concert review: San Francisco Symphony

[calimac]

An early music concert, appealing to me for some great repertoire. Bach (Brandenburg 4), Handel (the G-major Water Music suite and the Ariodante Overture), and Purcell (Chaconne), interwoven with two of Respighi's suites of Ancient Airs and Dances. A bit of an uncomfortable mix, I thought, since Respighi's early-20C orchestrations sound uncomfortably lush next to the original Baroque music. But it was all nicely played. The guest conductor was Harry Christophers, an early-music specialist better known for his work with choral rather than orchestral music, and he led like a choral conductor too, shaping the music with his hands, and occasionally churning butter or scooping ice cream as well.

Comments

[kip-w.livejournal.com]

Indeed, the mp3 I downloaded of the Allegri Miserere bore the credit "The 16 Harry Christophers," and I thought, that's rather a lot of them.

Respighi also arranged some of the Ancient Airs for piano, but my favorite version is the one with Paul O'Dette playing the original dances and accompanying the songs, on lutes and whatnot. I will confess to having a soft spot for any version whatsoever of the Gianoncelli 'Bergamasca.' It even sounds great orchestrated (Respighi was very good at it, and the piece feels big enough to withstand the treatment). (Heck, I might go see if I can get the piece in its orchestral guise and listen to it again.)

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

I have the O'Dette version, on LP.

I also have Liszt's orchestral arrangement of the Allegri Miserere, mixed up with Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus. Talk about weird.

[kip-w.livejournal.com]

Do you know who did the detective work for O'Dette? Respighi didn't credit any individual composers, as far as I know.

I haven't heard that Liszt. I've heard the piano version and the organ version, both of which are sort of variations built on the ground of the Allegri. I first listened to it hoping to hear a piano version of the piece, but that wasn't what Liszt had in mind, I guess. His transcription of the Palestrina Miserere is possibly more straightforward, but I've only heard it played by Nyiregyhazi, who sort of does it his own way.

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

Respighi's sources are known - he didn't read lute tablature himself, so he used published transcriptions available at the time, mostly by Chilesotti, and the impression I get from O'Dette's liner notes is that he scoured around in these himself.