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Two For One

July 10, 2010 2:00 and 7:30 at the Barshinger Center (2010 Schedule)

Martin & Lewis, Abbott & Costello, Batman & Robin??? - name your favorite duo but please acknowledge that indeed, two heads are often better than one. Does that mean that two soloists trump a concerto for one? Are any of you getting mental images of “dueling banjos?” Relax, in the capable hands of J.S. Bach, Vivaldi, and Haydn, I’m sure that the best solo “licks” are well distributed between both musicians. Perhaps it’s more like a doubles tennis match, celebrating musical teamwork and mutual virtuosity that has this 2nd-Saturday-in-July audience rooting for the partnerships of O’Donnell/Sullivan, Allison/Sparfeld, & Pfaffle/Nye. Listen, Noah knew what he was doing when he filled that ark with pairs. “Two for One” is simply double the pleasure!

Concerto in D minor for Violin and Oboe, BWV 1060R by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)

So the experts tell us that this Concerto was originally written as either a double violin concerto or a violin and oboe concerto. Just to add a twist to the story, Bach would later re-work the piece as a “Concerto for Two Harpsichords in C minor, BWV 1060”. What does this have to do with your appreciation and understanding for this composition? Well, the original work for either 2 violins or violin and oboe was lost forever. In the 1930s, music scholar Max Schneider transcribed the remaining double harpsichord concerto, returning it to its probable original state. The original violin and oboe solo lines were extracted from the right hand keyboard parts in order to return this piece to its authenticity. Bach’s music has always transcended the boundaries of instrumentation, interpretation, and style so readapting this concerto to its initial intention certainly wouldn’t have bothered J.S.

In its three-movement, fast-slow-fast, structure, this Concerto follows the model of Vivaldi concerti, which were enormously popular in Bach’s day and which he admired.

Aside from the two solo instruments, the Concerto is scored for string orchestra only. It was understood in Bach’s time that the ensemble would be completed by a keyboard instrument-in this case, presumably Bach himself conducting from the harpsichord.

Concerto for Two Flutes in C Major, Op. 47 No. 2 RV 533 by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)

If you’ve been hanging out at the beautiful Barshinger Center for Musical Arts during the past few summers, you’ve become very familiar with the story of Vivaldi, the Red Priest. He served on the music faculty for the Pio Ospedale della Pietá in Venice, an institution devoted to the care and education of abandoned and orphaned girls. Often overlooked, the Ospidale also housed boys but their training was in carpentry, blacksmithing, and other trades. Vivaldi served as the resident composer, producing hundreds of works for various instruments and ensembles, including about 500 concerti. In his spare time, Antonio was also the orphanage’s virtuoso violinist, violin teacher, orchestra director and instrument purchaser. The resident girls were trained in both string and wind instruments, and as part of their training Vivaldi composed solo works for every instrument combination, including today’s featured concerto for two flutes.

Of the nearly 50 concerti that Vivaldi wrote for two soloists, strings and continuo, the “Concerto in C Major, RV 533”, is the only one for two flutes, specifically transverse flutes, not recorders, which are more frequently found in Baroque music. There is the belief that the transverse flute was a more acceptable instrument for use in a religious institution, such as the orphanage, because in the eyes of the Church, the recorder had been associated with lasciviousness in ancient writings.

One of the interesting musical aspects of this Concerto is that in each movement, Vivaldi concentrated on a different aspect of the flute duet: The first and third movements feature the soloists playing in parallel and in counterpoint with each other; in the second movement, they relate in a more imitative manner; dueling flutes? The first movement alternates between the ritornello (refrain) for the entire ensemble, punctuated by episodes for the soloists. The second movement belongs exclusively to the soloists, supported by the basso continuo (cellos, basses, and harpsichord). The final movement has the same structure as the first with the flutes alternating between dialogue and parallel playing.

Concerto in Eb Major for Two Horns and Orchestra, attrib. Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

So if you enjoyed the intriguing story of the lost original concerto for violin and oboe, re-worked by Bach for the harpsichord, later transcribed by Schneider back to violin and oboe solo parts…well you’re going to love the mystery of this next composition’s authorship. I can almost guarantee you that today’s double horn concerto was written by either Franz Joseph Haydn, his younger brother Michael, or some guy named Antonio Rosetti. As you don your deerstalker cap, here are some of the facts to our mystery:

• We have no original score.
• Franz Joseph Haydn’s private catalog lists a Concerto for Two Horns
• The opening melody in the private catalog, however, is far different than that of today’s concerto.
• The front page, in a different handwriting from the manuscript, mentions “Michael Heiden”, Franz Joseph’s younger brother.
• Many musical mannerisms and compositional devices of this horn concerto are closely in keeping with the Haydn brothers’ contemporary Rosetti.
• The discovery of the manuscript in Rosetti’s primary workplace, also suggest his authorship.
• It was not unusual for composers of the time to attribute their works to a better-known musician; this practice was known even in the Bach family.
• Foremost Haydn scholar, H.C. Robbins Landon states that the concerto “is not possibly by Haydn”.

Before you exhaust yourself in sleuthing, let’s simply examine this remarkable work for two horns. The period from the latter half of the 18th century through the first part of the 19th was one of prominence for the horn as a solo instrument. Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, von Weber, and a score of lesser composers contributed to the repertoire of the instrument. Being that valves were not invented until 1817, this concerto was written for horns that relied upon the right hand in the bell, as well as changes in lip tension to modify notes and tone colors. The instrument of the day produced sounds that were favorably compared to the human voice.

Like our first two concerti, we are again in three movements for this work, fast-slow-fast. The first movement is in sonata allegro form. You’ll be introduced to 2 themes, followed by a development sections, and finally a recapitulation or return of the original themes. The second movement is aria-like, in a minor key with both horns having extended solo passages. The final movement is a rondo in 6/8 time. This meter most strongly resembles the hoofbeats of a horse, and evokes the horn’s traditional role as a hunting and signaling instrument.

Symphony No.3 in D Major, D200, by Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

In his incredibly short life, Schubert produced nearly a thousand works, ranging from songs to operas, with lots of sonatas, chamber music, religious works and symphonies in between. Yet, he never tasted even a hint of his current fame and died an abject failure. Schubert’s lifetime obscurity was a product of his lifestyle and personality. Are we being too tough on Mr. Schubert? Well, let’s examine the some aspects of his life. (1) He shunned nobility in an age when royal patronage was still the key to exposure. (2) He loved drinking and carousing and had no interest in leading a respectable life. (3) He rarely lived in the same place for more than a few months at a time when domestic stability was required to establish a local reputation. (4) He earned little income and was so poor that he never even owned a piano until his final year. (5) His mind was so fertile that he paid no attention whatever to marketing a finished composition, always moving immediately on to another project. (6) Throughout his twenties, when he should have developed his career, much of his energy was sapped by the syphilis that eventually killed him. (7) And above all, he was the very first great composer who was not also an established performer, and thus unable to use public visibility and box-office clout to promote his own work. This man needed a mentor and I don’t think Schubert’s idol, Ludwig Van Beethoven, would be my first choice.

Schubert would be especially amazed to learn that today, he has come to be regarded as a great symphonist. Of all the genres in which he excelled, these fared the worst during his life. His first two were written for his school orchestra and the next four (including No. 3) for an amateur group he was able to assemble, all intended to be heard once and then forever forgotten. Written in his teens, Symphony No. 3 gleams with innocence, reminiscent of Mozart’s youthful writing.

This July concert, entitled “Two for One” is certainly a testament to teamwork. Bach, Vivaldi, and Haydn all writing for duo soloists, most likely penning these concerti for specific performers closely associated with the composers. Allegro’s solo partnerships of Jeff O’Donnell + Todd Sullivan, Matthew Allison + Amanda Sparfeld, Liz Pfaffle + Anne Nye, joining forces to express the masterful intentions of these great composers. And we follow that up with the creative genius of an 18 year old Franz Schubert, never to realize his fame and place in music history. Three Concerti and a youthful Symphony, Allegro’s July 2010 concert entitled “Two for One” celebrates the rewards of collaboration. We’ll hope to see you again in August for “SH, SH”.

Doug Albert

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