Italian music with Baroque violin and theorbo

Speaking of Italian composers, names like Domenico Scarlatti, Antonio Vivaldi and Giuseppe Verdi spring to mind.  I suspect only a very small minority of students who sat for the ABRSM keyboard exams could have gotten away without having played at least one Scarlatti piece.

The performance by the Conservatory though, threw up unfamiliar names.  Biagio Marini, Giovanni Battista Fontana, Dario Castello and Giuseppe Tartini.  All were Baroque composers.  I’m not sure if their pieces called for a theorbo, however, in this performance, the basso continuo were interpreted with a theorbo.  I can’t recall if I’ve seen a theorbo at the Hamamatsu Musical Instruments Museum, but I suppose the theorbo might have been depicted in paintings in the 1600s. 

Interestingly, perhaps to allow the theorbo performer Paula Chateauneuf time to tune the theorbo before each piece, Ukrainian-Irish violinist Pavlo Beznosiuk took time to explain about the violin he used.  Instead of the classical violin, he performed on a baroque violin, which was smaller.  It also did not have a neck rest and shoulder rest.  In addition, the neck was straight, and a different type of bow was used.  This results in the baroque violin sounding different from a classical violin.  To my ears, the baroque violin sounds brighter and sometimes, a little like the chattering of human voices.

The theorbo looks like an oversized lute with two sets of pegboxes.  The set of pegbox closer to the body are similar to that of a normal lute, where a player controls the notes via the neck.  The second set of pegbox connected to an extended neck accommodates open strings.  Chateauneuf also explained about her instrument, and demonstrated how chords are played with the open strings.  The theorbo sounds like a guitar, which is definitely easier to maneuverer than the theorbo.  Chateauneuf was dwarfed by the instrument she played, and I wonder if the theorbo is as heavy as it looks.

 The duo performed the following pieces:

·         Baigio MARINI’s Sonata for violin solo, “per sonar con due corde”

·         Giovanni Battista FONTANA’s Sonata Sesta

·         Dario CASTELLO’s Sonata Seconda

·         Passacaglia for theorbo (Circa 1675)

·         Carlo Ambrogio LONATI’s Sonata No. 3 in D minor

·         Arcangelo CORELLI’s Violin Sonata No. 10 in F major, Op. 5, No. 10

·         Antonio VIVALDI’s Violin Sonata Op. 2 No. 6 in C major

·         Giuseppe TARTINI’s Sonata in G minor, "The Devil's Trill"

I’ve only heard of Corelli and Vivaldi, and only then, listened to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.  Corelli’s name often appeared when I read about Domenico Scarlatti, although I’ve never heard any of Corelli’s compositions.

The first three pieces were very different from the Baroque pieces I listened previously.  For one, they sounded a lot brighter, perhaps due to the baroque violin.  The theorbo accompaniment was surprisingly soothing.  So, this was what people in the 1600s listened to.

Beznosiuk explained that there were many variations of Tartini’s “The Devil’s Thrill”, and that the audience would be still in the orchestra hall the next morning if he were to perform all the variations.  Hence he performed his interpretation.  No matter, it was still an interesting “Devil’s Thrill”.

It was great that Beznosiuk and Chateauneuf spoke, especially when their instruments are so unusual.  I wish that other performers could also speak to the audience, and perhaps explain a little about their interpretations of the pieces they performed.