Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011

J. S. Bach is regarded as one of the most important of the late Baroque composers, though his reputation during his lifetime was not far-reaching. His enormous output covers virtually every genre of the Baroque era, except for opera. Several decades after his death in 1750, Felix Mendelssohn and others contributed to a “Bach Revival” with a performance of his St. Matthew Passion in 1829.  

Suite for Cello, No. 5 in C Minor is one of six suites composed for solo cello that are some of the most frequently-performed works for the instrument.  Each of the suites follows a traditional form of the suite which is introduced by a prelude and then followed by five other movements in various contrasting dance styles: allemande, courante, sarabande, two menuets (or two bourrées or two gavottes) and a final gigue. It is said that due to the technical demands of these “etude-like” works and the lack of annotation of surviving copies which include many discrepancies between them, the suites were little known until the early 20^th century. The pre-eminent cellist Pablo Casals recorded all of the suites, which helped them become so popular.  It is also thought that Casals awoke every morning and sat and played one of the suites before breakfast.  He called them his “spiritual food”.

Elena Ruehr (b. 1963), Second Sonata for Cello and Piano (2024)

Elena Ruehr was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan and is the daughter of a mathematician and an English professor.  She began her musical training with piano lessons at age four. She studied composition at the University of Michigan with William Bolcom and at The Juilliard School with Vincent Persichetti and Bernard Rands. She also studied dance and has performed with Javanese and West African ensembles. Many of her compositions involve setting poetry to music, and several have been recorded and are available on media. Ruehr has been on the faculty at MIT since 1992 and lives in Boston.  She is also Composer in Residence with the Lincoln Nebraska Symphony.

The Second Sonata for Cello and Piano was specifically composed for her close friend Sophie Shao.   The composer states that her compositions “seek to bring narrative and emotion to audible life. At times the cello’s voice plunges heavily downward, before rising with a kind of defiance. At other times, the piano presses against this movement, offering both resistance and consolation. Reflecting on the work, the dissonance between the two instruments underscores the unease of holding both destruction and hope, turning the music into a meditation on a world shaped by beauty and decay.”

Benedetto Marcello (1686-1739), Adagio and Allegro in A minor, Opus 1, No. 3, arranged for 3 Cellos

Benedetto Marcello was born in Venice and was a member of the noble Marcello family.  His father desired a career in law for his son, and Benedetto did manage to combine a life in law and public service with one in music.  He served as a member of the Council of Forty (in Venice’s central government) before moving to Pola in 1730 to take a position as district governor. Due to failing health, he retired to Brescia after eight years and died in 1739 of tuberculosis.  As a composer, Marcello wrote a variety of music including church music, oratorios, many solo cantatas, duets, sonatas, concertos and sinfonias.  

The Adagio and Allegro in A minor, Opus 1, No. 3 is from a set of six sonatas written for gamba and harpsichord.  Presented tonight are the first two of four contrasting movements from that sonata.  Marcello was a younger contemporary of Vivaldi, and his style was greatly influenced by his fellow Venetian. There are many transcriptions of this work for various settings, including a popular arrangement for bassoon or string bass and keyboard. This version was arranged for three cellos by the 20^th century French composer and cellist Paul Bazelaire (1886-1958).

Alfredo Piatti (1822-1901), In Vacanza for Cello Quartet

Alfredo Piatti was a 19^th century Italian cellist, teacher and composer. After struggling against financial and health challenges to establish himself as a performer, he was forced to sell his cello to cover medical costs. Franz Liszt invited Piatti to perform as guest cellist on a recital and was amazed at what he could do on a borrowed instrument. Liszt presented him with a famous Amati cello, and Piatti went on to become one of the most acclaimed cellists of his day.

In Vacanza (On Holiday) was composed in London in 1891.  The work was dedicated to the Pia Scuola Musicale di Bergamo, the most important school of music in the northern city of Bergamo, Italy, and it was premiered by the best students at the school on their final exams that year.  This is a beautiful example of Romantic melodies and harmonies with lots of stylistic and rhythmic variety.  The work ends with a brisk and energetic “Rustic Dance”.

Anton Bruckner (1824-1896), Locus iste, WAB 23 (trans. Orfeo Mandozzi)

Anton Bruckner was an Austrian composer and organist who is best known for his symphonies and sacred music.  His symphonies in particular are symbolic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism which includes rich harmonies and are of considerable length.  He was a teacher and organist at the monastery at St. Florian for ten years from 1845-1855.  He started composing seriously only in 1861 at age 37.  After the completion of a few religious works, he began focusing on his symphonies in 1868 when he moved to Vienna to teach music theory at the conservatory. His wide fame came at age 60 with the premier of his 7^th Symphony.

Locus iste, WAB 23 (“Locus iste a Deo factus est”...translated to “This place was made by God”) was written in 1869 as a sacred motet.  It was originally set to four unaccompanied voices, and this version for four cellos was transcribed by cellist and teacher Orfeo Mandozzi (b.1968).

Louis Armstrong (1901-1971), What a Wonderful World (arr. Jamie Davis)

Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans and was one of the most influential figures in jazz, both as a trumpeter and as a vocalist with a readily-identifiable gravelly sound.  His career spanned five decades and several eras in the evolution of the jazz genre.  He was one of the first popular African-American entertainers to “cross over” to wide popularity amongst white and international audiences.  

What a Wonderful World is one of Armstrong’s most famous songs.  The original recording of him singing with orchestra is still an often-heard favorite.

Richie Valens (1941-1959), La Bamba (arr. Jamie Davis)

Richard Steven Valenzuela (stage name Richie Valens) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter.  He was born in San Francisco and was a pioneer in the Spanish-speaking rock and roll movement in the 1950s.  His signature song La Bamba became a hit in 1958.  Sadly, Valens was one of the three iconic rock and roll stars along with Buddy Holly and J.P. Richardson (“The Big Bopper”) who died in the plane crash in February 1959.  This became known as “The Day the Music Died”.

Julius Klengel (1859-1933), Hymnus for 12 Cellos, Op. 57

Julius Klengel was a German cellist who is most famous for his etudes and solo pieces for cello. He became principal cellist in the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra at age 22 and remained to celebrate 50 years of service.  He also taught at the Leipzig Conservatory during that time.  His Hymnus for 12 cellos, Op. 57 is a beautiful and pensive work, and it is often-performed, including as a tribute in memory of the famous American cellist Lynn Harrell, which took place online due to the timing of his passing that occurred at the early stage of the Covid 19 pandemic.

Program notes by Larry Reed