Music for Intimate Spaces

Daniel Elyar and Le Triompe de l’Amour perform French Baroque music in Princeton Jan. 18.

By: Susan Van Dongen
   In the 1999 film The Red Violin, the instrument in the title is made by a master, who crafts it with true love. Without revealing the end of the story, the violin’s special color comes from a very unusual and personal ingredient. Because of this, when the master paints the violin, he also imbues it with an extraordinary power.
   In addition to the magic bestowed upon it by the craftsman, the violin has the essence of the players who have touched it. It carries the history of the times it has lived in. That’s the beauty of an ancient instrument — you never know who has held it or what it has seen or heard.

"Daniel
Daniel Elyar has performed and recorded throughout Europe and North America with ensembles including the New York Collegium, the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra and the Barok Consort of Utrecht.


   For violinist Daniel Elyar, living, studying and playing throughout Europe for the last few years offered a chance to find and purchase an exceptional Baroque period instrument. Maybe not a Stradivarius, but something with a lovely sound — and old enough to be marked by the collective soul of its owners.
   "That’s one of the advantages to buying an instrument in Europe," Mr. Elyar says. "In the United States, an 18th-century violin is way too expensive. They’re museum pieces, in fact. Whereas in Europe, there are all these nice old instruments tucked away in closets because people will have them in the family for generations."
   Mr. Elyar makes his debut with the ancient music ensemble, Le Triomphe de l’Amour, in a concert of French Baroque music at the Unitarian Church in Princeton Jan. 18. Marking its 12th season, the group will perform works by Jean Philippe Rameau, Georg Philipp Telemann and Jean-Marie Leclair, all on period instruments — including Mr. Elyar’s 18th-century violin.
   "This is an anonymous instrument from an unclear part of Europe — maybe (the former) Czechoslovakia," says Mr. Elyar. "When there’s no clear heritage, the price is more reasonable. But it’s good quality. I took it around to my teachers and they approved of it."
   He explains that although the body of the violin has barely changed, the inner workings of the Baroque instrument are quite different from those of its contemporary counterpart.
   "When concert halls became large instead of these little rooms and chambers in private homes, the violin makers altered the interiors of the instruments, super-charging them, in a sense," Mr. Elyar says. "There are small, subtle differences — things that create a more opaque and modern sound.
   "In 17th- and 18th-century music, the (violin) sounds were transparent and colorful, but less penetrating. The warmth was more appropriate in the smaller chambers. But as the needs of the soloists changed with the times, the violins changed as well. There’s a movement now with Baroque musicians to play the instruments the way people in the past centuries would have been aware. We’re sticking more with the authenticity."
   Mr. Elyar grew up in Arizona but received his bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music. After college, he moved to the Netherlands to concentrate on Baroque performance practice, completing degrees in violin and viola at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam and the Royal Conservatory in Rotterdam.
   At age 33, he has performed and recorded throughout Europe and North America with ensembles including the New York Collegium, the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra and the Barok Consort of Utrecht. Mr. Elyar recently opened the Rotterdam Bach Festival as a soloist and completed a recording with Italy’s Concerto Palatino for ATMA records.
   The move to the Netherlands was bold, but Mr. Elyar had friends living in Europe and knew it would be more advantageous to focus on music of the Baroque period there.
   "The opportunities are there if you really want to become a serious Baroque specialist," he says. "That’s where the movement started, there are a lot of groups to perform and a lot of contacts to be made."
   After a few years, however, it was time for Mr. Elyar to return to the United States.
   "I had lost quite a few contacts here in the U.S., which I didn’t take lightly," he says. "I talked to a lot of colleagues and picked the Philly area to settle. I’ve been here for about a year and I think I made the right choice."
   Princeton-based Le Triomphe de L’Amour is comprised of harpsichordist Janet Palumbo, flutist Tim Moore and viola da gambist Donna Fournier. Founded in 1991, the group plays frequently in the region, as well as in national events such as the Boston Early Music Festival and the Bach Festival of Philadelphia. It was Ms. Palumbo who invited Mr. Elyar to join after the group’s former violinist (David Myford) left.
   This will be Mr. Elyar’s first concert with Le Triomphe de l’Amour, although he’s played in Princeton before, including appearances with other ancient music groups in the region, such as the Dryden Ensemble.
   In addition to the passion for instrumental authenticity he shares with Le Triomphe, Mr. Elyar is adamant about finding music that is about as close as one can get to the original Baroque manuscripts.
   "I try to find the original publications from the 18th century — or very good facsimiles because the originals are, of course, antiquities," Mr. Elyar says. "The (scores) are also more pleasing aesthetically. It’s striking how different they look from modern manuscripts. Everything is subtly different, including the style of printing."
   He says audience members will be invited to come up and take a look at the group’s copies of these Baroque musical manuscripts.
   "I’m kind of a fanatic about the text I use," Mr. Elyar says. "The music is more true the closer you get to the source. Even if there are errors, they’re the composer’s errors."
Le Triomphe de L’Amour performs at the Unitarian Church of Princeton, Route 206 and Cherry Hill Road, Jan. 18, 8 p.m. Tickets cost $15; $10 seniors, $5 students. For information, call (609) 730-8796.