Storm the Baroque

Tempesta di Mare performs Vivaldi and Bach for Princeton University’s Summer Concerts.

By: Susan Van Dongen

TEMPESTA DI MARE

   Gwyn Roberts and the other core members of Tempesta di Mare are always looking for "new old stuff," as she puts it.
   A Philadelphia-based Baroque orchestra and chamber ensemble, Tempesta di Mare is known for its sense of discovery, both for the musicians and the audience. The relatively new group relishes presenting works by unusual composers, high quality pieces of Baroque music that haven’t been heard since the 18th century.
   "So much is being re-discovered," says Ms. Roberts, who is co-artistic director of the group, along with Richard Stone. "For example, in January, we had the world premiere of works by Johann Friedrich Fasch, a contemporary of Bach. These were manuscripts hidden away beneath the Dresden (Germany) library, damaged in the firebombing of the city. We transcribed the works, gave a series of concerts in January and also recorded them for Chandos Records."
   Tempesta di Mare’s third release for the British label Chandos, The Fantastic Herr Fasch, will come out in 2008. The group also has a CD coming out this summer, Flaming Rose: Handel’s 9 German Arias.
   The chamber players will be at Richardson Auditorium on the Princeton University campus June 19 for the program Vivaldi and Bach da Camera, Chamber Music by Vivaldi and Bach. It’s the second in the Summer Concert Series at Richardson. July features concerts with the Arianna String Quartet and the Biava Quartet.
   For the June 19 concert, the first half will be works by Vivaldi and the second half will feature Bach’s compositions. Reflecting that these two giants are probably the best known names in the Baroque era, Ms. Roberts says she deliberately programmed the concert this way.
   "What’s interesting about having both of them is that Vivaldi was a direct inspiration to Bach," she says. "We think about Vivaldi being in Venice and Bach in Germany and their contrasting styles — Vivaldi is splashy and flashy, Bach is cerebral. But Bach very carefully studied Vivaldi’s music. He owned a bunch of it, bought it on the market from Vivaldi’s publisher and transcribed it. So, some of the things we know of as Bach are actually transcriptions Bach did of Vivaldi. That’s why we have both of them on the program."
   She talks about the business behind music publishing in the Baroque era and how Vivaldi was ahead of the times. Composers who wanted to see their music published used to have to raise the money to do so, either through private funds or from patrons. It was very much like a "vanity press" kind of book publishing today. Also, the notation was different. Old publishers used movable type, which often made manuscripts blurry and difficult to read.
   "In the beginning of the 18th century, there was a man named Etienne Roger in Amsterdam who came up with a different business model," Ms. Roberts says. "He solicited the music from the composers without them having to put money up front, and then he had his own sales and distribution all over Europe. This is the way publishing works now — the publisher takes care of printing, selling and distributing. In the Baroque, all of a sudden composers were getting paid for their pieces up front — and their music went all over Europe."
   This was how Vivaldi’s music found its way all over Europe, including into the hands of Bach.
   "The middle class had access to Vivaldi’s music," Ms. Roberts says. "People started to want to go to Venice to learn composition, so it made Vivaldi’s compositional innovations more popular, widespread and influential."
   Founded in 2002, Tempesta di Mare’s Greater Philadelphia Concert Series has enjoyed a rapid rise to prominence, with critical praise regionally, nationally and internationally. The ensemble has toured from Oregon to Prague and national broadcasts of performances include NPR’s Performance Today, Sunday Baroque and Harmonia.
   The group is named for Vivaldi’s concerto meaning "storm at sea," which reflects the composer’s belief in the power of music to portray drama. Tempesta is the only standing Baroque ensemble in Pennsylvania that consistently performs repertoire with truly orchestral forces.
   "Although we’re just bringing a quintet to Princeton — our chamber ensemble — when we perform as an orchestra, we have 20 players, so you get the full power and color of Baroque music," Ms. Roberts says.
Tempesta di Mare will perform at Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall, Princeton University campus, Princeton, June 19, 8 p.m. Free; tickets are available at 6:30 p.m., doors open at 7:30 p.m. The Princeton University Summer Concert Series continues July 10 with the Arianna String Quartet; Biava Quartet July 16. (609) 631-7884; www.princeton.edu. Tempesta di Mare on the Web: www.tempestadimare.org