Itinéraire Baroque III & IV: Klaus Mertens and Ton Koopman impress, plus Mozart

Itinéraire Baroque en Périgord, 2024 III: Baroque en Cercles 

Itinéraire Baroque en Périgord, 2024 III: Baroque en Cercles, continued. Église Abbatiale Saint-Cybard de Cercles. 2.8.2024

Mozart à Quatre Mains: Tini Mathot, Verena Habel (fortepiano) 

Mozart Fantasia, K 608. Andante con variazioni, K 501. Sonata in D, K 381. 

Plus, readings (in French) from the letters of Mozart;s youth (1770-1777) by Pierre Florac 

Sandwiched between a conference on The Organ in the Middle Ages (Catalina Vicens, who we will meet in the Itinéraire itself) and an architectural conference, Tini Mathot and Verena Habel presented Mozart’s piano duet music in the context of readings of Mozart’s letters. It was an effective strategy, given the enthusiastic delivery style of Pierre Florac. He is described as a comedian as well as a director of both theatre and opera. 

The letters, reprinted in French in the programme booklet, were a letter to the Archbishop of Salzburg requesting absence, plus letters to his father (September 1777), to Padre Martini (1776), his sister (1779), plus various letters to his mother and to his sister. The wit of Mozart’s letters is well known, and the placement of Mozart’s music within them worked perfectly. 

There is clearly a firm musical bond between Tini Mathot and Verena Habel. Habel took Primo for K 608, the Fantasia in F-Minor, originally for mechanical clock. The couterpoint was the most successful aspect (there was some instability elsewhere). The Andante con variazioni, K 501 was a fine performance, though, the ostensible simplicity of its theme soon ceding to a Minore of murkier waters. Habel and Mathot’s harmonic sensitivity was what enabled this performance to succeed. The music flowed; at other times, it sparkled.  

A reversal of Primo and Secondo for the Sonata in D, K 381, with Mathot on top. D major is a bright key, and the articulation at the opening could have been brighter; parts of the first movement did tend, effectively, towards an opera overture, though. The exposition repeat was observed, but not particularly smoothly; better was the central Andante, full of cantabile lines, while it was the contrasting episodes of the finale that spoke the clearest of Mozart.  

For the Mozart pieces, it is to Yaara Tal and Andreas Gruytuysen on Sony I would head for the Fantasia; for the Andante con variazioni, the Casadesuses (Robert and Gaby), again now on Sony, and for K 381 beyond a shadow of a doubt, Ingrid Haebler and Ludwig Hoffmann (a March 1976 performance now on a Decca twofer).

Bist du bei mir: Klaus Mertens (bass-baritone); Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra / Ton Koopman (director/harpsichord/organ) 

Telemann Trio Sonata in C minor, TWV 42:c2. Concerto à 4 in G, TWV 43:G6. 

Bruhns Cantata, Mein Herz ist bereit 

Vivaldi Concertos in G, RV 107 and RV 105 

Bach/Stölzel Cantata, Bist du bei mir 

Bach Cantata, Der Friede sei mit dir, BWV 158 

The Buxtehude concert in the morning of August 2 was something of a revelation; nut there was something of a Rolls Royce of the Baroque World about the evening’s event. The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra deservedly has a global reputation under its founder, Ton Koopman; Klaus Mertens is an interpreter of huge distinction. His voice is no longer in prime shape (how could it be, he is 75), but it remains beautiful, and his musicality is beyond question. 

The repertoire, too, as perfect. It was clever to include music by Danish composer Nicalaus (Nikolaus) Bruhns (1685-1697), a pupil of Buxtehude. Fascinating, too, to return to Telemann (mmories of the Telemann Year at Itinéraire Baroque came flooding back. The Trio Sonata in C minor, TWV 42:c2 was the perfect opener, the dialogues between recorder and oboe (Reine Marie Verhagen and Antoine Torunczyk) a delight in the opening Largo beautifully expressive, balanced by the truly beautiful, open-air Andante third movement. Interspersed was a jaunty Vivace and a final Allegro of unfailing inspiration. We all need more Telemann in our lives. 

Here's a snippet of the Telemann, by the OAE:

Bruhns’ sacred cantata Mein Herz ist bereit (My heart is steadfast) features an agile violin part (Catherine Manson on top form). Bruhns was a noted violinist (his trick, apparently, was to play violin and organ at the same time), so it is no surprise the violin is features in such a soloistic manner in the opening Sinfonia. With a text from Psalm 108 of praise and waking up the dawn, the music is upbeat and vital. There are some lovely moments: an entreaty to ‘wake up’ is answered by violin stopping echoing fanfares. Although there is some air around Mertens’ voice lower down, his voice remains strong and resolute, yet capable of lightness, too (at that waking at dawn, ‘Früh will ich aufwachen’ ). A superb performance of a superb piece. 

Here is an alternative performance, by the Ricercar Consort on Alia Vox:

Two Vivaldi Concertos peppered the concert. More ensemble pieces, they glow with invenion; they are ereally better classed as Chamber Concertos. Koopman was an excellent harpsichordist, Manson superb both solo and in duet with Verhagen’s recorder in RV105’s first movement, Verhagen superbly lyrical in the central Largo ; the finale offered virtuoso opportinities, enthusiastically taken, for bassoonist Wouter Verschuren. RV 107 (actually heard first) holds the most amazingly heartfelt Largo at its core. The G-Minor-ness of its opening movement and finale was nice and dark. 

Lovely to hear the Stölzel Bist du nei mir (from his opera Diomedes), formerly Bach’s BWV 508, here for bass and organ (Mertens and Koopman), and with some lovely vocal decorations from Mertens. But it was the complete cantata, Der Friede sei mit dir (BWV 158). This piece has been recorded by Mertens and Koopman, and a sense of depth through that very familiarity pervaded the performance. Mertens’ recitatives are superb: his diction is unparalleled (and the way the phrasing appears so natural and uninterrupted); the instrumental contributions were equally fine, particularly from Manson, who features in the aria, ‘Welt, adè’.  

Here's an excerpt for Koopman's own recording of BWV 158:

Finally, a palette-cleanser: Telemann’s Quartet in G, TWV 43:G6, its first movement an explosion of joy (Manson’s articulation itself a source of pleasure), followed by a surprisingly profound Grave and a finale of near-Handelian triumphalism. 

Here's an alternative performance, from Musica Barcensis:

As a day unto itself, this was perfectly balanced; it held a double function, though, as a day-long prelude to the Itinéraire itself ... to be continued. 

The Mozart (Haebler/Hoffmann) is available from Amazon here,