Week of December 9, 2019
Dear Friend,
I though I would devote today’s update to the question of just what is “Baroque Cellist”? It can be confusing...
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In approximate terms, the Baroque era is thought to begin with the birth of Florentine opera (around 1600, but really more like 1585), and end with the death of J.S. Bach (1750). The truth is, “Renaissance” musical practices continue past 1600, and “Classical” musical practices began well before 1750, so there’s a lot of overlap on both sides of the Baroque Era divide.
If you’re already yawning, I agree. The dating of musical style periods was never my favorite part of music school. But stay with me…
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What is really interesting is that the Baroque era coincides with the time when the greatest string instruments ever made were being created in Cremona, Italy – by makers like Antonio Stradivari (1644-1721) and Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri (1698-1744), whose instruments are commonly referred to as "Guarneri del Gesù" because he wrote "IHS" on the labels.
So if you play a Strad are you by definition a "Baroque cellist?" No!
Today these instruments – originally crafted during the “Baroque” era – are in the hands of modern concert artists, including the likes of Yo Yo Ma or Joshua Bell (Beaux Arts Trio cellist Bernard Greenhouse, whose Paganini Strad was heard in many concerts at the CMSD). These artists might play the solo suites and sonatas of J.S. Bach, but we would never refer to them as a “Baroque cellists” or “Baroque violinists” when doing so.
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So what makes Jaap Ter Linden a “Baroque cellist”?
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It's not the age of the instrument. It's the way the instrument is set up (strings and bridge), the type of bow, and the resulting technique of playing them together. These things things changed dramatically in the Classical and Romantic eras to accommodate the needs of these instruments to be heard in larger spaces, and as members of, or soloists with, larger ensembles.
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When you hear the Elgar Cello Concerto with a modern orchestra, for example, you may be hearing an instrument that was built in the late 17th century, but it's played with the modern type of higher-tension concave bow invented at the time of Beethoven, and strung with materials (steel or synthetic) not available until the 20th century. Add an end pin anchoring the cello to the ground so the player can put more pressure on the instrument, and the result is a bright, penetrating, powerful sound that would have been shocking at the time J. S. Bach was alive.
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A “Baroque cellist” sets their cello up the old-fashioned way: with strings made of gut (wound sheep intestine), often using a lower pressure convex bow with lots of horsehair, and no end pin so the cello is balanced on the lower legs of the player. The result is a richly varied sound filled with incredible nuance and subtlety (lots of complex overtones - like a fine wine!), and the possibility of a more intensely personal connection between the cellist and the player.
And
nobody
plays it better than Jaap!
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So if this kind of music is so beautiful, why don't we hear it all the time? It’s precisely because of the size of the sound: it’s
smaller
. A Baroque cello would be completely drowned out by a modern piano, let alone an orchestra comprised of modern wind, brass and percussion instruments. It is best heard in intimate spaces, alongside other instruments of the period: recorder, Baroque (wooden) flute, harpsichord, or best of all, completely alone.
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There are two opportunities to hear Jaap Ter Linden play this weekend: on Friday in Schaver Recital Hall in Wayne State’s Old Main Building in Midtown Detroit (4800 Hancock entrance), and on Saturday at Northbrook Presbyterian Church in Beverly Hills (14 Mile and Lahser). The all-Bach program will be the same for both concerts: the Suites No. 1 in G major, No. 3 in C major, and No. 6 in D major – the latter written for a five-string cello which will be bringing.
Both of these venues have around 200 seats, ideal for hearing this music played in this truly authentic way. There are few cellists in the world who have so thoroughly mastered these pieces in the purest form.
It’s a rare opportunity: Saturday's concert is almost sold out!
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I hope you will be able to join us. Again, here’s the ticket information:
Just come, close your eyes, and imagine Bach himself in the seat next to yours, hearing the notes sounding in pretty much the same way he heard them in his head, as he first put his pen to the paper and wrote them down.
We’ll see you at the concerts!
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Steve Wogaman, President
Chamber Music Society of Detroit
Tickets: 313-335-3300 or
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