Herspèrion XXI and Jordi Savall revel in centuries of dance music
A packed, expectant audience greeted the world’s preeminent viola de gamba player for a highly-anticipated performance at Grace and Holy Trinity on Friday. Jordi Savall, with his extraordinary ensemble of early music specialists in Hespèrion XXI, gave an exciting, relevant concert of Renaissance and Baroque dance music, performed by viol consort and percussionist for nearly two hours, presented by Friends of Chamber Music.
I managed to snag a mostly unimpeded view from the organ loft, seated under the pipes. Even from that vantage point, as far removed as one could be from the musicians, the quality and control of the unamplified ensemble resounded with a cohesion that still allowed for clarity in the individual voices. The seven-member international cohort featured the full family of viols: Savall (treble), Imke David (tenor), Philippe Pierlot (alto and bass), Lorenz Duftschmid (bass), Xavier Puertas (violone, akin to the string bass), with timbral contrast coming from Xavier Díaz-Latorre on theorbo and guitar and David Mayoral on percussion.
The program, “Musica Nova,” grouped sets geographically and ordered them chronologically, mapping the influence of dance styles from 1500 Venice (the original cosmopolitan, melting pot of a city-state) out into Europe throughout the 17th century. Pieces selected and arranged from historic sources were linked together with transitions from field drum/tambourine cadences or solos on theorbo/guitar, maintaining a sense of unity and forward motion.
A first set of Venetian dances introduced the lilting, courtly styles of pavana, galliard, and saltarello, ending with the meatier flavor of Giorgio Mainerio’s “Hungaresca,” a bit wild with rattling tambourine, bounding bows and a whirling tempo. A more somber set followed, featuring drones and the lustrous tone of the viols.
An English set from 1612 included the familiar plaint of John Dowland’s “Lacrimae Pavan” and the rollicking Celtic influence, with bass drone and hand drum, in William Brade’s “Ein Schottisch Tanz.”
Music from the court of Louis XIII featured music both demure and martial, ending with a “Bourrée d’Avignonez” that became more intricate and fascinating as the voices added in, gradually faster and louder until the sudden stop was met with laughter.
The fugal entrances of Guiseppe Guami’s Canzon 7: “La Cromatica” created harmonies in beautiful conflict, inspired by song. Selections from Samuel Schiedt represented Germany, with a dynamic ebb and flow and emphatic strumming from guitar in Galliard Battaglia XXI.
It was in the last few numbers from the Iberian Peninsula, though, that the Catalonia-born Savall unleashed his prowess with improvisational treatments, the ensemble completely attune to his virtuosic technique and responsive to the florid lines. These pieces, too, restated not only the beauty but the vitality of this music. Over a pianissimo ostinato from the violone, Savall and Díaz-Latorre played a joyous rendition of “Canarios” with Mayoral offering a striking, yet subtle, rhythmic modulation on impeccably played claves.
The last piece featured improvisations with tremolo, spiccato, and fierce fingering on Antonio Valente’s Gallarda, the adamant 4-note ostinato a precursor to the Son Jarocho-style folksong “La Bamba.”
Though a completely satisfying concert, the cohort offered an energetic encore number with the surprising addition of mouth harp and darbuka from percussionist Mayoral, the unexpected twang of the final note finishing off a deliciously inventive performance.
This story was originally published February 11, 2017 at 8:48 AM with the headline "Herspèrion XXI and Jordi Savall revel in centuries of dance music."