finale had a nice tribute to Debussy.

Mezzo-soprano Renée Hites and pianist Yukiko Oba performed on Nov. 17 in a program called “Songs of the Americas,” many of which represented a “first hearing” for me. Songs from Colombia, the United States, Argentina, and Brazil were represented. Hites has a gorgeous voice and her Spanish diction was impeccable. First up were two songs by Luis Calvo (1882-1945): Gitana and En la Playa. Then came four songs by Samuel Barber (1910-1981), drawn from his Hermit Songs, ten in number, that deal with the period between the eight and thirteenth centuries. The Crucifixion is familiar, whereas I had never heard before The Monk and his Cat.

Argentina was represented by four songs composed by Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983) and Carlos Guasavino (1912-2000.) The final composer was Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959), in two songs. The final syllable of “Mando, Tiro, Tiro, Lá” was like an extensive riff.

Larry Phillips studied music at Harvard, the Montreal Conservatory, and at New England Conservatory. In 1974 he was a prizewinner at the International Harpsichord Competition in Bruges, Belgium.

Lack of substance was not a problem on September 22^nd, when performers Akiko Kobayashi, violin, and Claudia Kobayashi, piano, took the stage. Violinist Kobayashi is excellent—top-notch in my experience. She presented a varied program, which began with J. S. Bach’s Sonata No. 4 in c minor, BWV 1017, of which the opening Largo quotes a theme from the Saint Matthew Passion. She was accompanied on piano, with the result that the balance was not as delicate as it might have been—although my objections faded during the rest of the movements. The recital continued with three melodies from Sergei Prokofiev’s (1891-1953) Five Melodies for Violin and Piano, op. 35bis. This was my first hearing of these colorful pieces; I was especially struck by the wild violin solo of the third melody, Allegretto leggero e scherzando. The remainder of the program consisted of a piece by Eugène Ysaye (1858-1931), the D-minor Sonata for Solo Violin No. 3, Op. 27, No. 3, subtitled Ballade, and Pablo de Sarasate’s (1844-1908) Introduction and Tarantella, op. 43. The lightening-quick pizzicato and sheer velocity of the tarantella were most impressive.

Matthew Hall, who played Bach as a substitute last year, was the harpsichord recitalist on October 6^th. He performed a piece by Elizabeth Jacquet de la Guerre (1665-1729), the Suite in d minor from the Second Book, which dates from 1707. Hall has an intriguing background: he studied music and linguistics at Harvard before going on to receive his Master’s in musicology at the University of Leeds in England. The music of Jacquet de la Guerre—this suite was another first hearing for this reviewer—makes use of surprising harmonies. Technically, the recital was virtually note perfect.

On October 13^th, the Lydian String Quartet presented John Harbison’s String Quartet No. 2, written in 1987 as a commission from Harvard Musical Association. It was introduced by Scott Parkman, director of American Century Music, a Boston-based concert series which he founded in 2009. It was a pleasure to hear such a masterpiece of contemporary quartet literature. It was constructed in five movements, “Fantasia,” “Concerto,” “Recitative and Aria,” “Sonata,” and “Chorale Fantasia.” “Fantasia” presented first violinist Daniel Stepner solo; he was then joined by violist Mary Ruth Ray and the other excellent musicians, cellist Joshua Gordon and second violinist Judith Eisenberg, in turn. The remaining movements had their own beauties, including slides, dramatic interruptions, brilliant pizzicati, and adventurous harmonies. I look forward to Harbison’s fifth string quartet, which has yet to be released to the public. Many other concerts will follow. Check  BMInt’s “Upcoming Events.”

Larry Phillips studied music at Harvard, the Montreal Conservatory, and at New England Conservatory. In 1974 he was a prizewinner at the International Harpsichord Competition in Bruges, Belgium.

The Sonata in E Major, K. 380 of Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) was nicely inflected, and Abdoulaev took all the repeats. Then came Piano Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 333 of Mozart’s (1756-1791). There were minor note mistakes in the opening Allegro movement, but in the second movement a surprise harmony after the repeat sign was well handled; he played it straight, no embellishments — nor in the Scarlatti, either). The Allegretto grazioso movement was taken too fast, but he outlined the rondo form well.

After a three-minute intermission came Jeux d’eau of Ravel (1875-1937)and Estampes of Debussy (1862-1918). The first was a calm piece and, frankly, watery. The second, the translation of which is “prints,” is a tripartite piece, nicely outlined by big pauses from the pianist. Here the composer is in full charge of his harmonies and the range of the piece. The 1880′s vintage Steinway B sounded good, and the piece ended in the major mode.

St. John the Evangelist’s Wednesday Concert Series continues throughout the year

Larry Phillips studied music at Harvard, the Montreal Conservatory, and at New England Conservatory. In 1974 he was a prizewinner at the International Harpsichord Competition in Bruges, Belgium.

First up was Claude Debussy’s sole string quartet in (g minor, Op. 10), which dates from 1894. It’s a cyclical piece, based on gamelan music, with common themes throughout. Borromeo’s deeply satisfying phrasings were distinct, yet seamless. Mai Motobuchi, on viola, figures prominently, especially in the third movement, which was very poignant; its very elegant, drawn-out pianissimo ending brought neither a move nor a sound from the capacity audience. Other movements had notable figures too, like the second movement’s first violin’s exclamations. The last movement, marked “Très modéré – En animant peu à peu – Très mouvementé et avec passion” was like a gradual crescendo. The one sour note was premature clapping at the end — brought about, no doubt, by enthusiasm towards this superb quartet’s playing.

Then we had a new piece, Daniel Brewbaker’s (b. 1951) String Quartet No. 2 Dance for My Fathers (2006), written in four movements. It is dedicated to Vincent Persichetti, former chairman of the composition department at the Juilliard School, for whose 100th anniversary this work was commissioned. The movements are marked “Roger’s Session” (Allegro deciso) for Roger Sessions, “Gordon’s Garden” (Allegro al spiritoso) for Gordon Binkerd, “Lullaby for My Father (Andantino), and “Dance To The Music” (Presto) for Persichetti.

The adjectives written in my program for the first movement, the tribute to Sessions, were fragmented, harmonically interesting, unison, and soaring. A strong, unison theme alternated with a tentative quieter one; in parts, there was a syncopated rumble, oriental flavors in others. Sessions always said one had to have a “willing ear,” which is good advice for all composers. “Lullaby for My Father” was extremely moving, with a nice pizzicato section. The last movement was appropriately jazzy, containing elements of Shostakovich and Sly and the Family Stone, with a “reel” hoe-down ending.

After intermission came Beethoven’s String Quartet in E-flat, Op. 74 “Harp” (1809). This falls squarely into the middle period, about 1803 to 1814. The first movement begins gently, almost mysteriously, before giving away to an allegro. The publisher named it “harp” because of the pizzicato section in the allegro section. The slow movement has a distinctive melody and ending. The fast movement that follows is a typical Beethoven romp. “Allegretto con Variazioni” is the perfect way to end this particular quartet.

First up was Peter Lam, thirteen, a young lad from Stow, MA, who shows promise as an organist. He offered three pieces, J. S. Bach’s “little” Prelude and Fugue in C Major; Louis Vierne’s (1870-1937) Préambule, Op. 31; and Marcel Dupré’s (1886-1971) Antiphon. He is well trained by John Robinson and shows a good rhythmic sense, an attention to form, and a keen sense of registration. The Vierne, in particular, was nicely laid out.

Seventeen-year-old Joan Brunetta, a Cambridge resident who studies with Stuart Foster, offered one piece, J. S. Bach’s “little” Prelude in F Major.

Peter Rudewicz, fifteen, from Tyngsboro, offered snippets of suites of Louis-Nicholas Clérambault (1676-1749) and Léon Boëllman (1862-1897), and a famous piece by Louis Couperin (1626-1661), his Chaconne in g Minor. Rudewicz, who shows a fine sense of registration, studies with Permelia Sears. Boëllman’s Suite Gothique, in particular “Prière à Notre Dame” was fetching. It was thrilling to have a superior piece to end this recital.

Support for this recital series comes from Trinity Church Concord, First Parish Swampscott, Lexington’s Spectrum Music, and several individuals.

Larry Phillips studied music at Harvard, the Montreal Conservatory, and at New England Conservatory. In 1974 he was a prizewinner at the International Harpsichord Competition in Bruges, Belgium.

The University of Georgia’s Collegium Musicum is a vocal group made up of fifteen young singers singing a cappella and occasionally accompanied by organ and harpsichord. The theme was Of Convents and Courts: Music by Women Composers of the Renaissance and Baroque Eras. As such it was all new music to this reviewer.

The extremely well presented one-hour concert was bookended by the full ensemble and interspersed with smaller ensembles, even one positif organ solo. The composers were Sulpitia Cesis, Maddalena Casulana, Gratia Baptista, Raphaela Aleotta, Francesa Caccini, Barbara Strozzi, and Chiara Margarita Cozzolani.

Mitos Andaya, associate director of choral activities, has a fine soprano voice, which she included in a duet with one of the basses, accompanied by harpsichord. She gets good sound from her singers in various ensembles.

The Oberlin group presented Trauermusick, cantatas about death, by Georg Philipp Telemann and J. S. Bach. Telemann’s Du aber, Daniel, gehe hin, TWV 4:17, was a first hearing for this reviewer. Bach’s was the ever-popular Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106.

Scored for one violin, oboe, and recorder, two viols da gamba, one cello, positif organ, and four singers, the Telemann cantata began sadly with a purely instrumental sonata. Then we heard from the singers. The bass, having most of the recitatives and arias, singled himself out with superb German pronunciation. The soprano was disturbed by a ringing phone, perhaps from the office. This happened in both cantatas, but the male alto soldiered on in the Bach. The Telemann had a perfectly balanced quartet, with intriguing orchestration, in the final chorus, based on the text “Sleep well, blessed bones.”

Bach is the better composer, and when you have a splendid early cantata like the Actus Tragicus, you are in for a treat. It has lighter orchestration than the Telemann, two recorders, two viols da gamba, organ, and the same four singers grouped differently. It begins with a two-and-a-half-minute sonatina, with the gambas offering their undulating phrases over the recorders’ melodies. Then the title chorus appears sung by the four singers.

This chorus is short, as are all sections of this cantata. (Does Bach mean to underline the brevity of life?) A particularly beautiful thing occurs during the end of the soprano aria, when the voice fades away over the words “Death has become my sleep.” The final chorus is magnificent, with a faster section towards the end. “The divine power makes us victorious,” indeed.

The Boston Early Music Festival is always challenging us with new old music.

Larry Phillips studied music at Harvard, the Montreal Conservatory, and at New England Conservatory. In 1974 he was a prizewinner at the International Harpsichord Competition in Bruges, Belgium.

The recital began with Nicolas de Grigny’s (1672-1705) Veni Creator. This is a five-part piece, with the first movement played on the plein jeux (principals and mixture without reeds). It gave way to J. S. Bach’s Dies sind die heiligen zehn Gebot, BWV 678, from the 18 Leipzig chorales. This clever piece features the chorale tune in canon on the pedal at the fifth. This is a difficult piece; Karosi played it masterfully.

The next piece was Karosi’s (b. 1979) improvisation, Partita on Ein‘ feste Burg. This appeared to have five sections. The first was brassy, with the tune in the pedal. The next was soft, whereas the next variation featured the tune on the reed stop. The last movement was grand. Karosi is a good improvisor, a handy skill when the bride is late.

After the intermission came four pieces: Ave Maria by anniversary composer Franz Liszt (1811-1886), Hommage à Franz Liszt by Lionel Rogg (b. 1936), Andante from the Grand Pièce Symphonique by César Franck (1822-1890), and Prelude and Fugue in G minor, op. 7 by Marcel Dupré (1886-1971).

Although Liszt wrote powerful pieces for organ — like the BACH piece, the Ave Maria is like the tone poems, quiet and dignified. Lionel Rogg’s 2010 homage, commissioned by the performer, meanders a little bit in the middle but has a powerful ending.

Franck’s Andante once again returns to the quieter realm, only to give way to an early piece by the French organist Dupré, one of a set of three pieces dating from 1914. This was before he gained the titulaire position at St. Sulpice in Paris from Charles-Marie Widor in 1934. Dupré was known as a great improviser, fitting for this recital that included an improvisation. Once, following a recital at St. Thomas’ church in New York City, he got a front-page review in The New York Times! This early piece has all the hallmarks of the composer: a powerful prelude and angular fugue theme. Once again, Karosi did it justice.

The Old West Organ Society’s summer series begins on July 12.

Larry Phillips studied music at Harvard, the Montreal Conservatory, and at New England Conservatory. In 1974 he was a prizewinner at the International Harpsichord Competition in Bruges, Belgium.

Cinniewa is  music director at First Church; he played my harpsichord, a David Jacques Way made in 1980, which is used in most of the First Church concerts. Guest artist Sponseller, who plays with Emmanuel Music, tours as a soloist and chamber musician; his instrument is a French harpsichord built by Earl Russell (1922-2004) after 1736 Henri Hemsch. (This instrument was also used in the Emmanuel Lenten series, as wellas in its Emmanuel’s production of Stravinsky’s Rake’s Progress in April.)

The le Roux Pièces pour deux clavecins began unusually, with a soft gigue. Then Cienniwa offered a prélude in ré, which Sponseller answered one movement later with a prélude in la. The Gavotte was a sprightly affair. Two minuets followed, then a courante. The J. S. Bach piece was the middle movement, marked “Adagio overro Largo,” from the Concerto, C Major, BWV 1061 for two harpsichords. It can be seen on YouTube here. The pièce de résistance was the Boccherini Fandango. Here Cienniwa and Sponseller outdid themselves. It is full of gimmicks and repeated chords. It got quite an ovation, so an encore was given, the le Roux gigue again.

Matthew Hall, organist and assistant choirmaster at Church of Our Saviour, Brookline, and an editorial assistant at the Packard Humanities Institute, Cambridge (which published C.P.E. Bach: The Complete Works), played an all-Bach recital on Thursday, April 28. He chose a difficult program, the Prelude and Fugue from the Well Tempered Clavier, Book I, BWV 860, and the third English suite in G minor, BWV 808. The prelude was taken at a lively clip, as was the fully registered fugue.

The prelude from the English Suite was played coupled — i.e., two keyboards, upper and lower register, are played together and nicely inflected. Slow and stately characterized the Allemande, with ornamented repeats. The Sarabande was harmonically adventurous, whereas the two Gavottes had many repeated notes. Played on the full register, the Gigue was appropriately fast.

Representing the state of Connecticut was Linda Skernick, who is on the music faculty of Connecticut College, The Thames Valley Music School, and who also tours widely. She offered an all-Bach recital on May 5, including a piece never heard before by this reviewer. This was the Prelude for the Lute or Harpsichord, in Eb major, BWV 998. The Prelude sounded improvised on the lower 8’ register, a good thing. The fugue, played on the couple keyboards, had an interlude on the upper 8’ register. She played a little on the slow side, which I like; sometimes harpsichordists play too quickly and the instrument loses resonance.

The recital ended with the Four Duets, BWV 802-805, from the Clavierübung, Part III, for organ. They are often played on harpsichords. Many people consider the four duets to refer to the four elements. By this reckoning, the first duet, with its flowing theme, refers to water. The second duet, played on the coupled keyboards, refers to air, whereas the third duet in G major is a depiction to earth. The fourth duet in A minor, played on the coupled keyboards, refers to fire. This conjecture is very effective, and apt.

The May 12 recital bought a solo recital by Michael Sponseller. His was an all-French recital, featuring Pièces de Clavecin,  (1746) by Joseph Nicolas Pancrace Royer (1705-1755) and an unscheduled piece by Jacques Duphly (1715-1789). The opening piece, “La Majestueuse,” a  courante in D minor, is grand, as the title suggests. It featured a trait of Royer’s compositions — interruptions. Sponseller played La Zaïde, on the upper 8’ and emphasized the surprising ending. The Tambourine brought a drone to the proceedings. For this concert, he used my Way harpsichord, on deposit at First Church.

Royer was known in his day as an opera composer. (Sponseller said that he had been in a brawl with Rameau.) The short Suite de la Bagatelle was actually found in between two acts of his opera. But the greatest piece is Royer’s Le Vertigo, characterized by repeated chords and interruptions. It was a wild thing. Because Sponseller had forgotten to bring Royer’s La Chasse de Zaïde, he subtituted Duphly’s contemporary Les Graces. It’s marked Tendrement, and Sponseller played it that way.

According to composer Betsy Schramm, who was at the concert, Royer is a weak composer made to sound superior by Sponseller’s art. I wholeheartedly agree.

Larry Phillips studied music at Harvard, the Montreal Conservatory, and at New England Conservatory. In 1974 he was a prizewinner at the International Harpsichord Competition in Bruges, Belgium.