SF Early Music Society Presents: The Albany Consort – Vivaldi and Bach with New Colors at California Jazz Conservatory

Familiar repertoire - unusual arrangements, The Albany Consort presents Vivaldi and Bach with new colors.

If there is one area where modern musicians have disregarded 18th century practice, it is in reverence for the static score. Back in the day, music was constantly revised for new performances. But today, we invariably stay glued to those versions that history has preserved for us.

The idea of this program is to revitalize a very well-known work. This is nothing the do with the quality of the music, which is already the highest, hence its huge popularity, now as well as in its day. But at the time of writing, it was plagiarized, and this special performance will indulge in some plagiarization of its own. The work is Vivaldi’s Four Seaons. Vivaldi himself was a master of reuse, and my version of Winter reworks the concerto for the same chamber ensemble that Vivaldi frequently employed (recorder, oboe, violin, bassoon and continuo). Other composers reworked or extended this and other music by Vivaldi, and this performance of Spring, Summer and Autumn speculate what Bach, Rameau and Handel might have done with Vivaldi’s material. The program will conclude with a loved Bach work most often performed as a concerto for violin, two recorders and strings (Brandenburg Concerto No 4). It is not so well known that Bach himself re-worked this piece, replacing the virtuoso violin part with a virtuoso harpsichord part. The harpsichord version is the version we will present. Musicians will include Albany Consort principals Jonathan Salzedo (harpsichord), Marion Rubinstein (organ/recorder), Laura Rubinstein-Salzedo (violin), Brandon Labadie (oboe/recorder) and Georgeanne Banker (bassoon), plus a small string orchestra....

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Familiar repertoire - unusual arrangements, The Albany Consort presents Vivaldi and Bach with new colors.

If there is one area where modern musicians have disregarded 18th century practice, it is in reverence for the static score. Back in the day, music was constantly revised for new performances. But today, we invariably stay glued to those versions that history has preserved for us.

The idea of this program is to revitalize a very well-known work. This is nothing the do with the quality of the music, which is already the highest, hence its huge popularity, now as well as in its day. But at the time of writing, it was plagiarized, and this special performance will indulge in some plagiarization of its own. The work is Vivaldi’s Four Seaons. Vivaldi himself was a master of reuse, and my version of Winter reworks the concerto for the same chamber ensemble that Vivaldi frequently employed (recorder, oboe, violin, bassoon and continuo). Other composers reworked or extended this and other music by Vivaldi, and this performance of Spring, Summer and Autumn speculate what Bach, Rameau and Handel might have done with Vivaldi’s material. The program will conclude with a loved Bach work most often performed as a concerto for violin, two recorders and strings (Brandenburg Concerto No 4). It is not so well known that Bach himself re-worked this piece, replacing the virtuoso violin part with a virtuoso harpsichord part. The harpsichord version is the version we will present. Musicians will include Albany Consort principals Jonathan Salzedo (harpsichord), Marion Rubinstein (organ/recorder), Laura Rubinstein-Salzedo (violin), Brandon Labadie (oboe/recorder) and Georgeanne Banker (bassoon), plus a small string orchestra.

A California Jazz Conservatory and San Francisco Early Music Society partnership.

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