Giovanni Gabrieli probably studied in
his native Venice with his uncle Andrea Gabrieli. But his period in
Munich, working with Lassus, must have had a profound effect on his
musical style. When he returned to Venice, while still in his 20's,
he started working at St. Mark's Venice and would continue there
until his death. Gabrieli was important for the way he developed the
poly-choral style into something which we think of as the epitome of
Venice. In fact, encountering his music in the concert hall is a
relatively rare experience, usually we hear Gabrieli's music on disc.
So it was a real pleasure to listen to the BREMF Consort and the
English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble under the direction of Deborah
Roberts perform a programme on Sunday 4 November celebrating the
music of Gabrieli (for the 400th anniversary of his death)
as part of the Brighton Early Music Festival.
Gabrieli probably brought ideas of
mixing voices and instruments in choirs from the court at Munich
where their style of performing polyphony included extensive use of
instruments. His earlier pieces give no specifics, but it is clear
that some voices had to be played by instruments notably the very
high and the very low ones. Later on in his career, Gabrieli started
adding notations to scores indicating more clearly the type of
scoring.
The concert opened with singers and
instrumentalists joining for a performance of Gabrieli's Jubilate
Deo. From the first notes, it
was clear that there was a further element to the performance, the
acoustics of St. Bartholomew's church. If we are accustomed to
hearing music which has been recorded, all carefully miked, it can be
quite a surprise to hear it live in a lively acoustic. The church's
acoustic (arising from the huge volume within the immensely tall
building) added distance and a certain fuzziness to the music. All
evening, it was clear that the singers were working hard on clarity
and rhythm, but this was partially obscured by the venue. It was a
bit of a shock at first, but when you got used to it the results were
evocatively attractive and I can only commend the performers for
making these pieces work in what must be a tricky space to perform
in.
Jubilate Deo
was quite lightly sung, with speeds which were quite lively; again
characteristics which cropped up the other pieces.
Having
given us a grand, ensemble piece, the performers then demonstrated
another feature of 16th
century practice, instrumental versions of choral pieces. The English
Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble gave us Gabrieli's motet Beata
es Virgo, which they performed
from the rear balcony of the church.
Gabrieli's
Jesu mi dulcissime,
which was performed by just choir and organ, was one of the few
pieces in the evening to use two balanced choirs. The vast majority
of the motets performed used a high choir and a low choir which seems
to have been Gabrieli's preferred combination. The two groups can
thus act antiphonally together creating interesting oppositions, and
then come together for a grand ensemble conclusion.
The
English Cornet and Sackbutt Ensemble then played a lively five part
piece, Canzon Vigesimaterza,
by Claudio Merulo who was an organist at St. Mark's from 1566 to 1584
(when Giovanni Gabrieli took over the post).
Gabrieli's
grand Maria Virgo
brought choir and instruments together, one of Gabrieli's own lively
brass pieces followed; his Canzon a 6. Then
to conclude the first half, choir and instrumentalists were joined by
more singers for an immensely grand performance of Gabrieli's Quis
est iste. The extra participants
came from a Gabrieli choral workshop which Deborah Roberts and BREMF
held a on 23rd
September, thus giving the singers a chance to experience Gabrieli's
music in a glorious large-scale performance.
Part
two opened with a pair of Gabrieli's madrigals. He didn't write many
of these and the two performed were sacred ones, Sacri di
Giove and Lieto godea
which are both quite close to being motets. For these the BREMF
Consort showed its flexibility by reducing to a smaller group, with
the second being performed by just eight singers arranged in two
choirs, with the addition of a cornett playing top line in each
choir. This use of a single instrument on the top vocal line,
something which was probably quite common in the period, is not
usually done nowadays and it makes a fascinating and striking effect.
Next
followed Gabrieli's later version of O Jesu mi dulcissime
where the vocal writing has become more complex with some of it more
suited to solo voices. The BREMF Consort split into a larger and
smaller group, with some sections taken by single voices, to great
effect.
Two of
the instrumentalists then performed Bassano's Double
Division on Veni dilecti mi by Palestrina.
Divisions were effectively variations, where an instrument took a
passage from an existing piece and created something more elaborate
from it. Here, just to show off further, there were two instruments,
a cornett and a sackbut, each performing their own interlinked,
dazzling music.
Next a
pair of pieces from Gabrieli's earliest publication in 1587, which
included music by his Uncle Andrea Gabrieli as well. Both Deus
Meus and O magnum
mysterium were performed with
two choirs, one high and low, each combing voices and brass. The
results, especially in the concluding Allelulia of
O magnum mysterium,
were glorious.
Hodie Christus natus
est was performed by
just choir and organ, before everyone (BREMF Consort, extra singers
from the Gabrieli workshop and the English Cornett and Sackbut
Ensemble) joined together for an immensely grand performance of Omnes
gentes with four choirs of
varying sizes and combinations of voice and instruments all dotted
around the church. This was Venetian poly-choral music at its most
spectacular.
The
BREMF Consort is group founded in 2010 and consisting of a consort of
amateur and student solo and consort voices. The group had been
heavily involved in the previous night's performances of the
Florentine Intermedi of 1589
and their production of another large-scale concert the day after was
impressive. Under Deborah Roberts clearly inspiring direction they
performed brilliantly, coping with the vagaries of the acoustic and
delivering Gabrieli's vocal lines with finesse and liveliness. There
were odd moments when things did sag, but these were small
imperfections on what was a very impressive and involving experience.
The
players of the English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble, Gawain Glenton,
Sam Goble, Philip Dale, Tom Lees, Andrew Harwood-White and Adrian
France, made the performance of this music seem easy, allowing us to
forget that their instruments are imperfect and that great technical
skill is required. They slipped easily between bravura displays in
the instrumental music to supporting the singers in the poly-choral
pieces. Their contribution to the evening was notable and brilliant
to listen to.
Claire
Williams did a sterling job, playing the organ for most of the
pieces.
As I
have said, Deborah Roberts is clearly an inspiring presence. She
trained the singers and drew strong performances, acted as a
brilliant traffic policeman in the more complex works and clearly
loves the repertoire.
The
participation of the members of the Gabrieli workshop lent the
evening a very special tone. BREMF is adept at creating events which
are particular to the festival rather than being simple off the peg.
This was a great example, combining scholarship and period
performance with a community involvement. It drew a strong,
appreciative audience and I certainly hope we don't have to wait for
another 400 years for the next Gabrieli celebration.
lsewhere on this blog
lsewhere on this blog
- Further coverage of Brighton Early Music Festival
- Feature article - Handel's Last Castrato
- Review of Triple Bill at Guildhall School of Music and Drama
- Home Page
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