Ravinia 2022, Issue 6

Lorenz. In 2003, Lorenz published an article questioning the “misspelling” assumption. By accepting Mozart’s “Jenomy” as accurate (or at least approximate), Lorenz was able to identify the piano virtuoso and concerto dedicatee as Victoire Jenamy (1749–1812), the daughter of dancer and choreographer Jean Georges Noverre who married the Viennese merchant Joseph Jenamy in 1768. The E-flat major concerto stands at the apex of Mozart’s early period, an example of both his formal mastery and personal stylistic in- genuity. It remained a favorite work for Mo- zart and his sister Nannerl (also an accom- plished pianist). For her performances and those by Mme. Jenamy, Mozart wrote out two different cadenzas for the first two move- ments and three sets of lead-ins for the finale. Mozart begins his Allegro with alternating or- chestral and piano phrases that create a sense of dialogue and, more importantly, break from his typical concerto practice of reserv- ing the solo entrance until after the orchestral exposition. This intrusion is not prolonged, however, and the orchestra continues to offer its main themes. The authentic solo entrance finally occurs after a long trill. Conversational exchange continues in the development and recapitulation. A brief concluding phrase follows the piano cadenza. The monumen- tal Andante sustains a brooding atmosphere from beginning to end. Connective and con- cluding phrases exhibit the narrative rhythms and vocal recitative. Mozart writes a fanta- sy-like cadenza near the end. In the Rondeau finale, the solo piano begins with the refrain theme. Contrasting themes serve as episodes between the refrain. One unusual episode is a minuet with pizzicato and muted string accompaniment. JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685–1750) Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048 Scored for a string orchestra of three violins, three violas, and three cellos with basso continuo Bach’s appointment to the court of Prince Leopold in Köthen brought a new musical stimulus to his compositions. The require- ments of that position differed from those of his previous appointment in Weimar, where he served as court organist as well as organ- ist at the Lutheran chapel of the Duke of Weimar. Prince Leopold was Calvinist, and service music at the court chapel was rather simple and austere. Since there was little de- mand for new sacred music, Bach turned his attention to instrumental composition. The art-loving prince was an enthusiastic musi- cian—a singer and player of the violin, viola da gamba, and harpsichord—who frequently took his court musicians on journeys beyond Köthen. It is likely that Bach met Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg, during one of the trips to Carlsbad or Meiningen. Bach lost his first wife, Maria Barbara, in July 1720, an event that caused him to consider a change of position. He sent a recently com- pleted set of six concertos to the Margrave of Brandenburg in 1721 with a dedication that could only have been interpreted as an appeal for employment. The concertos went unper- formed and remained a part of his musical collection until 1734, when the Margrave died. While it is not known how Bach was compensated, it is certain that he was not rec- ognized with an appointment. Two years lat- er, Bach left Köthen for Leipzig. These six so-called Brandenburg Concertos were poorly suited the musical resources of the Brandenburg court. Bach more likely composed them for performance with the Köthen orchestra between 1717 and 1721. The collection submitted to the Margrave repre- sented a miscellany of recent orchestral com- positions. However, as scholar Michael Mar- rison has demonstrated, Bach’s formal plan was anything but arbitrary. The arrangement of keys (F major, F major, G major, G major, D major, and B-flat major) may be justified in terms of Baroque tonal theory. Bach’s in- strumentation also at times reflects an inten- tional emphasis on the dichotomy between old-fashioned and modern ensembles. The opening movement of the Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048, features contrast be- tween the three string groups and the full en- semble. Bach later reworked this music as the opening Sinfonia of his Cantata No. 174, Ich liebe den Höchsten von ganzem Gemüte . Rath- er than composing a full-scale slow move- ment, Bach leaves only one measure consist- ing of two chords. An improvisation on the harpsichord or violin, or the substitution of a movement from another of Bach’s works, are possible realizations of this bare sketch. The Allegro finale is a dance-like movement in 12/8 meter. In the first half, rhythmic mo- tion travels downward through the ensemble from violin to violas and cellos. Cellos reverse “Weydenhammer Portrait Fragment” of Johann Sebastian Bach (c.1730–35), owned by the Weidenhammer family this procedure in the second half, passing the 16th-note motion to violas and violins. GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL (1685–1759) Music for the Royal Fireworks , HWV 351 All London was poised to celebrate the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, a treaty signed in October 1748 that officially ended the War of Austrian Succession. Preparations for a grandiose na- tional event extended over several months as workmen constructed a Greek-style build- ing—designed by Jean-Nicholas Servan, a Frenchman known by the Italian name Giovanni Servandoni—graced with a trium- phal arch, Dorian columns, statues of Greek gods, and a bas-relief of the King of England. Charles Frederick, “Comptroller of his Majes- ty’s Fireworks as well as for War as for Tri- umph,” planned a pyrotechnic display to be discharged from this wooden edifice (“the machine”), which measured 410 feet wide and 114 feet high. Handel received a royal commission to pro- vide music for the celebration. Instead of re- cycling the “fire music” from Atalanta , a stan- dard choice for public fireworks displays, he assembled a grand orchestral suite. The corre- spondence of the Duke of Montague, “Master General of the Ordnance,” reveals a danger- ous stalemate between the king, who desired martial instruments (e.g., trumpets and horns) and “said he hoped there would be no fiddles,” and the esteemed composer, who in- sisted upon a full (actually, greatly enhanced) orchestral complement. Handel’s manuscript exhibits some modest concessions to royal dictates: strings are used in some movements only to double the winds, and in others they are crossed out entirely. The negotiated instru- mentation still added up to an impressive en- semble: 9 trumpets, 9 horns, 24 oboes, 12 bas- soons, 3 pairs of timpani, and strings. A dress rehearsal took place in Vauxhall Gar- dens on April 17, 1749. London newspapers George Frideric Handel by Thomas Hudson (1756) reported great confusion and a traffic jam on London Bridge caused by this gathering of 100 musicians and an audience of 12,000. The actual event took place 10 days later in Green Park. No documentation of the musi- cal performance exists, but a great deal about the ensuing spectacle is known. John Byron, who provided one of several surviving accounts, described to his wife the catastrophe that climaxed the evening: “11 o’clock: all over, and somewhat in a hurry, by an accidental fire at one of the ends of the building, which, whether it be extinguished I know not. … I saw every fine show in front, and I believe no mischief was done by the rockets, though some pieces of above one pound and a half fell here and there—some the next tree to my situation, and being on the watch I perceived one fall, and after a tug with my four or five competitors I carried it off.” The Gentleman’s Magazine described the en- suing heated exchange between two of the event planners: “While the pavilion was on fire, the Chevalier Servandoni , who designed the building, drawing his sword and affront- ing Charles Frederick , Esq.; Comptroller of the Ordnance and Fireworks, he was dis- armed and taken into custody, but discharged the next day on asking pardon before the D. of Cumberland .” –Program notes © 2022 Todd E. Sullivan RAVINIA MAGAZINE • AUGUST 29 – SEPTEMBER 18, 2022 32