Opus Colorado

It is really remarkable, sometimes, how a change in leadership can so strongly affect musical organizations. In this case, I am referring to the musicians of the Boulder Bach Festival whom I heard Friday night at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church on Glenarm Place in downtown Denver. First of all, let me say that St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church is an absolutely perfect venue for the Boulder Bach Festival. It is big enough for a good sized audience, and yet it is not so big that the music gets lost, and it is not so big that one loses the feeling of intimacy that adds to the enjoyment and warmth of the performance. 

The change in musicians that I mentioned above has to do with the way they performed. I have often mentioned in my reviews that it is wonderful to see musicians enjoying the music that they are performing. To many of you, that may seem like an unnecessarily obvious statement, but I really don’t think it is. There are some chamber groups whose members sit stone-faced, perhaps because they are on the cutting edge of their technical ability, or they may be trying to cover for a member of the group who can’t quite cut the mustard. But the members of the Boulder Bach Festival ensemble are all vastly superior musicians and they demonstrated that Friday night. Add to that the joy of being given a certain amount of  “free reign,”  where they are allowed to show their tremendous gifts as musicians, as well as their love for the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. There is no doubt in my mind that Maestro Rick Erickson is a perfect fit for these musicians, and that he has the experience and the love of Bach shared by everyone in the organization. Without going too far in making a comparison, I would imagine that it is quite similar to being conducted by Fritz Reiner or Gustavo Dudamel. Both are (were) astounding musicians, but one allows the musicians to have some joy and never insults their intelligence. 

What an astounding difference he has made! 

The BBF opened their program with Brandenburg Concerto Nr.3 in G major. As everyone knows, Bach dedicated the six orchestral Brandenburg Concertos to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg. It was long thought that these concertos were the result of a commission; however, Bach never collected one single dime for them (it seems that even Bach suffered frustrations), and that has led many scholars to think that these six concertos were a form of job application. They were written in 1721, and there is no question that Bach absorbed the Italian concerto grosso style from Albinoni, Vivaldi, and probably, Corelli as well. It is my guess that everyone who reads this article is familiar with the Brandenburg Concerti, so I will not go into great detail, except to say that Nr. 3 was scored for three violins, three violas, three cellos, bass, and continuo. With this instrumentation, Bach creates such a wide range of instrumental colors that it boggles the mind. 

From the outset, the musicians displayed a vivacity and liveliness which has been missing from their performances for the last year or so. It is not that past performances were all bad, but they were certainly lacking the rhythmic pulse and spirit that is so prevalent in Bach’s music. What was most noticeable was the impression they left of almost forgetting the audience, and just wallowing in their own joy of playing the music. There was eye contact from everyone to each other, always with a smile. Their energy was noticeable, as was their trust in each other. Entrances were precise, as was their overall skill. Phrasing from everyone was impeccable. And truly, why not? These are consummate musicians, and after hearing the performance Friday night, one wonders at the good fortune we all share in having them inBoulder. Zachary Carrettin, Mintze Wu, and Stacey Brady were the violinists. Erika Eckert, Matthew Dane, and Summer Rhodes performed on the violas. The cellists were Ann Marie Morgan, Katharine Knight, and Karen Terbeek, with Paul Erhard on bass, and Maestro Erickson, harpsichord. 

Following the Brandenburg Nr. 3, Rick Erickson performed “O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig,” from the Great Eighteen Chorales. When Bach was in Weimar, one of his responsibilities as organist was the harmonization of Lutheran chorale melodies for the benefit of the choir. As a matter of fact, many music schools still use these chorale harmonizations for the instruction of music theory. During the period of 1715 to 1722 or three, Bach wrote eighteen chorale preludes which, for what ever reason, were not assembled as a group of pieces until approximately 1740. The work that Maestro Erickson performed is from this set of chorales. 

The organ at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church is not large. And while that may cause consternation among some organ aficionados, to my ears as a pianist, it seemed not only entirely adequate, but it lent itself quite well to the wonderfully intimate setting of this church. Let us not forget – and please refer to my article of January 12, 2011 on the BBF’s appointment of Richard Erickson – what his qualifications are, because he has a current position at the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in New York City which is not too distant from the positions that Bach held. Simply put, he is a superb organist. This was the first time I had heard a performance of this particular Chorale Prelude, and upon first hearing, some of the ornaments seemed quite difficult, probably because the “feel” of an organ keyboard is so very different from the piano keyboard (to me, an organ keyboard has always seemed much slower to react). But Erikson’s playing was absolutely marvelous musically and technically. 

Next on the concert, the Boulder Bach Festival ensemble performed the final Brandenburg in the series of six. Erika Eckert and Matthew Dane violas; Ann Marie Morgan, Katherine Knight, and Karen Terbeek, cellos; Paul Erhard, bass, and Rick Erickson on harpsichord were the performers. What sets this particular Brandenburg Concerto apart from the others, is something that even trained musicians and musicologists might miss, but when it is mentioned, they have an “Oh, yeah!” moment. That is the fact that at the time Bach was active, the low strings were generally used for supporting roles. Not so in this final Brandenburg. They have some very difficult solo music to play. The result of  Bach’s instrumentation in this particular work gives it an unmistakable sense of repose. The second movement, which is absolutely gorgeous, ends in a key other than the opening key, and the third movement, which is very quick, is a theme and variations, but the opening creates the impression that it is going to be a gigue. Bach’s inventiveness and originality know no bounds. My question is simply this: how do you pick a favorite Brandenburg Concerto?  This piece was absolutely beautifully done. 

After the intermission, Zachary Carrettin, the concertmaster performed the Chaconne in D minor from the Second Violin Partita. This ranks as one of the most difficult pieces written for violin. Why? Because the violin has so many double and triple stops, and chords which are arpeggiated. Brahms thought so highly of this Chaconne that he transcribed it for left hand alone at the piano, justifying it because the violinist has to finger the violin with all of its difficulties with just the left-hand. Therefore, the pianist should have to go through the same agony of difficulty. I have performed the Brahms’ transcription many times, and it is difficult. But every time I hear a violinist perform this work, there is no question that it is more difficult, because the violinist has to go clear across the strings so many times. Zachary Carrettin is a wonderful violinist, and quite frankly, he made the piece seem easy. I assure you that it is not. His tone was incredible and his sense of phrasing and voicing would surely have pleased Bach. This work contains so many hidden passageways that produce over 60 (yes, 60) variants of the original theme. The result can be the most beautiful sense of exhaustion, certainly for the performer, and probably the intent listener. It was a fantastic performance. 

The last work on this concert was Brandenburg Nr. 5. This Concerto was written while Bach was in Cöthen, and is in his typical ritornello form. That is to say that each movement is based on a theme that is restated in the various instruments in many ways. The final movement, which sets this Concerto apart from the others, is a fugue comprised of gigue rhythms (compound meter) and a center section which is a cantabile version of the fugue subject. Constantly, ever constantly, Bach is so ingenious. The BBF ensemble again seemed so overjoyed at performing this work, Christina Jennnings on flute was fabulous, and the sincerity with which they played was absolutely unmistakable. The performance of this last Concerto was so consistently excellent, as was the whole program, that the audience demanded an encore. And much to my delight, they performed the last movement of Brandenburg Nr. 5 again, and only for the encore, they performed just a few ticks faster. That tempo seemed just as perfect, and it certainly demonstrated that every musician in the organization was technically gifted. Following Bach’s circuitous routes is never easy, but always delightful. 

I am sure many of you readers are familiar with the portrait of Bach holding a slip of paper in his hand. He looks rather stern and incredibly serious. Written on the slip of paper is a canon: proof that he could write one, the proof which was requested by a potential employer. While holding the paper, his face seems to say, “Yes, I can write a canon. It is easy for me. Now hire me.” I am sure he was serious, but I kept thinking all throughout Friday evening’s concert, that he must have spent so much of his life smiling. The performers certainly smiled, and I can guarantee you that his music, and the wonderful performance which was given by the Boulder Bach Festival ensemble, made me smile.