Thursday, November 2, 2017 8:00 p.m. Jason Moy Shirley Hunt Faculty Recital with Guest Artist DePaul 800 West Belden Avenue Chicago
Thursday, November 2, 2017 8:00 p.m. DePaul Jason Moy, harpsichord Shirley Hunt, viola da gamba Faculty Recital with Guest Artist Program Marin Marais (1656-1728) Chaconne in F Major, from Pièces de viole, Livre IV (1717) Jacques Duphly (1715-1789) La Forqueray, from Pièces de clavecin, Livre III (1756) Marin Marais Suite d un goût étranger (selections), from Pièces de viole, Livre IV (1717) Marche Tartare Allemande Sarabande La Tartarine & Double Rondeau Le Bijou Le Tourbillon L Uniforme Allemande w/ Gigue in the Bass L Asmatique Intermission Marin Marais Les Voix Humaines, from Pièces de viole, Livre II (1701) François Couperin (1688-1733) La Superbe, ou La Forqueray, from Pièces de Clavecin, Livre III (1722)
program Marin Marais Tombeau pour Monsieur Lully, from Pièces de viole, Livre II (1701) Antoine Forqueray (1671-1745) Cinquième Suite (selections) from Pièces de Viole (1747) La Rameau La Guignon Jupiter
Program Notes Moy & Hunt November 2, 2017 During the reign of the Sun King, Louis XIV, the viola da gamba or basse de viole symbolized the nobility and refinement of the French aristocracy more than any other instrument. Among the cadre of accomplished viol players at the French court, none were more highly regarded than the venerable Marin Marais and his fiery young rival, Antoine Forqueray. In a celebrated 1740 publication colorfully entitled Défense de la basse de viole contre les entreprises du violon et les prétentions du violoncelle, the amateur viol player and commentator Hubert Le Blanc lauded Marais and Forqueray as two of the greatest virtuosi of all time. His first-hand accounts of their performances highlighted their very contrasting styles, likening Marais viol playing to that of an angel, while Forqueray s was more like the devil. In many ways, this clash of titans personified the growing debate among the cultural elite about the merits of French versus Italian music, pitting adherents of the former, with its grace, sophistication and subtlety, against the unbridled emotion and brash virtuosity of the latter. Most of what we know about Marin Marais comes from a single source, Titon du Tillet s La Parnasse françoise (1732), in which Louis XIV was elevated to near mythological status and attended by a pantheon of France s greatest artists, poets, and composers, including Jean-Baptiste Lully, Michel Delalande, and Marais. Born as a commoner (his father was a simple shoemaker), the young Marais exhibited prodigious musical talent early on, and studied with Nicolas Hotman and Jean de Sainte-Colombe, two of the leading viol players in France at the time. Marais then entered the employ of the Sun King himself at Versailles, where he studied composition with Jean-Baptiste Lully, an Italian expatriate, dancer, and Louis XIV s chief court musician and by all accounts, the the father of the French Baroque style. As one of France s preminent viol virtuosos, Marais left an incredibly diverse body of works for the instrument: five volumes of solo suites and numerous chamber works for viol and other instruments. His Pièces de viole include many of the typical French court dances allemandes, sarabandes, gigues, and chaconnes - popularized by Lully, along with numerous programmatic works, including Le Tableau de l Opération de la Taille - a musical depiction of gallstone surgery in an era before anesthesia, with descriptive narrations. The Suite d un Goût Étranger (Suite in a Strange Style) stands out as a
Program Notes particularly imaginative work considered by the composer himself as a completely new departure in France. Its fifteen movements bring to life such scenes as Tatar nomads on the march (Marche Tartare), a fierce whirlwind (Le Tourbillon), the labored breathing of an asthmatic (L Asmatique), and an ingenious mashup of two dances of incompatible meter and character in the Allemande pour le sujet et Gigue pour la Basse. Marais probably first encountered Antoine Forqueray at the court of Louis XIV, where, according to a 1682 issue of the Mercure galant, the child prodigy had the honor of playing the basse de violon before the king, making His Majesty so pleased that he commanded that someone should teach [the youngster] to play the bass viol. The gazette goes on to report that by the time Forqueray was ten, he profited so much from the lessons that there are few who equal him. In terms of musical aesthetics, Marais and Forqueray could not be more different: where Marais sought to preserve and innovate the French style codified by his teacher, Lully, his young rival had but one aim to wholeheartedly embrace the passionate and emotional style of the Italians and completely explode the conventions of good musical taste. According to an account in the August 1738 issue of the Mercure de France, Forqueray sought to do on the viol everything that [Italian violinists] could do on the violin. The same publication chided Forqueray and his son, Jean-Baptiste, who was also a virtuoso viol player, for writing works so fiendishly difficult that only they could execute them with grace. Though Forqueray s obituary reports that he wrote over 300 works, only one book comprising 5 viol suites have survived. These snapshots of Forqueray s fiery style of viol playing capture much of the spellbinding pyrotechnics of the Italian violinists he admired so much, and exhibit a certain brutality and volatility that also characterized his personal life. Despite his great musical acclaim, Antoine Forqueray had acquired a certain degree of notoriety for abusing his wife, and conspiring to have his son exiled from France when he felt threatened by Jean-Baptiste s rising fame. However, the younger Forqueray either didn t harbor any lasting resentment toward his father, or shrewdly capitalized on his late
Program Notes father s name-recognition when he published Antoine s Pièces de viole in 1747, two years after his father s death. Jean-Baptiste also released a companion volume of the viol suites transcribed for solo harpsichord, most likely with the assistance of his virtuoso harpsichordist wife, Marie-Rose Dubois; this was a smart business move as the harpsichord s popularity among the bourgeois musicbuying public was at an all-time high. Forqueray s viol suites are entirely comprised of character pieces, and include homages to Forqueray s illustrious colleagues, including the harpsichordist Jean- Phillipe Rameau and violinist Jean-Pierre Guignon. The entire volume concludes with a spectacular tableau of Jupiter, replete with sizzling runs depicting the Greek/Roman god s vengeful thunderbolts. Notes by Jason Moy
Biographies Shirley Hunt, viola da gamba Praised by The Strad as stylish and accomplished, internationally respected viola da gamba player Shirley Hunt embraces an eclectic musical life as a soloist, chamber musician, and continuo player. Ms. Hunt has performed and recorded with the nation s leading period instrument ensembles including Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, American Bach Soloists, Musica Angelica, Portland Baroque Orchestra, and Bach Collegium San Diego. Ms. Hunt performs regularly at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with the renaissance ensemble Sonnambula, and appears in recital annually at the Museum of Jurassic Technology, where she is an artist in residence. Originally from Portland, Oregon, Ms. Hunt was born into a musical family and is the younger sister of the late mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. Jason J. Moy, harpsichord Jason J. Moy holds degrees in harpsichord and Early Music performance from McGill University in Montreal, where his primary teachers and mentors included Hank Knox, Luc Beauséjour, and the late Bruce Haynes. Jason is a native of Chicago, and a faculty member at the DePaul University School of Music, where he is Director of the Baroque Ensemble, Coordinator of Mixed Chamber Music, and an adjunct harpsichord instructor. He has performed as a soloist and with ensembles across the United States, Canada and Europe, with notable appearances the Boston Early Music Festival, and the 2009 York Early Music Festival in the United Kingdom. Jason is a founding member of the award-winning period instrument ensemble Trio Speranza, and was recently named Artistic Director of Ars Musica Chicago. As one of the Chicago area s most sought-after early keyboard specialists, Jason frequently appears with such noted ensembles as the Bach Week Festival Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Music of the Baroque, Newberry Consort, and Chicago Chamber Musicians. He has also been featured in live performances on ABC7 and CBS2 television, BBC Radio 3, and is regularly heard on Chicago s classical radio station, WFMT98.7, both in studio and as part of the Dame Myra Hess International Concert Series at the Chicago Cultural Center.
Upcoming Events Friday, November 3 8:00 p.m. New Music DePaul Saturday, November 4 8:00 p.m. DePaul Symphony Orchestra Sunday, November 5 3:00 p.m. Faculty Artist Series: Ilya Kaler, violin Sunday, November 5 3:00 p.m. Student Center (Lincoln Park) Jazz Orchestra Sunday, November 5 8:00 p.m. Guitar Ensemble Festival Monday, November 6 7:00 p.m. Recital Hall Jazz Combos Monday, November 6 8:00 p.m. Wind/Mixed Chamber Showcase I As a courtesy to those around you, please silence all cell phones and other electronic devices. Flash photography is not permitted. Thank you. Sign up for Music @ DePaul E-Notes! Receive bi-weekly updates in your inbox on performances taking place at the School of Music, as well as special offers and discounts to ticketed events! You can choose to unsubscribe from the list at any time. We have a strict privacy policy and will never sell or trade your email address. You can sign up for E-Notes by visiting music.depaul.edu and clicking on Concerts and Events. DePaul University School of Music 800 West Belden Avenue Chicago Recital Hall 804 West Belden Avenue Chicago music.depaul.edu 773.325.7260