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Volume CXXXIII, Number 7 |
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The Publick Musick travels time
ELAINE JOHANSON
STAFF WRITER
The sounds of Antonio Vivaldi filled Kresge Auditorium last Sunday, brought there by travelling eight-piece ensemble the Publick Musick. All the instruments used, including the harpsichord, recorder, oboe, and theorbo, were from the period in which the music was composed. The group strives to recreate music as it would have been performed and heard at the time that Vivaldi wrote it. In addition to Vivaldi's pieces, the group also played works by Georg Philipp Telemann and Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, who both composed during the same time period.
According to co-director Tom Folan, the group began at Cornell University in 1995 as a group of mostly graduate student instrumentalists and singers with the name Florileglum. However, since the group shared its name with another group from England, they changed their name to the friendlier Publick Musick.
The group is based in Rochester, New York where they perform an annual concert with a full chamber orchestra and chorus. Their repertoire extends from the 16th to early 19th century, though they played exclusively from the late 17th to 18th centuries during their performance at Bowdoin. The eight-piece ensemble is composed of musicians from all over the United States and the world, including Venezuela and Australia.
Perhaps because the concert occurred on a Sunday evening, the audience was mostly composed of community members. However, Philip Stern '05 made it out to enjoy the music. He said, "This is the first time I've seen Vivaldi with this sort of ensemble;" previously, he had only seen Vivaldi performed with larger ensembles or full orchestras. He also said that the concert was "not the kind of concert I would normally attend, but I'm enjoying it very much."
Doug Hayes '04 had a similar reaction to the size of the ensemble, but said that "the group listened to each other very well." He particularly enjoyed the "Tempesta di mare," meaning "Storm at Sea."
"The movements in the piece conveyed the image of the sea," Hayes said.
It was a pleasant and unusual break from the Sunday evening grind, particularly because the audience shared such an intimate space with the musicians. The space allowed for greater interaction, even if only by seeing each other's faces. The audience left looking cheerful and relaxed, which would have made Vivaldi, Telemann, and Boismortier very pleased.
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