The Catskill Chronicle

Review by Barry Plaxen, group photos by Phillip Giambri

Once again, a full house of chamber music enthusiasts at St. Andrews Church in South Fallsburg were treated to a program of extraordinary music on April 27, 2013 for the opening concert of the 2013 season. Music that was, I am sure, unknown to each and every listener. Music so good that one wonders why it has been lying around for a long time unperformed.

The Dialogue: (c.1720)

The concert opened with no surprises: Conductor-harpsichordist-musicologist and witty raconteur Kenneth Cooper (photo left) was joined by cellist Amy Kang for Bach’s “Sonata #1 in G, BWV 1029,” the third in a series of three sonatas originally written for viola da gamba, the six-string precursor of the four-string cello, “The Dialogue” being the interplay between the cello and the harpsichord. Bach’s yardstick of the repertory gave no indication of the esoteric music to follow.

The Operation: (1725)

OHMIGOSH. In my memory, nothing like this has ever before been offered up to local music lovers. Fairly well-known and respected baroque composer Marin Marias underwent an operation in the early 18^th century when operations were not only dangerous and often unsuccessful, but also “ugly,” as explained by Cooper. How nice of Marias to share his dreadful experience with music lovers, eh?

The piece, “La Tableau de l’Operation de la Taillle” (Taille means “body”) is a narration with music. And, perhaps, it was the first real piece of program music – narrated oral descriptions of the operation, aftermath and recovery, with descriptive musical interludes between the narrated segments.

Being that we are neither French nor living in the baroque era, Cooper decided to create a new narration for the work and obtained the services of his ex-brother-in-law, A.G. Murphy, who wrote an entirely new narration for South Fallsburg audiences, newly titled ”Portrait for a Gall-Bladder Operation.” One assumes Monsieur Marais’ original narration was humorous, because Mr. Murphy’s was quite hilarious.

The music was lovingly played by Cooper and violist, Irena Momchilov, and was charmingly spoken by four of five singers that were to perform in the second half. Marias’ musical sequences between the unfolding of the medical events were short, funny and, if I may say, delicious. Or maybe deliciously silly.

The Competition: (1700)

As silly as Marais’ piece may have seemed, the second half of the program was just the opposite. “The Judgment of Paris,” with music by John Eccles and a poetic “libretto” by William Congreve, was a marvelous work that Cooper found in the archives of the New York Public Library. Cliché though it may seem, “exquisite” is the word for this music. Profound and expressive also. And, most importantly, extremely moving. One wonders why we (I) never heard of John Eccles, why he is not a household name and what else he wrote. (Watch out YouTube, here I come.)

Eccles was very active as a composer for the theater, and from the 1690s wrote a large amount of incidental music. Jointly with Henry Purcell he wrote incidental music for Thomas d’Urfey‘s “Don Quixote”. He became a composer at Drury Lane theatre in 1693 and when some of the actors broke off to form their own company at Lincoln’s Inn Fields in 1695, he composed music for them as well, He also wrote operas and was the only Master of the King’s Musick in the history of the post to serve four monarchs (King William III, Queen Anne, King George I and King George II).

Sandwiched between the likes of Purcell and Handel somehow he got lost, but his musical telling of the age-old myth of the Golden Apple coming into the hands of Paris, and three goddesses vying for its possession by tempting Paris with high position, triumph in battle or joy & love, does not indicate a composer inferior to those two giants.

I would say the work was in the form of a masque – without any dancing or costumes. Cooper cleverly elicited a somewhat theatrical presentation from his performers (behind their music stands). Tenors Christopher Sierra (photo above right) and Dorian Balis handled themselves well, though mezzo Emily Stauffer and sopranos Katherine Copland (photo above left) and Nadia Petrella (photo right) were more agile and more at ease with the required virtuoso coloratura displays, runs, trills, leaps, etc. The ladies also were highly dexterous with their phrasing.

During Eccles’ piece, the singers were accompanied by Momchilova, Kang and Cooper who outshone their own earlier playing with the serious and unique music that was distinctly Eccles and no other composer’s. They all seemed to be even more motivated to phrase with delicacy and beauty in this piece than the others, and shared in the joyfulness that the singers were expressing. Perhaps because of the superiority of the music.

The singers and Momchilova (photo left) hold either Bachelors or Masters of Music Degrees from the Manhattan School of Music where Cooper is a faculty member, Chair of the Harpsichord Department and Director of the Baroque Aria Ensemble. Cellist Kang is also a well known visual artist.

The audience showed their grateful appreciation to producers Peggy and Robert Friedman and the Church parish for this truly outstanding addition to the musical marvels our local entrepreneurs offer us here in the boonies. And thanks to the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance who administers the NYS Council of the Arts Decentralization program in Sullivan County, and the re-granting through the Town of Fallsburg.

(Editor’s note: Cellist Amy Kang is also an accomplished painter. Her paintings can be seen by clicking on this link: http://www.amykang.com/paintings/.)