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.

Carson Cooman at the Flentrop (BMInt staff photo)

Carson Cooman, composer in residence at the Memorial Church, Harvard University, played for the Thursday 12:15 p.m. recital at Adolphus Busch Hall on March 24 on the famous three-manual tracker organ built by Flentrop in 1958 for E. Power Biggs.  An interesting discussion of that influential instrument may be found here.

The program was fascinating—all contemporary music, including two world premieres commissioned by the performer.  In his prefatory remarks, Cooman explained that the first two pieces were written for small organs. That, he explained, would encourage him to register lightly so that the audience could hear individual stops more distinctly than with the thicker registrations normally employed. What we heard of the beautiful and characteristic individual voices of the Flentrop pleased us very much. The voicing and tuning were even and exemplary.

The program opened with  Sonatina, commissioned in 2010 and composed by Christopher Uehlein, who hails from Indianapolis, Indiana. The first movement of three features harmony in fourths, as does the quieter second movement in the Lydian mode. A particularly attractive reed stop(s) typified the gentle melody. Allegro non troppo was the marking in the toccata-like finale.

One and a Half Preludes by Japanese composer Jo Kondo was next. The composer has written about his music: “Each sound must have its own entity and life. What I am doing in my compositions to create a web of inter-tonal relationships, while trying to safeguard the possibility of aurally perceiving the individual entity and life of every single tone in that relationship.” That said, this was the weakest part of this recital — angular and without any lyrical qualities.

Following this was a work by the Englishman Douglas Bell — who has the distinction of once having pursued a cricket career. He was represented by his eight colorful variations on a modal theme, Variations: The Bower.

The recital concluded with another Englishman’s piece: Adrian Self’s 1996 composition Two Pieces, Wortham’s Dumpe and Maggie’s Toye. The titles refer to Renaissance forms, the “dumpe” was poignant  (and featured open fifths), whereas the “toye” is lively. Both were played excellently by Cooman.

It’s a pity that Cooman did not perform any of his own works, but his compositions and commissioning activities have been remarked upon three times in these pages: here, here and here. His anthem (Opus 740!) will be sung at the memorial service for the late Rev. Peter Gomes on April 6.

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 Church Congregational presents ideal acoustics for such a piece. Biber wrote his masses for Salzburg Cathedral, which has four platforms to situate the musicians. The Concentus replicated this arrangement: the trombones and trumpets in the back of the spacious platform, the soloists hugging the sides, the strings next on the left, and the basso continuo (organ and bass violin (!) in the center. Presiding over it all was the conductor, the estimable Joshua Rifkin, in his usual place.

The instrumentalists were David Kjar, trumpet I, who also doubles as one of two artistic directors along with violinist Marika Holmqvist; Tatiana Daubeck, the other violinist; two violists, Emily Rideout and Joy Grimes; Graham Dixon, trumpet II; two cornettists, Michael Collver and Chris Belluscio; three trombonists, Erik Schmalz, Liza Malamut, and Mack Ramsey;. The continuo group were bass violinist Zoe Weiss, organist Leon Schelhase, and bass Jacob Cooper.

The excellent singers were sopranos Ulrike Präger and Kelli Geoghegan, mezzo-sopranos Abigail Fischer and Katherine Growdon, tenors Patrick T. Waters and Michael Barrett, and basses Ulysses Thomas and Sumner Thompson.

The reason I mention all the musicians is because of the nature of the music. Often there is antiphonal counterbalance in which the brass play off one or more singers and vice versa. This is because seventeenth-century and earlier church music wanted to get the listener confused as to its source. There is a theological reason for this, which I won’t go into here. In Venice’s San Marco basilica, for instance, you cannot tell from where the music is issuing. Without Rifkin’s guiding hand…

The sonata that came in between the Sanctus and the Agnus Dei was played by some of the strings and the basso continuo. There are twelve such sonatas, and this one dates from 1682. The title says why it is appropriate for a mass, although polyphony does not figure in it. Rifkin did not conduct, but let the three strings stand.

In a program note, Rifkin remarked upon Biber’s long name and welcomed a chance to present such a mass, free from “crazy violin tunings.”

For their fifth season the Cambridge Concentus is planning a season of “firsts,” including the Brandenburg Concerto No. 1.

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.

Then came “Furie terribili!,” an aria from Handel’s opera Rinaldo. As Armida, Queen of Damascus, Teeters unleashed such sound and agility to astonish the audience. “Al destin, che la minaccia,” from Mozart’s opera Mitridate, re di Ponto followed. Teeters played Aspasia, the Queen pledged in marriage to Mitridate (but killed in battle).

Britten was represented by two songs from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, “Come, now a roundel,” and “Be Kind and Courteous.” These are in Britten’s pastoral style. Portraying Tytania, Queen of the Fairies,Teeters sang them marvelously. John Corigliano’s (b. 1938) Marie Antoinette aria, “They are always with me,” from his grand opera buffa The Ghosts of Versailles, made me glad that this opera, originally commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera, was in the repertory.

But the pièce de résistance of this recital was grand “Scène et Duo” from Verdi’s  Don Carlos, sung with tenor Ethan Bremner. Teeters portrayed Elisabeth of Valois, daughter of the King of France, and Bremner portrayed Don Carlos. Basically, he has fallen in love with Elisabeth, but to ensure peace between France and Spain, she must marry his father, the king of Spain. Don Carlos and Elizabeth meet in a monastery, and he exits professing his love for her that she can’t bring herself to realize.Bremner, who has an excellent tenor voice and really knows how to act, conveyed Don Carlos’ anguish in this duo convincingly. The two singers have sung it, and it shows. This excruciating duo brought tears to my eyes and to those of many in the audience.

Two Erik Satie (1866-1925) cabaret songs, Je te veux, and La diva de l’Empire, finished the recital. I suppose the royalty theme was in reference to this particular cabaret, deemed the “Queen of the Slow Waltz.”They were written for singer and pianist and friend Paulette Darty. Teeters has an excellent sense of all things French, including a French “whoop.”

The closing First Church recital will presens Christine Teeters’s sister Rebecca on April 10 in a program entitled “Words of Women.”

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.

Lunchtime harpsichord recitals continue at First Church, Boston, and your reviewer continues to cover them. On February 10, Bálint Karosi, originally from Hungary, played a program consisting of a prelude by Dieterich Buxtehude and J. S. Bach’s Partita No. 1 in b-flat minor, BWV 1002. Karosi has a nice sense of line and knows how to give the harpsichord real impetus. The six movements of the Partita were superbly paced, the Prelude deliberately giving in to the Allemande, which was full of over-legato (overlapping the notes) phrasing. The Courante was taken at a judicious tempo, and the difficult Gigue was well nigh perfect.

French hornist Jean Rife has only studied harpsichord with Peter Sykes since 2004, but already she has turned herself into a keyboardist of note. Her recital on February 17 introduced Jacques DuPhly (1715-1789) to the audience for the first time in this series. She played about half of Livre I in d minor, from 1744. The Allemande was intriguing harmonically, as was the Courante, which she played on the coupled keyboards. She added the 4’ register in La Vanlo, which had Rococo elements. A plaintive theme characterized the first Rondeau. La Tribolet featured hand-crossing at the end, whereas La Damanzy introduced dotted rhythms into the mix. Virtuosity characterized La Casamajor, which she played on the full register.

Another Frenchman was introduced by the next harpsichordist, Leon Schelhase, who hails from Cape Town, South Africa, but trained in Boston with Peter Sykes and now plays with A Far Cry. I refer to the seventeenth-century Jean-Henri d’Anglebert (1620-1691), of which the harpsichordist presented one piece, Passacaille d’Armide.

The majority of the recital was devoted to Handel’s Suite from Rinaldo, which was arranged by one William Babell (1689/1690 – 1723) in 1717. Written in 1711, Rinaldo was the first Italian opera to reach the London stage. It must to have been popular to warrant such an arrangement within six years of the premiere. Schelhase played five movements. Virtuosity characterized the short Prelude, whereas the Overture was full of Handelisms. Then followed three character pieces, Soura Balza, Lascia ch’io pianga, and Sulla routa di fortuna. Soura Balza (which my Italian dictionary translates as “Soura jumps”) sounds like a sea shanty. You can imagine the next piece as sad, but it included variations and an exquisite ending. The third piece was upbeat and featured pregnant pauses throughout.

The March 3 concert presented Chicago-based harpsichordist Jory Vinikour, who happened to study, among others, with my first harpsichord teacher, Kenneth Gilbert. Vinikour is currently playing harpsichord at the Chicago Lyric Opera’s production of Handel’s Hercules. This recital was his Boston debut.

The program consisted of four sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) and three pieces by Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764). The D-Major sonata, K. 535, was taken at a break-neck speed. You almost welcomed the slow and contemplative sonata in b minor, K. 87. Then another D Major sonata, K. 119, followed, which was filled with full-fisted chords, taken at full register and hand-crossing. The works. The minor companion piece, K. 120 also featured hand-crossing.

L’Entretien des Muses (the maintenance of the muses) was characterized by over-legato and a generally nice sound. Les Tourbillons (swirls) is like its title, whereas Les Cyclopes features virtuosity. An encore, François Couperin’s Les Baricades Mistérieuses, was offered.

This is a very distinguished series. Who knew there were so many harpsichordists at the ready? The series resumes on April 21 with duo harpsichordists Michael Sponseller and Paul Cienniwa and lasts through May. A good way to spend the lunch hour.

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 final Beethoven concert of the Emmanuel Music season took place in the Parish Hall of Emmanuel Church on the afternoon of Feb. 27. Unlike the others in this chamber music series, this one was all instrumental, taken from the composer’s early years. In his introductory remarks, Emmanuel Music Director Ryan Turner explained that these pieces reflected different aspects of Beethoven’s character: the street smart, the Mozartean, and the most popular piece in the composer’s lifetime (even though he disparaged it.)

First up was the Trio No. 4 in B-flat, op. 11 (“Gassenhauer” Trio), so called because the last movement’s theme came from a wildly popular opera theme in Vienna. I guess this reviewer does not know his early Beethoven well, because this was a first hearing, as well was the second piece, the Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat, op. 16.

That said, the Gassenhauer (street song) trio is an impressive piece. Violinist Heidi Braun-Hill (also a Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Fellow), cellist Joshua Gordon, and pianist Leslie Amper acquitted themselves well. The opening movement, marked Allegro con Brio, contains an extraordinary second theme introduced by an equally extraordinary modulation. Then follows the Adagio movement, with its plaintive cello melodies and piano’s descending scale at the conclusion. The third namesake movement, Tema con Variazioni. Allegretto, contains nine variations on the famous theme. This is done with Beethoven’s typical brilliance: first a piano solo, woodwind duets and trio, minor and major modes, and a quicker coda.

The quintet the Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat, op. 16 was staffed by Amper on piano, oboist Peggy Pearson, clarinetist Bruce Creditor, bassoonist Thomas Stephenson, and french horn player Whitacre Hill. The composer, taking his impression from Mozart’s K. 452, casts this piece in the same key and scoring. All movements in the piece begin in the same way, with a piano solo answered by the instruments. The program notes refer to Ferdinand Ries reporting on an occasion when the piece was played: Evidently, Beethoven in the last movement began improvising; the other players did not appreciate the composer’s humor. The piece begins in unison, then the piano begins the long Allegro, ma non troppo section. The operatic Andante cantabile is characterized by a particularly beautiful bassoon solo. The third movement, also marked Allegro, ma non troppo, is a rollicking rondo.

The Septet in E-flat, op. 20 followed intermission. This is characterized by six short movements, admirably performed by Creditor, Stephenson, Hill, Heidi Braun-Hill, and Gordon on their respective instruments. They were joined by violist Margaret Dyer and double bassist Thomas Van Dyck, also a 2010-2011 Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Fellow. In following popular tastes, the septet is a simple form, harking back to eighteenth-century styles. It features the violin in a dominant role, especially in the finale’s cadenza, since it was initially played by one of Vienna’s prominent violinists. So is the role of the clarinet, which has a prominent part of the slow movement.

Throughout, there are nice dialogues between the strings and the woodwinds plus French horn. (This was rare in those times.) The theme of the minuet is taken from a piano sonata, op. 49, no. 2, which predates the septet despite its higher opus number. There is a remarkable cello solo in the scherzo and surprising chords in the finale.

Ryan Turner is certainly off to a stellar start with this series. Emmanuel Music fans can look forward to Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress on Saturday, April 16 at 7:30 p.m.

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 singing was uneven. At times you could not hear what the Parson/Badger (baritone Daniel Schwarz) was trying to say. Amidst the hubbub on the stage, the supertitles could not keep up with the action; one relied on the singers to convey it.

After a lively overture typically full of Janácek traits, we’re treated to a drunken forester (baritone Taesung Kim in this performance), disturbed by dancing revelers (Rachel and Lauren Batiancila), who sample his drink. There is also a mosquito (tenor Nicholas Hebert, who doubles as the schoolmaster) and the cutest little marionette frog. In fact, all the marionettes, including a bevy of red foxes, are inspired. All are treated with music of Janácek at his most inventive, including bird, chicken, and frog calls.

Back to the story. The Vixen, Sharp Ears (soprano Erin M. Smith), is captured by the forester. In her dreams, she imagines herself as a powerful woman and escapes to the forest. Later, in a bar, the forester taunts the schoolmaster about an affair with an unobtainable woman. In due time, there is a hilarious scene in which the schoolmaster drunkenly makes his way in the dark forest.

The following spring, a fox (soprano Natalie Polito) falls in love with Sharp Ears, and all is jubilation in the forest. Stage Director Roxanna Myhrum has the most effective way to accomplish this, with the offstage cast singing a wordless chorus and the dancers and marionettes cavorting on stage. The same technique occurs at the end of the opera, with the cast singing from the balconies as the forester, lying in the forest, reminisces about his youth.

Act III introduces Harasta the poultry dealer (bass Thaddeus Bell), who ends up killing the vixen for eating his chickens. At the Inn, preparations for a wedding are under way. The schoolmaster is not involved, but the forester advises that men of their age should not be concerned. Then the wondrous ending of the opera ensues in the forest.

The final scene was performed at Janácek’s funeral in 1928, a testament to his fondness for the opera, which bears none of the cruelty of his early ones. He wrote the libretto himself, modeling the forester on himself and working in his younger girlfriend as the schoolmaster’s inamorata. Thus, a seventy-year-old man gets to relive his youthful dreams, with folklore, mime, and dancing. Three Czech folk songs are quoted wholesale.

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.

This young harpsichordist demonstrated great technique in the Chromatic Fantasy, but he had a memory lapse, from which he recovered nicely; it sounded improvised, which is a good thing. He used music in the fugue that was grandly conceived. The Italian Concerto was highly inflected and registered to perfection. The Andante movement had a spun melody against a light bass, played on the upper 8. He let the Presto movement rip, playing it on the full ensemble and again, nicely registered.

Elaine Comparone, up from New York, played on Dec. 9. It was a shame that only about twenty people heard her recital. She offered the Bach’s Partita No 1 in B-flat Major. She played from memory, impressively, but was “bangy” and not note-perfect. She also had a memory lapse in the gigue. The Prelude was slow and stately, giving in to a lively Allemande and an even livelier Courante, registered creatively; she began on the two 8’ registers and answered them with the upper 8’, as she did in the Sarabande. Upon completion, an audience member and I speculated whether there was a “New York style”; it is up in the air.

David Schulenberg, a professor and chair of the music department at Wagner College in New York City, lives in Dorchester, so I did not have chance to test my theory at his concert on Dec. 16. A specialist in the music of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710 – 1784), Schulenberg presented a program largely devoted to this rarely heard composer. His book, The Music of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, has recently been published. The program began with rarely heard praeludiums by J. S. Bach, the C Major, BWV 924 and the fragmentary E Minor, BWV 932, which was completed by the performer. This was followed by a praeludium in C Major, BWV 924a, which is attributed to W. F. Bach.

The remainder of the program consisted of pieces definitely by W. F. Bach, including characteristic pieces, fugues, and a concerto without strings, played by the performer from suggestions in the manuscript. First up was L’Imitation de la chasse, F. 26, that featured twists and turns in a near-Rococo style. La Reveille, F. 27, exhibited repeated notes, a feature of this composer. The three fugues, drawn for Eight Fugues, F. 31, all exhibit strange themes and a bizarre fugal discourse.

Then came two Polonaises, in G Major and C Minor, F. 12/11 and F. 12/2. In a program note the performer explained that the Polish dance was popular in the 18th century only to be made more popular in the 19th century by Chopin. The major polonaises are virtuosic; the minor polonaises explore rare harmonies. Short chords characterized the G Major one. The minor one exhibited fascinating turns of phrase.

The March in E-flat, F. 30 presented, once again, repeated notes in the full ensemble. This is Bach’s only March. (Did Johann compose a March?) The final piece, the third movement of a Concerto in G Minor, was the pièce de résistance. The string parts were played on the two 8s coupled; the solos were played on the upper keyboard. They were so different they might have been two contrasting pieces. The solos distinguished themselves by exhibiting different styles and tempos. This recital was earlier reviewed in these pages here. I agree with Michael Rocha that it was “bangy.”

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.

Eight Songs, op. 52, was sung by baritone Sumner Thompson with the collaboration of Michael Beattie on piano. Thompson has an ideal voice for this repertoire and his German is good. I only heard only one word mispronounced. Mostly about love and death, the strophic songs are by various poets, including Goethe, and the comic eighth song, “Urians Reise um die Welt” features soprano Susan Consoli and tenor Ryan Turner singing the refrain from the audience. The first song, “Feuerfarbe,” is particularly effective. It’s all about a color “nobler than silver and gold” (in Pamela Dellal’s translation) “And I call it the ‘Color of Truth.’” The second Goethe song, “Marmotte,” is sung in German and French and features a small, furry animal, the marmot.

The Piano Trio No. 2 in G Major, op. 1, featuring violist Heather Braun, cellist Rafael Popper-Keiser, and pianist Randall Hodgkinson, is not as familiar as the first piano trio but contains many Beethovenisms, including twists and turns and beautiful melodies, especially in the slow movement. The players in the first movement, marked Adagio. Allegro vivace, effectuated a nice transition between tempi. The finale had a lively theme in the form of a trill that the players all did superbly in turn.

After intermission came the strangest piece I’ve ever heard from Beethoven, String Trio No. 2 “Serenade” in D Major, op. 8. Here Braun and Popper-Keiser were joined by violist Mary Ruth (UV) Ray. It’s mostly homophonic, and does not sound as if it is by Beethoven. Unison violin and viola play the sad Adagio. Scherzo theme over an independent cello line.

About the Scottish songs that came next, I wish I could have heard all twenty-five, so good it was. All the musicians were involved, the vocalists singing separate verses, joining together in the various refrains. The folksongs were commissioned by James Thomson, a wealthy Edinburghian, who hired some of Europe’s most famous composers, including the up-and-coming Beethoven. Turner quoted from a sly Beethoven that Haydn “was paid one pound sterling for each song.”

First up was “Music, love and wine,” in which the vocalists traded verses that ended with the line “What say you?” Then Consoli sang a sad song, “The sweetest lad was Jamie,” in which the strings continued their pizzicato contributions. Then Thompson sang two songs, the second of which is by the great Robert Burns. Consoli joined Thompson for yet another Burns poem, “Behold my love how green the groves,” characterized by a particularly excellent tune. Turner sang another song by William Smyth and then joined his vocalists for another Smyth poem, “Come fill, fill, my good fellow.”

The series continues next with two concerts on February 13th and 27th.

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 program first offered Adams’s Son of Chamber Symphony, a 2007 companion piece to his earlier Chamber Symphony, last piece on the program. The crack players played both as if they really liked this music. The Son… had two movements undesignated as to tempo, but the second sounded like allegro to me. Like the earlier work, the piece builds in excitement throughout. And like so much of his other works, Adams knows how to write fast music. I would like to hear it as choreographed by Mark Morris, as it was in the commission.

The Finney piece, Landscapes Remembered (1971), premiered at Cornell University in 1972, provided a contrast to all this excitement. A midwesterner, Finney has an uncanny ability to reflect the terrain in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and North Dakota, which is strange because he counts among his teachers Alban Berg. Finney adds a harp and a piano to telling effect.

The Berger work, Chamber Music for 13 Players (1956), was the weakest piece on the program, which is astonishing, since, as BMOP Sound proves, he wrote some excellent orchestral works. It’s in two movements, the first, “Variations,” bearing serial techniques, and the second undesignated, although the program notes said it was Allegro moderato. All in all, the piece is short, with the bassoon lending it its peculiar color.

After intermission came the Wheeler City of Shadows (2007). The small audience enthusiastically greeted the composer as he walked onto the stage. Commissioned by the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, this piece, in a note by the composer, quotes Kurt Weill, Aaron Copland, and Bruckner’s Sixth Symphony, famously recorded by the dedicatee, Kent Nagano. The underlying theme is various cities and their allures. Typical of a composer who is known primarily for his music theater works, Wheeler succeeds in limning evocations of the cities depicted — Berlin, of course, or New York and Boston. The brass punctuations were particularly effective.

The final piece was Adams’s Chamber Music (1992), and a wonder it was, inspired by Schönberg’s Chamber Symphony (and the composer’s then seven-year-old son playing a nearby room). You wouldn’t think these two composers had much in common, but there you have it. About twenty-two minutes long, the three movements, “Mongrel Airs,” “Aria with Walking Bass,” and “Roadrunner,” build in intensity to an electrifying conclusion. There are many similarities to the first piece: the use of synthesizers, the three-movement form, and the motor force. The latter is typical for Adams’s work; it’s based on the chief attributes of minimalism.

The BMOP season continues with January’s “Double Trouble,” William Bolcom joins BMOP in March, and, in May, “Sangita: The Spirit of India,” featuring Sandeep Das on tabla.

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.

In full disclosure: These recitals are played on this reviewer’s splendid Flemish double harpsichord, made in 1980 by David Jacques Way. The two Latin inscriptions read “By soliciting joy, I forget about life,” and “The Gods have deemed virtue to be attained by sweat.”

I had to miss the first two October recitals, by Peter Sykes and Lee Ridgway, but caught Andrus Madsen’s on Nov. 4, 2010 and Cinniewa’s own on Nov. 11. The two programs were sufficiently contrasting that I will discuss them together. The rest will be in batches.

Madsen is a Pachelbel specialist and also an improviser. The audience was treated to three improvised preludes at various times in the program, in the styles of Johann Jakob Froberger (1616-1667) and Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706), both basically 17th-century composers. Madsen chose a modified meantone temperament to accommodate Pachelbel when he chose to be harmonically adventurous.

The first piece up was Froberger’s Lamento sopra la dolorosa perdita della Real Maestà di Ferdinando IV Ré de Romani. Ferdinando IV only had nineteen years on this earth, as Madsen explained. Froberger’s Lament is full of sadness, with a scalar passage climbing to what would have been the very highest note on Froberger’s harpsichord.

Pachelbel and Froberger knew each other, so although Suite in E Minor is of dubious origin, it certainly sounds like Froberger. Highlights include the Allemande, played on the buff stop, and the full chorus of the Gigue. The Fantaisie in E Minor, which really is by Froberger, ends on a Picardy third that sounded splendid in meantone.

Pachelbel’s Prelude (improvised) and Fugue in A minor was the final work on the program. The prelude had carefully controlled over-legato, in which the harpsichord really excels. The fugue had a very détaché Pachelbel theme and ended on a delicious Picardy third.

Cienniwa’s recital had only one Baroque piece in it, the harpsichord solo from the Bach sixth violin sonata, BWV 1019. The other two works were Frank Warren’s Three Inventions, Op. 6 (1979) and a world premiere, Larry Thomas Bell’s Partita No. 2, Op. 102. Both composers were present. Warren’s inventions are contrasting, the first craggy and second arpeggiated and scalar, played on two contrasting eight foot registers; the third has a similar registration. All three exhibit surprising endings.

Bell’s Partita, six dances in all, is characterized by contrast and harmonic sense. Color pervades all, both in terms of registration and judicious use of chords. Bell has a tendency to go to the upper regions of the keyboard at the ends of several movements. Particularly beautiful was the dotted rhythms of the Allemande and the two minuets, the one humorous and the other languorous.

Future recitalists through December include Akiko Enoki Sato, Nickolai Sheikov, Elaine Comparone, and David Schulenberg. Concerts in 2011 will present Michelle Graveline, Charles Sherman, Sylvia Barry, Christa Rakich, Bálint Karosi, Jean Rife, Leon Schelhase, and Jory Vinikour. Michael Sponseller/Cienniwa is scheduled for April 21, then Michael Beattie, Linda Skernick, Sponseller, James Nicolson, and Frances Conover Fitch.

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, a rarity, was the String Trio No 1 in E-flat Major, op. 3, played by violinist Rose Drucker, violist Jonina Mazzeo, and cellist Michael Curry. New to this reviewer, this six-movement work occupied the entire first half of the concert. The opening Allegro con brio is too long, I felt, and for some reason the group experienced the occasional intonation problems. Haydn is considered to have invented the string trio, and Beethoven perhaps was trying to outdo the earlier master. Still, there were several felicities throughout, like drones, pizzicato passages, and a jolly finale.

After intermission, in which we were served cider and donuts because of Hallowe’en, came the Gellert songs, op. 48, sung by tenor Zachary Wilder (a Lorraine Hunt Lieberson fellow) and pianist Judith Gordon. The six poems by Christian Fürchtegott Gellert appealed to Beethoven’s sense of gloom. By 1802 he was experiencing deafness — a form of tinnitus that also Schumann had. (No more excruciating condition can befall a composer.) The short “Gottes Macht und Vorsehung” is particularly effective. Wilder sang particularly well “Die Ehre Gottes aus der Nature,” a song that, unlike the other somber ones, is a tribute to the glories of nature. One moment in “Vom Tode” was emotionally wrenching, when the tenor sings “Think, o man, upon Death! Do not delay; this one thing is necessity”

Sunniness returned in the last piece, the Piano Trio No. 1 in E-flat Major, op. 1 (actually not his first published work.) It was first performed in 1793 in the dedicatee’s house in Vienna. From the opening Allegro you knew that you in a master’s hands, played well by Drucker, Curry, and Gordon. Such energy prevailed! The Adagio cantabile second movement begins with a piano solo from the ever-attentive Gordon. This movement is rife with exquisite melodies and the ending is exceptional. A distinctive theme, with plenty of surprises, typifies the finale. Gordon has a way with sforzandi (suddenly or strongly accented notes), and Beethoven punctuates his music with a lot of them. All the players were clearly enjoying themselves. This spirit was infectious.

Emmanuel Music continues the Beethoven chamber series on Sunday, November 14 and twice next year in February. All are at 4:00 p.m.

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.

Brian Church as the Doctor (Anthony Scibilia photo)

Guerilla Opera, ensemble in residence at Boston Conservatory, opened its new season at Boston Conservatory on Sept. 14 with a new production of Heart of a Dog by Rudolph Rojahn, which the company had also presented in 2007. This 35-minute production offers no seats for the audience. The viewers walked around with the cast under the guidance of Carnival Barker (Sean George), creating shifting perspectives for all involved and a greater intimacy for the viewers. Afterward, there was a short talk-back in which the viewers could ask the company questions. This was extremely important for this (or any) reviewer, since he could not take notes during the performance.

The excellent musicians, just four in number, were cellist Javier Caballero, violist Gabriela Diaz, saxophonist Kent O’Doherty (he also played the part of the Suitor), and percussionist (and Artistic Director) Mike Williams. With such minimal orchestration, this opera sounds far from your grandmother’s 19^th century opera. There are no lush tunes, but the different textures applied to the characters (the leitmotifs) are distinct. There is much percussion, typical for a modern work, and the saxophone, with its jazz associations, creates its own colors. The vocal writing ranges all over the place, from screaming to violence to sexuality.

The opera’s basis, a 1925 Russian story by Mikhail Bulgakov, was immediately disliked by the Soviets because it mocks the “new” Soviet man and was suppressed there until 1987. It’s the story of a stray dog (played by the brilliant Aliana de la Guardia, who doubles as general manager of Guerilla Opera) that takes human form when a doctor (played by Brian Church) implants it with a pituitary gland and the testicles of an alcoholic. The dog takes on some of the human qualities of the donor but also retains his own baseness because he retains his dog’s heart. Puns feature prominently in the original. The best is that the original drunken donor is Chugunkin, whose root translates as cast iron — a reference to Stalin, “man of steel.”

Brian Church as the Doctor, Aliana de la Guardia as the Dog, and Patrick Massey as the Assistant (Anthony Scibilia photo)

The stage director, Copeland Woodruff, has a different take from that of Sally Stunkel, who directed the 2007 premiere production which I didn’t see, but the cast freely admitted that this one was “novel.” For one thing, in this production puppets were used to indicate that the dog manipulates the human, a brilliant stroke of staging. That the dog is played by a woman perhaps mirrors Bulgakov’s riffs on what we now might call “gender identity.”

Visually, the opera is stunning, mostly due to the deft lighting by Tiáloc López-Watermann. But there is also creative use of costuming (the dog has whiskers and crawls around the floor until she becomes human; the Carnival Barker looks the part.) The superb puppetry is mostly due to puppet designer Sean Cote. The fact that the audience moves from time to time means that it has new perspectives on the action, and also means it has to work more than a seated audience does. This applies to the cast, too. The singers are straining frequently. The housekeeper, Glorivy Arroyo, acknowledged in the talk-back that she screamed all the time. One viewer asked an interesting question about leitmotifs, to which the ensemble replied that these were supplied by different orchestrations, a common trick by modern composers.

“Heart of a Dog” has had many guises, including a 1973 comic opera, a 1976 Italian movie starring Max von Sydow as the surgeon, a 1988 Soviet film, and a 2010 Dutch National Opera production. Hurry to catch this version, which runs September 17, 19, 23, 24, and 26.

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 the Minnespiel (“Love Game”), a late work of Schumann, from 1849, featuring four solo songs, two duets, and two quartets. After the wondrous year 1840, the so-called “Liederjahr,” when Schumann finally was able to marry his love, Clara Wieck, and subsequently in a burst of creativity wrote 168 songs, he decided to compose for voice and piano, a practice he had formerly abhorred. The presence in his life of Clara may have had something to do with this change of heart.

Based on poems of Friedrich Rückert, the Minnespiel are full of passion verging on the operatic. Sobol, like the composer he is (as well as a tenor), movingly led with an eight-stanza song about unrequited love. This set the template. Lynch followed with a song about the female perspective to such attentions. But it was the two quartets that really revealed the Libella’s strengths. The last piece, “As truly as the sun shines” exhibited admirable blend of voices.

After a brief pause, Wright returned to render “I am the smuggler,” a strange song about a smuggler and his horse trying to avoid the patrols.

Sporting fresh roses, the quartet returned to sing the Spanish play of songs, which, like the love game, features various combinations of voices. Particularly moving was one duet, “Liebesgram,” sung by Lynch and Emrich-Fisher; it is based upon a 16th-century poem by Christobel de Castillejo, a poem whose bleakness is overwhelming. Emrich-Fisher, who is German, excelled herself here. Although the songs were composed originally for a bourgeois Berlin living room, the two quartets distinguished themselves once again by the operatic quality of their singing. Schumann had composed his one opera, Genoveva, in 1848. Perhaps this influenced him.

Excellent as this foursome sounded, they were let down by the pianist, who was named in the program but not favored with a biography. Playing on a sweet but reserved 1880s-vintage Steinway with the lid raised, she followed the singers well but made numerous  mistakes in the more demanding parts of the accompaniments. Schumann, who clearly had the virtuosity of his wife in mind, often had the piano comment on the texts of the poems with elaborate codas. This pianist was not the partner Schumann expected.

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.

An excellent ad hoc string quartet (Tatiana Daubek, Marika Holmqvist, violins; Karina Fox, viola; Colleen McCary-Smith, cello) delivered the goods, with Paul Cienniwa as harpsichord soloist in the Bach Harpsichord Concerto in A Major. The rest of the program consisted of the Haydn Quartet in D Major, Op. 20, No. 4 (Hob. III:34) and the Mozart Quartet in G Major (K. 387), “Spring.”

First up was the Haydn, the most popular of the six quartets that make up Op. 20. From the unisons without vibrato, this listener could tell that this was an unusual musical experience. On gut strings, chords delivered without vibrato have a certain pungency that is delicious. The variations of the minor mode second movement, marked “Un poco adagio e affettuoso,” were distinguished by gestures and a sighing motive shared among the four instruments. The next “Menuet alla Zingarese” movement features furious gypsy rhythms in upper and lower voices giving way to a steady 3/4 cello solo over upper strings.

The finale “Presto e scherzando” continues the gypsy flavor — the Hungarian gypsy scale is a regular harmonic minor scale with raised 4th and 7th degrees — but with all sorts of flashy inventions with a surprising quiet ending.

Cienniwa joined the group for the Bach concerto (BWV 1055), for which the band picked up Baroque bows, eschewing the torque bows that they used for the two classical quartets. The instrumentalists were placed in front of the harpsichord width-wise in the unusually shaped chapel (there are no right angles.) Any fears that the harpsichord would be swamped were instantly dispelled by the jolly opening movement. The A Major ending chord was particularly outstanding in this arrangement.

The minor mode middle movement, “Larghetto”, was particularly affecting with its sighing motive in the strings. The finale, “Allegro ma non tanto,” with its prominent downbeats answered by the full harpsichord, was a joyous romp.

Mozart’s “Spring” quartet is the first of six quartets dedicated to Haydn, who is generally considered the father of the modern string quartet. The first violin here was Holmqvist, who ceded her second role to Daubek; this would never have happened in an established string quartet. This Mozart quartet is distinguished by its heavy use of chromaticism throughout. The theme of the “Molto allegro” finale is based on four notes treated fugally, a technique that Mozart may have learned from the last movement of Haydn’s Symphony 23. In the midst of all this counterpoint, Mozart chooses to insert an operatic section. The long “Minuetto” second movement, in the home key of G Major, is answered by a minor trio section. This fascinating quartet is full of such felicities.

The concert series is sponsored by the Collins Family Memorial Fund organized by Dr. Leo Collins, longtime music director at First Church in Boston, The Rev. L. Willkie Collins, Leo’s father, led the family’s interest in music.  Leo Collins has done so much for music in Boston since he came here in 1958. In his early years as music director, all music funds at First Church were directed to service music. So Collins founded and was first conductor of the Cantata Singers, to give outside concerts. Paul Cienniwa is continuing that tradition but is focusing the repertoire on the harpsichord.

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.

In its final concert of the season, the 123-year-old Chromatic Club of Boston presented two fine musicians, violinist Annie Rabbat and pianist Raquel Gorgojo, at the College Club on Sunday, May 23. They offered four pieces, sonatas by Mozart and Brahms, a Slavonic Dance by Dvorák, and a delicious bonbon by Fritz Kreisler.

The Chromatic Club’s mission is “to further the careers of the most outstanding young artists,” and the performers certainly fulfilled their part of the bargain. Rabbat has participated at Ravinia’s Stearns Institute and the Caramoor and Yellow Barn Festivals, among others. She has collaborated with the Cleveland, Takacs and Orion Quartets. Spanish-born Gorgojo studied at Madrid’s Conservatorio Padré Antonio Soler. She is currently pursuing a DMA in Piano Performance at BU.

Their music making was characterized by judicious tempos, good ensemble and a firm sense of form. It’s not easy to capture the nature of Dvorák’s rhythms, and Rabbat succeeded admirably.

From the opening measures of Mozart’s Sonata in B-flat Major K. 454, we knew we were in firm hands. The Largo was bold, and the Allegro was taken at a nice tempo. The lyrical Andante that followed was interrupted by a minor B section. The finale, marked Allegretto, was taken at clip not too fast, so as to perceive clearly the double upbeat theme.

The Vivace ma non troppo first movement of the Brahms Sonata in G Major, Op. 78, had an exquisite pizzicato section, leading us to the beautiful Adagio-Piu Andante movement. The clipped rhythms of the finale, marked Allegro molto moderato, were not obscured by too much virtuosity, easily blending to the quiet ending.

I have already commented on the Slavonic Dance rhythms. This piece is through-composed. Unlike Brahms, who used traditional melodies for his Hungarian dances, Dvorák composed his own tunes. This particular Slavonic Dance ended on a delicate high note, executed without vibrato.

The program ended with one of Fritz Kreisler’s light pieces, the Miniature Viennese March. All I can say about this perfect period piece is that composers don’t write music like this anymore.

My only complaint was in the scale of the performance. They play in a very bright room, the double-length second floor room at the College Club in Boston’s Back Bay. The players were both playing out, creating a harshness during the forte moments. More audience would have helped, too. A distraction during the playing of the Brahms was an audience member makng a video of the performance, creating an eerie green flash on the piano.

There were exactly 13 people in the audience. (A music friend commented later that there should have been 12, to correspond to the chromatic scale.) This is no doubt due to lack of publicity. I had not heard of the Chromatic Club before and have been in the environs since 1966. In a discussion with President Paul Carlson before the concert, I have learned that they have a new website, still under construction, which is understandable for a club established in 1886 by Edward MacDowell and a few of his students. In its 123-year history, performers have included Olga Samaroff, Amy Beach, Leonard Bernstein, George Neikrug, Emmanuel Feldman and Sanford Sylvan. Check out the season next year. You may be surprised.

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 off was the motet “Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied” for double chorus based on Psalms 149 and 150. (Mozart noted this motet when he visited Leipzig late in his life.) The motets are Bach’s most difficult choral works, and the chorus pulled it off splendidly, with discreet instrumental accompaniment. Then followed the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, with John Finney distinguishing himself on the harpsichord. Violinist Daniel Stepner was his usual excellent self. This concerto is an instrumentally sparse one, which worked against Symphony Hall’s size. For instance, one had a hard time making out Christopher Krueger’s flute line, although Alan Winkler’s German harpsichord sounded fine. (A friend reminded me that this was due to the prevalence of the recording industry’s demands to make the instruments balanced. Do most people hear these concertos recorded?) Still, by the end of the concert, I wish I could have heard it in Jordan Hall.

The first half concluded with the one-movement cantata “Nun ist das Heil and die Kraft,” in which the chorus had a further chance to shine.

Then we heard “Der Geist hilf unser Schwachheit auf,” a motet written for a funeral of the rector of the Thomasschule. Like the earlier one, this is scored for double chorus, with strings and winds used in ingenious ways. There is a Lutheran chorale in the end, preceding two fine Hallelujah iterations. This is one of the most difficult motets to pull off, and all involved excelled themselves.

The Concerto in D minor for Two Violins featured Dan Stepner and Linda Quan guiding the orchestra by their violin bows. This most popular piece was extremely well played. It was, as the English like to say, gob-smackingly good. Bach composed this piece at Cöthen for two impressive violinists, and it’s been popular ever since. As the program notes explained, it was heard at the Collegium Musicum concerts in Leipzig.

The finale was another cantata, the 29^th, “Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir,” which was written, like “Der Geist,” for an important occasion. It begins with a sinfonia featuring a virtuosic organ obbligato punctuated by brass, undoubtedly played by Bach himself. Finney further distinguished himself as organist.  Then the title chorus is heard, based on Psalm 75 and echoed by the end of B Minor Mass, which applies a different text, the “Dona nobis Pacem.”

The soloists, tenor Ryan Turner, bass Bradford Gliem, soprano Lydia Brotherton, and alto Thea Lobo, sang separate arias and recitatives in the traditional cantata way, with the notable exception of the alto, who has both a recitative (with a choral Amen!) and a Hallelujah aria, in which the organ makes a striking re-appearance.

That said, it pains me to say that the soloists, all drawn from the chorus, were the weakest part of the program. Perhaps that is also due to the venue. Still, the audience gave the concert a standing ovation.

Musically speaking, the Handel and Haydn Society would do well to have more of its concerts in Jordan Hall or similarly sized venues. That would afford the opportunity to have more concerts or more repeat performances. Next season, 12 performances are schedule to be held in Symphony Hall, with six performances each in Jordan Hall, Back Bay’s Saint Cecilia Church and Harvard’s Sanders Theatre and Memorial Church.

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.