T h e A t l a n t a E a r l y M u s i c A l l i a n c e BROADSIDE Volume VIII, #6 March-April 2002 Board Makes Plans for Annual Meeting and the Coming Year The Atlanta Early Music Alliance Annual Member 11. Jonathan DeLoach, Pat DeWitt, Kim Henry, Jane Meeting is set for Saturday, May 11, and it is just McLendon, Jody Miller, and John Mortison were around the corner. This year AEMA members will present. be treated to a grand consort playing and singing The meeting was held at Decatur Presbyterian AEMA MISSION session offered by Frances Blaker, Letitia Berlin, Church, where the organist and choir director, It is the mission of the and Martha Bishop at the Glennwood Elementary Matthew MacMahan, met with the board to discuss Atlanta Early Music Alliance to School, 440 East Ponce de Leon Avenue, Decatur. the possibility of a more professionally organized foster enjoyment and awareness Any AEMA member can participate in the session AEMA concert series to be held there next year. In of the historically informed (even if you just want to watch and listen) that the strategic planning session two years ago, Board performance of music, with will begin at 11:00 AM. We will play until members noted “There should be a population of special emphasis on music approximately 12:30, when we will conduct the ‘cultural omnivores’ who could be attracted to early written before 1800. Its mission AEMA annual business, including welcoming in music for the variety if a good hall were found in the will be accomplished through the new board members. areas they congregate.” Decatur might be such a dissemination and coordination place. Attendance at the Concerts at St. Dunstan’s of information, education and Tish, Frances, and Martha are also offering a one- series has been very poor in general, with Metro financial support. day workshop, a “Recorder and Viola da Gamba Consort Day for intermediate to advanced Baroque attracting only nine people on March 8 (but Reviews players;” participation is open to AEMA members see the review of RareSong, page 3). New Trinity Baroque, for $40 (a $5 discount off the full price). The Election materials go out with this newsletter. The RareSong, Baltimore workshop is Saturday, May 11, 9:00-4:30 PM, at Consort. AEMA Board of Directors includes both elected and Glennwood Elementary School, 440 East Ponce appointed members; according to the Bylaws, Article – PAGE 2 de Leon Avenue, Decatur. Note that the workshop III section 1, “The government of the Corporation begins and ends the day, and the AEMA Member shall be vested in and its affairs managed by a Board Meeting and playing session are in the middle of of Directors which shall be comprised of 6 elected Travelogue the day. AEMA members who want to do the “Wish you were here” members and 3 appointed members (who shall be whole day will pay $40, while those who just want appointed by a majority vote of the current Board) in Spain from Pat and to participate in the playing session and meeting Peter DeWitt for a total of 9 members of whom half of the current (11:00 AM to about 1:15 PM) will pay nothing. Directors shall constitute a quorum.” Running for a The AEMA board would like to thank Tish, second term are Jody Miller, president, and Pat – PAGE 4 Frances, and Martha for their cooperation in DeWitt. Johnette Crum is also on the ballot for a arranging this schedule. new term. Also expiring is the term of Jane Concert For workshop information, call Frances Blaker and McLendon, treasurer, an appointed member. Calendar Letitia Berlin at 510-559-4670 or e-mail at tish- The 2002 AEMA Music Festival has been scheduled Check out the upcoming [email protected]. If you need local for November 1-3, place as yet to be determined. early music events. information, contact Lynda Anderson at 404-378- Volunteers will be needed for this. The Board – PAGE 6 2334 or [email protected]. The welcomes any and all suggestions to improve this deadline is April 22, but late registration may be festival as an opportunity to promote early music possible by contacting Frances and Letitia. For an AEMA and to demonstrate its virtues to the public, both application, contact Lynda Anderson. children and adults. Communities News of the Board Meeting The next Board meeting will be held on Sunday, April Nordstroms in Denton, The Board of Directors of AEMA met on Sunday 14, 4:00-6:00 pm, location TBA. AEMA policy is TX afternoon, March 10, to discuss plans for next year that all members are welcome at a board meeting. – PAGE 8 as well as the annual meeting scheduled for May Contact Jody Miller at 404-296-6703 or [email protected] for further information. 2 B R O A D S I D E March-April 2002 THE ATLANTA EARLY MUSIC ALLIANCE AEMA Reviews BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jody Miller, President all the soloists negotiated the ornamentation Eckhart Richter, Vice President Monteverdi Vespers Puts Feather in Jonathan DeLoach, Secretary well, these three were able to take control of the Jane McLendon, Treasurer NTB Cap Patricia DeWitt, Newsletter Editor musical arc so that the ornamentation provided Predrag Gosta by Pat DeWitt intensification of the phrase, not just vocal Kim Henry Jennifer MacMaster acrobatics. This resulted in a compelling John Mortison interpretation of the text that was not always Mustering what in the early music world rank as there with other soloists. Most of the monodic mighty forces, Predrag Gosta and his New Trinity PUBLICATION SCHEDULE solos and duets were ably accompanied by Baroque ensemble presented the Vespers of the Broadside is published monthly, with Michael Fields of England on the chittarone. a short issue alternating with a long Blessed Virgin (1610) by Claudio Monteverdi in two issue. The copy deadline is the15th of each month. performances, March 9 at St. Jude the Apostle Choral parts were almost as vocally demanding Church and March 10 at Peachtree Christian as the solos. Here, too, the leadership of the most SUBMISSIONS Church. Local artists were joined by the Washington skilled interpreters helped. The ensemble of We gladly welcome articles and letters but reserve the right to edit all submis- Cornett and Sackbutt Ensemble as well as individual singers and instrumentalists was precise and well sions. E-mail submission is preferred. artists from elsewhere in the U. S., England, tuned. However, the great energy devoted to the Each must include the author’s name, address and phone number. Letters Sweden, Yugoslavia, and Croatia. The performance fascinating minutiae of the figuration did not must be signed. was conducted from the podium except for some entirely make up for the fact that the choruses MAIL submissions to Pat DeWitt, 19 of the monodic solos with chittarone. While one is often ran aground in terms of forward Rosewood Road, Rome, GA 30165. well aware that conducting as we know it was not momentum. This does not mean a slackening of E-MAIL [email protected] or practiced during Monteverdi’s time, it is a necessity tempo, but that the sense of the long line that [email protected] today with the kind of group Mr. Gosta assembled, must bind a musical movement together was [Include your submission as part of your email message or as an attach- and he was quite right to do it. missing. On the other hand, the “amen” at the ment. Do not use file compression.] end of a psalm often had a gratifying sense of The so-called Vespers of 1610 is a noble, complex, Broadside is the newsletter of the Atlanta growth and resolution. This may be traced Early Music Alliance. It is published and quite demanding work. In it, Monteverdi brings monthly for members and other subscribers. AEMA also maintains a website at [email protected].. For general information call 404/296- 6703, or e-mail to Recorder96.aol.com. Content Copyright 2000, Atlanta Early Music Alliance New Trinity Baroque soloists, chorus, and orchestra perform at St. Jude’s Catholic Church Assistance with newsletter logistics this year is the styles he used successfully in opera—monody, provided as a service directly to conducting. Mr. Gosta’s conducting choral comment, and instrumental color and even project of the Zeta Epsilon during the body of the psalm tended to be very chapterof Phi Mu Alpha a symphony—to the liturgical series of antiphons precise but not expressive, whereas during the Sinfonia, National Music and psalms, motet, and hymn culminating in the Fraternity, at Shorter “amen” he often called for and got a lovely effect. Magnificat. Much depends on the skill and musicality College, Chip Mitchell, During the complex movements with alternating president; Peter DeWitt, of the soloists in the monodies. Particularly solo, chorus, and enchanting echo effects, a faculty advisor. delightful in this regard was the work of tenor Leif better sense of unity might have been obtained Aruhn-Solén of Sweden and the duet of sopranos with less pause between sections. Julia Matthews and Elizabeth Packard Arnold. While March-April 2002 B R O A D S I D E 3 Instrumentalists provided vibrant color as well as many moments of In most cases, true solidity wasn’t achieved until a few bars into excitement, such as the violin duo in the Sonata sopra Santa Maria each piece. Once this initial, and sometimes predictable, obstacle (James Gallagher, Mirna Ogrizovic) and the cornetto duo during was overcome, the ensemble sang well in tune and displayed careful the Magnificat.