Magnificat
Program
IN NATIVITATE DOMINI
in 1. Vesperis
Versiculus & Responsorium -- Deus in adiutorium/Domine ad adiuvandum
1. Antiphona -- Rex pacificus
Ps 109 -- Dixit Dominus secondo à 7
Giovanni Rovetta, Messa e salmi concertati…(Venice, 1639)
in loco 1. Antiphona -- Canzon à 3, Rovetta, Salmi concertati...(Venice, 1626)
2. Antiphona -- Magnificatus est
Ps 110 -- Confitebor tibi à 7
Rovetta, Messa e salmi concertati…(Venice, 1639)
in loco 2. Antiphona -- Sonata Prima à 3, Massimiliano Neri, Sonate, op.2 (Venice,1651)
3. Antiphona -- Complerti sunt
Ps 111 -- Beatus vir à 6
Rovetta, Salmi concertati...(Venice, 1626)
in loco 3. Antiphona -- Sonata Seconda à 3, Neri Sonate, op.2 (Venice,1651)
4. Antiphona -- Scitote
Ps 112 -- Laudate pueri à 7
Rovetta, Messa e salmi concertati…(Venice, 1639)
in loco 4. Antiphona -- Sonata à 3, Pier Francesco Cavalli, Musiche sacre (Venice, 1656)
5. Antiphona -- Levate capita vestra
Ps. 116 -- Laudate Dominum à 6
Rovetta, Messa e salmi concertati…(Venice, 1639)
In loco 5. Antiphona -- Sonata Terza à 3, Neri Sonate, op.2 (Venice,1651)
Capitulum -- Apparuit benignitas…
Hymnus -- Christe Redemptor omnium
Fasolo, Annuale (Venice, 1646)
in loco Antiphona ad Magnificat -- Cantate Domino et Exultate, Cavalli (Venice, 1656)
Canticum B. M. V. -- Magnificat anima mea à 6
Rovetta, Salmi concertati...(Venice, 1626)
Antiphona ad Magnificat -- Cum ortu fuerit
Oratio -- Concede quaesumus…
Versiculus & Responsorium -- Benedicamus Domino
Antiphona B. M. V. -- Antiphona BMV: Alma Redemptoris mater
Program Notes
Since Jerome Roche's seminal1984 study that examined the largely overlooked work of Monteverdi's contemporaries in Northern Italy, musicologists and performers have devoted considerable energy to exploring this music. In the field of sacred music, seventeenth century composers often displayed their most extraordinary efforts in settings of the texts for the evening service of vespers. The psalms and hymns associated with the major feasts of the church year and especially the Canticle of Mary, known as the Magnificat, as well as motets and instrumental pieces useful as antiphon substitutes formed the core of the extraordinary flowering of sacred music during the century. Our program this evening features the vespers music of Giovanni Rovetta within the context of First Vespers for the Feast of Christmas.
Rovetta had the misfortune of living under the shadow of Monteverdi, whom he first served under and later succeeded as maestro di capella at St. Mark's in Venice. While this has effected his historical position it did not hinder his reputation during his own lifetime as one of the outstanding figures in Venetian musical life and he was active as a performer and as a composer of five large vespers collections, four volumes of concertato madrigals, at least two operas and numerous works in anthologies and manuscripts in a career than spanned thirty six years. Born around 1597 in or near Venice, Rovetta became a singer at St. Mark's as a boy and remained associated with that institution for the rest of his life as a singer, instrumentalist and composer. In 1624 he was named vice-maestro to Monteverdi on the departure of Alessandro Grandi and in 1644, the year after Monteverdi's death, he was promoted to maestro. During the 1630s he also worked for two of Ospedali in Venice and also had more or less permanent positions as three other churches in Venice. With the advent of public opera in Venice in the 1640s, Rovetta, like Monteverdi, became involved in this lucrative business, providing music for at least to productions.
Even before succeeding Monteverdi, Rovetta's reputation was well established. When the French ambassador to Venice conceived the idea of a splendid festival to celebrate the birth of the future Louis XIV in 1638, he commissioned Rovetta to supply the music. The festivities included a procession of gondolas from the Doge's palace to the island of San Grigorio, a banquet in the ducal palace, bullfights in the Piazza San Marco and fireworks over the course of four days, all accompanied by a variety of musical events.. In 1639, Rovetta published a collection of music dedicated to Louis XII, containing a setting of the mass ordinary and the typical selection of psalms required for major feasts that most likely includes many of the pieces performed the previous year. Magnificat will perform four psalms from this collection on the December program. Perhaps as a result of notoriety gained from the events of 1638 a reprint of Rovetta's opus one, Salmi concertati…, was published in 1641. Originally published in 1626 shortly after Rovetta's appointment as vice-maestro, this collection included a similar assortment of psalm setting and also included four canzoni, the only purely instrumental music of Rovetta that has survived. Magnificat will perform one of these canzoni, a setting of Beatus vir and the six-voice setting of the Magnificat from this collection.
Rovetta's music reflects the tunefulness, structural clarity and harmonic direction so characteristic of the concertato style that dominated mid-century Italian composition. The psalms and Magnificat are all scored for six or seven voices with two violins and continuo. Rovetta's vocal writing combines virtuoso passages for all the voices in solos and various combinations of voices alternating with sonorous passages for the entire ensemble. The composer's experience as an instrumentalist is evident in the idiomatic writing for the violins. The instruments provide introductory sinfonias and punctuating ritornelli as well as reinforcing full ensemble passages and occasionally interacting with the voices in imitative passages.
In addition to Rovetta's music, the program will include music by two of the composer's colleagues at St. Mark's. Both Massimiliano Neri and Pier Francesco Cavalli served as organist during Rovetta's tenure as maestro, with Cavalli succeeding Rovetta upon his death in 1668. Neri was organist at St. Mark's from 1644-1664. He was raised to the nobility by Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand III in 1651, when visited Vienna. He traveled to Cologne in 1663 and in 1664 entered the service there as organist and Kapellmeister but died just two years later. Cavalli, in addition to his work at St. Mark's, enjoyed a long and celebrated career as a composer of operas. His most notable collection of sacred music was published in 1656 and contained six ensemble canzoni including the one on Magnificat's program.
I would like to thank Jeffrey Kurtzman for his help with this program and for all the work he has on the remarkable sacred music of seventeenth century, and William Mahrt who love his love of music and liturgy that he has so generously shared with me. I would also like to thank the San Francisco Early Music Society for inviting Magnificat to be part of their series and for all they have done to promote the performance and appreciation of early music in the Bay Area. Thank you also to Dorothy Manly, Nika Korniyenko and Tchocky. Stay Free!
notes by Warren Stewart
Ensemble and Performer Biographies
Hugh Davies (bass) was born and educated in England, and started his singing career as a boy chorister at St. Albans Abbey under the direction of Peter Hurford and Simon Preston. While a student at Cambridge University, he was a Choral Scholar at King’s College, under the direction of David Willcocks. As a professional singer based in London, he appeared with Glyndebourne Opera, the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, and as a soloist with leading choirs and orchestras throughout Europe. He was a member of the Monteverdi Choir, the Schütz Choir, and the John Alldis choir, and made many recordings and broadcasts on television and radio. After teaching music in Australia for two years, Mr. Davies moved to California in 1986. He now sings in the San Francisco Bay Area as a soloist and as a member of several professional ensembles, including Theatre of Voices, 1990-1996.
Rob Diggins (violin) is an international free-lance violinist, performing frequently with many of today's most notable early music ensembles. He is co- director of el mundo and Arcangelli as well as director/founder of the North Bay Chamber Orchestra of Eureka, California, and the musical director of the Jefferson Baroque Orchestra, Grants Pass, Oregon. He enjoys sailing, gardening, & dreaming about boat-building with his partner. In 1993 he earned a Soloist Diploma in Violin from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. In his spare time he builds satellite dishes from scratch.
John Dornenburg (violone) has performed as viola da gamba soloist in Europe, New Zealand, Australia, and across the U.S.A. He has appeared with the San Francisco Symphony, Carmel Bach Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, Aston Magna, York Early Music Festival, Melbourne Festival, Berkeley Festival, and many others. He has made over 25 CD recordings of solo and chamber music, which include solo performances by Marais, J.S. Bach, Telemann, C.P.E. Bach, and Handel. Most recently he has completed a recording of unaccomanied music for viola da gamba that will be released later in 2004 on the Centaur label. He was awarded the Soloist's Diploma for his studies with Wieland Kuijken at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague; prior to this he studied baroque performance practices with Nikolaus Harnoncourt at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. In the San Francisco Bay Area he directs the Sex Chordæ Consort of Viols, and also performs with Music's Re-creation, Magnificat, American Bach Soloists, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, and others. John has taught the viola da gamba at StanfordUniversity since 1988, and he also lectures in music history on the faculty at California State University, Sacramento.
Jolianne von Einem (violin) was raised in Los Angeles and studied violin at UCLA and USC and baroque violin with Monica Huggett. She performs and records with a number of highly acclaimed chamber & orchestral ensembles including the Portland, Los Angeles, Seattle, & Philarmonia baroque orchestras. She is co-director of el mundo and has recently moved to Humboldt County where she has started the Harvest Music Festival and a garden. In Europe she has performed and recorded with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Hausmusik, and Trio Sonnerie. She can be heard on the Audioquest, EMI, Harmonia Mundi, Koch, & Telarc labels. She likes to sail with her partner and dream about boat building. In her spare time she is a free-lance dolphin trainer.
Soprano Jennifer Ellis graduated with a BMA in Voice and History of Art from the University of Michigan, and subsequently completed the Advanced Studies Program in Early Music at the Guildhall School of Music in London. Ms. Ellis has appeared with several leading baroque orchestras including American Bach Soloists, Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Apollo’s Fire, Common Ground Ensemble, Musica Angelica and Magnificat. Opera highlights include Belinda in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, title roles in Handel’s Acis and Galatea and Blow’s Venus and Adonis, Serpina in Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona, and Haydn’s La Canterina with Musica Aeterna in Bratislava, Slovakia. In addition, Jennifer has sung with the Mark Morris Dance Group and the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Ellis was an Adam’s Fellow at the 1998 Carmel Bach Festival and took part in the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan with Nicholas McGegan. She has recorded the Monteverdi Vespers for Electra and Carissimi Motets for Hungaroton.
Daniel Hutchings (tenor) is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory of Music under the instruction of Richard Miller. Mr. Hutchings performs extensively with early music ensembles throughout the Bay Area. He is a regular member of the American Bach Soloists, Philharmonia Baroque Chorale, and of the acclaimed Schola Santorum of the National Shrine of St. Francis; a twelve-voice ensemble specializing in a repertory of Gregorian chant and renaissance style liturgies. He frequently performs solos with the San Francisco Bach Choir, including Bach's Magnificat, Mass in B Minor, and various cantatas. Recently he appeared with them as the Evangelist in Schütz's Christmas Oratorio. The San Francisco Classical Voice says: "tenor Dan Hutchings performed with great sensitivity. Hutchings' high clarion tenor is perfect for Bach's music." Other recent appearances include: tenor soloist in Bach's St. John Passion, Mendelssohn's Elijah, and Laud to the Nativity by Respighi. He performs yearly at the Carmel Bach Festival, and is one of its four 2003 Virginia Best Adams Fellows.
Tim Krol (baritone), a native of Long Island, New York, performed and toured with Chanticleer, America's premier a cappella vocal ensemble, from 1991 to 2000. He can be heard on thirteen of that group’s recordings, including the Grammy Award-winning Colors of Love. He recently appeared as a soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra, singing Greek and Sanskrit chants in the world premiere of Ikon of Eros, by Sir John Tavener. He also sings the lead role of Jim on the critically acclaimed recording of David Conte's chamber opera, The Gift of the Magi, on the Arsis label. Opera credits include The Ferryman in Benjamin Britten's Curlew River; Harry or Larry in Elliot Carter's What Next?; Jim Easton in David Conte's The Dreamers; and "Schaunard" in Puccini's La Boheme. As a concert and oratorio soloist, Tim has performed in cities throughout the United States, including many of Bach’s Cantatas, St. John Passion (Jesus); Handel's Messiah, Judas Maccabeus, Aci, Galatea e Polifemo; Haydn's Theresienne Messe, Paukenmesse, Creation; Vivaldi's Magnificat; Ralph Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem; and the title role in Mendelssohn's Elijah.
Hanneke van Proosdij (organ) studied recorder with Michael Barker at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, the Netherlands, where she also studied harpsichord and organ with Jacques Ogg, and composition. She received her DM (teachers diploma) in 1992 and UM (solo diploma) in 1995. She performs regularly with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the American Bach Soloists, Magnificat, Orinda, Parnassus Avenue and the Farallon Recorder Quartet. She has appeared at the Berkeley Early Music Festival, Internationale Handel Festspiele, Festival d'Ambronnay, Wratislavia Cantans, Contemporary Improvised Music Festival and the Amherst Early Music Festival. Hanneke is a cofounder of the Junior Recorder Society in the East Bay as well as the director of the SFEMS Medieval Renaissance Workshop. Her solo harpsichord recording is available online at http://www.magnatune.com/artists/proosdij.
Over the past decade, Warren Stewart has emerged as one of the most dynamic and innovative early music specialists in the Bay Area. He has received critical praise for his innovative programming and the expressive intensity of his performances of an extraordinarily wide range of repertoire from William Byrd to Terry Riley. Stewart studied violoncello at the Eastman School of Music and the Royal Danish Music Conservatory, early music performance practice at the Schola Cantorum in Switzerland, and musicology at Stanford University. Stewart has researched and directed the Magnificat's subscription series since 1992 and led performances at the Berkeley Early Music Festival, and on the Music Before 1800, Seattle Early Music Guild, San Francisco Early Music Society and the Carmel Bach Festival concert series. In addition to his work with Magnificat, he has been artistic director of the California Bach Society since 1998. As a cellist he has performed with the American Bach Soloists, Philarmonia Baroque Orchestra, the Linde-Consort, and the Deutsche Handel-Solisten. As a conductor, Stewart has appeared with the San Antonio Symphony, Sonoma Bach Choir, the Jefferson Baroque Orchestra, the Southern Oregon Repertory Singers, and Dramma per Musica, and has served as director of choral activities at Sonoma State University.
Wolodymyr Smishkewych (tenor) holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Voice Performance from Rutgers University and is currently completing a Doctor of Music in voice at Indiana University. He has studied with Frederick Urrey, Paul Elliott and Alan Bennett. His repertoire includes leading opera roles in the United States and Europe ranging in style from Cavalli to Strauss and from Torrejón y Velasco to Stravinsky. In the U.S. he has been a featured soloist with the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, New York Collegium, the Indianapolis Symphony, and the orchestras of Rutgers, Princeton, West Virginia and Indiana University. Soloist appearances in Europe have included the Virtuosi of London, and the Netherlands National Opera under the baton of Reinbert de Leeuw and the artistic direction of Peter Sellars. He has been a resident member of New York’s Ensemble for Early Music, and performs with Paul Hillier’s Theatre of Voices. He is also a member of Sequentia, under the direction of Benjamin Bagby. Radio and film credits include Antena 3 National Spanish Radio, National Public Radio/PRI, Radio Suisse Romande, MDR-German Radio and One True Thing (Universal Pictures). He has recorded for the Ex Cathedra and Harmonia Mundi labels and is featured on Theatre of Voices’ two recent recordings Fragments and Byrd: Masses for 3, 4 and 5 Voices. In addition to his performing, he also builds and restores instruments, specializing in string instruments of the medieval period and earlier. His current performance research includes reconstructions of early Welsh and Kievan-Rus epic repertoire, a performing edition of the Lugo Breviary from Galicia, Spain, and a volume on the history of the hurdy-gurdy on the Iberian Peninsula. He is the founder and director of Bloomington-based early-music ensembles Xácara and Imago Mundi and a founding member of Ensemble Lipzodes.
David Tayler (theorbo) received his B.A. in music and interdisciplinary studies from Hunter College and his M.A. and Ph.D. in musicology from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a member of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Director of the Bay Area Collegium Musicum and Ensemble Pandore. David has appeared with Tafelmusik, the San Francisco Opera & Symphony, the Dallas Bach Society, the Oregon Bach Festival and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, among others, and has recorded over sixty discs for BIS, harmonia mundi USA, Koch International, ORF, Sony, Reference, Arabesque, BMG, RCA, Musica Omnia and Teldec. As a specialist in the art song of the early seventeenth century he has performed in lute song recitals throughout Europe and the United States; he is Guest Conductor at the San Francisco Early Music Society Renaissance Workshop.
Catherine Webster (soprano) is engaged regularly as a soloist with many leading early music and chamber ensembles such as Magnificat, Musica Angelica, and Camerata Pacifica. She has appeared with The San Antonio Symphony, American Baroque Orchestra, American Bach Soloists, The California Bach Society, Early Music Vancouver, Sex Chordae Viol Consort, and in the Berkeley, Bloomington and Indianapolis Early Music Festivals, among others. Deemed one of the finest rising young singers of early music, her fluid lyrical voice is praised as “peerless” and “luminous” with “dazzling coloratura and beautiful tone”. She has performed under directors such as Paul Hillier, Jos van Immerseel and Stephen Stubbs in projects ranging from French Baroque opera to oratorio to contemporary works. Recently she was engaged in the U.S. premiere of Nicola Porpora’s Il Gedeone under Martin Haselboeck.and in the role of Drusilla in Festival Vancouver’s production of L’Incoronazione di Poppea under the direction of Stephen Stubbs and Paul O’Dette. Active also in contemporary music, Ms. Webster shared the stage with The Kronos Quartet in Terry Riley’s Sun Rings in the fall of 2003 and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in John Adam’s Grand Pianola Music in 2004.
Scott Whitaker (tenor) is an active concert singer, based in the San Diego area. For the past twenty-two years, he has performed and recorded a broad range of repertoire, from 12th-century organum to film soundtracks by John Williams, from Renaissance polyphony to the avant-garde polyphony of Pierre Boulez, under whose direction he appeared as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has toured as soloist throughout America with the Gregg Smith Singers, across Japan with the Roger Wagner Chorale. He appears at such diverse festivals as the Nakamichi Baroque Music Festival, the Adirondack Festival of American Music, the "Tage Alter Musik" Festival in Regensburg, Germany and at the Carmel Bach Festival. Bay area audiences know Mr. Whitaker from performances with the Sonoma County Bach Choir, the San Francisco Bach Choir, the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and the American Bach Soloists. This is his seventh season performing in Magnificat.