Richardson Auditorium, Princeton University. Balcony (Center Left, Row 2, free).
The Art of the Fugue, BMV 1080 by J. S. Bach (1685-1750).
Contrapunctus I, II, III, IV, V, VI in Stylo Francese, VII per Augment et Diminut;
IX alla Duodecima.
String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13 by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
I. Adagio - allegro vivace; II. Adagio non lento; III. Intermezzo;
Allegretto con moto - Allegro di molto; IV. Presto - Adagio non lento.
After a hiatus of two years, the Princeton University Summer Chamber Concerts series has resumed this year - its 55th. Our travel schedule allows us to attend only this one and the one on July 8.
The quartet was formed in 2012 by musicians trained at Oberlin and Julliard, with an emphasis on historical performances.
Scholars are uncertain what Bach had in mind when he composed this music. It is incomplete, and not scored for specific instruments. So people have adapted it for instruments ranging from harpsichord to orchestra. Today we heard the quartet version; I am told VIII was written for three voices, and is thus excluded in today's performance.
As an exercise in composition, one could imagine Bach trying different techniques to see how things turn out, all "limiting" himself to the fugue structure, and the same theme. If no one had said anything, I would have called the set variations on a theme, since I may not identify readily the fugue format.
Two things of note said during the introduction by the cellist Paul Dwyer. One is that in one fugue the different instruments go at different tempos (VII), and the other is there is one with an inverted theme. I got both. Not a given as it took me a while to figure out the one in Rachmaninoff's Variations on a Theme by Paganini.
For the Mendelssohn, they changed their bows and kept their instruments. I had not encountered this quartet before (remember: not a great chamber music enthusiast), and wished they had performed on the "modern" instrument instead.
The Mendelssohn works that come to mind are the Scottish Symphony, The Fingal's Cave Overture, Midsummer Night's Dream, and - particularly relevant for comparison - the Violin Concerto. I never encountered, and never expected to encounter, a performance of a Mendelssohn piece that didn't use modern instruments. Imagine the violin concerto played without vibrato. And if one wants to be scholarly about it, the "modern violin," at least early versions of it, was around in Mendelssohn's day, so one could argue he composed with that sound in mind.
As it was played today, the piece lacked the tension and excitement I generally associate with Mendelssohn's work. And sitting in the balcony, I had trouble hearing some of the passages.
I do wonder, however, that if composers like Handel and Bach had the modern instrument at their disposal, would they write very differently? People are limited by the times they live in, but that doesn't mean they won't embrace what happens later. To me it is interesting academically/intellectually to imagine how the composers heard that in their minds, but one should feel free to bring current practices into the performance.
We went to the concert with our college friends David and Vivien, and had coffee and cake afterwards.
Coffee and cake at Chez Alice.
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