Music Club

A concert sponsored by the Harvard and Radcliffe Music Clubs in the Fogg Museum Courtyard last Thursday included selections written over a three-and-a-half century span. Yet the programming was not in the least incongruous. Quite to the contrary; the two works most separated in time, Byrd's Mass for Four Voices (c. 1588) and Stravinsky's Octet for Wind Instruments (1923), both demanded the same sort of intense and wholly purified approach on the part of the listener. The harmonic and melodic devices of better-known musical epochs were not present to induce those stereotyped emotional reactions or, worse yet, that state of sentimental day-dreaming which are often associated with listening to music. Nor could the words of the Byrd Mass be reckoned an extra-musical guide to the meaning of the work. The age had not yet come when the Latin text provided composers with the most extravagant dramatic implications. For Byrd the words of the Mass were still part of a sacred ritual which does not admit of "interpretation," but must rather be glorified by means of the most scrupulous exercise of the composer's craft.

The performance by a small chorus under Hewitt Pantalconi adhered admirably to this spirit. There was little difference in tempo between the movements; the dynamic modulations were of the most discreet and tasteful sort. The singers' pure tone and accurate intonation were not, as is often done, made ends in themselves thus necessitating an unbearably slow tempo. If anything, the tempo seemed at times rushed; yet this was a small price to pay for the clean delineation of interweaving vocal lines and logical enunciation of phrase patterns which resulted.

The Byrd Mass was followed by two suites for strings and continue, one by the 17th century English composer John Jenkins and the other by Francois Couperin. The pleasing, simply-constructed movements of the Jenkins were given a graceful rendition by Anne Gombosi, violin; August Wenzinger, a visiting lecturer from Switzerland; Stephen McGhee, viola da gamba and John Dvison, harpsichord. But the Couperin is quite a notch above the Jenkins musically, and Mr. Wenzinger's virtuoso performance further augmented the excellent impression it made. Because of the elaborate ornamental conventions of the period in which it was written, a great part of the work's charm lies in seeing its technical hazards overcome. Mr. Wenzinger did so not only with ease but with bravura. The viola da gamba is a seven stringed instrument resembling the 'cello, yet the remarkable freedom and slightly nasal sweetness of its tone make it much more appropriate than the 'cello for Baroque music. Harvard is fortunate in having this opportunity to hear Mr. Wenzinger, one of the foremost performers on the instrument and an expert in the performance of styles of Baroque music.

The Stravinsky Octet is scored for flute, clarinet, bassoons, trumpets and trombone. In its exploration of the sonorous possibilities of an unusual chamber group, its purpose is similar to that of Bach Brandenburg Concerti and of various Mozart Serendates and Divertimenti. Its importance in modern music, however, lies in being one of the first works in the "neo-classic" style. Hearing the Octet today in light of all that has followed it in the past 30 years, its dry metrically incisive, often mocking tone seems no longer revolutionary. Yet it still remains a fresh, thoroughly delightful work.

The performance of the Octet maintained the superlative standard set earlier in the evening. Conductor Claudio Spies deserves credit not only for the smoothness of the ensemble but for the love of the work which he imparted to both players and audience.