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"Thou Tunest the World"

I knew what to expect, but still wasn't ready for the emotional impact made October 29 by Dutch Recorder Orchestra Praetorius of Leiden, The Netherlands, at their New York City (NY) debut performance. With De Vier Elementen [the Four Elements], conductor Norbert Kunst programmed music linked to earth, air, fire, and water -- Empedocles' idea of the four elements from which all things are made and remade. Poetry was read by Katie Quarfordt that linked the music with spoken images of the "elements." The orchestra used a black backdrop with four canvases to provide visual analogies to the music presented.

The group of about 24 played on what appeared to be mostly a matched set of high choir Baroque instruments, a variety of F bass and C bass recorders, plus the Paetzhold contra and subcontra bass. Intonation was wonderful. To say that soprano and sopranino recorders always played completely "tuned" is to understate both the affect and effects of excellent intonation across the sonic spectrum. Kunst had many of the group playing on instruments in the 8' register, which gave a really solid foundation and feel.

The program opened with contemporary recorderist/composer Matthias Maute's Trappen in de Lucht, in memoriam Piet Kunst. Piet Kunst, Norbert's father, founded Praetorius in 1963, and this work conveyed a deep sense of his loss. The first movement was introduced by the 8' subcontra bass followed by the other "low choir" instruments; subsequent movements employed recorders using breathy and percussive unpitched sounds as well as vocalizations to underlay the melodic currents. The piece ended with almost aliatory sounds, bringing the work to a very lyrical and moving conclusion.

Following a short interlude of poetry, the ensemble presented Handel's Suite in D from the Water Music. The sense of coloration usually provided by a number of "loud" instruments was inbued here by juxtaposing C basses, contra and subcontra bass against hig choir (garklein to tenor), and by use of contrasting articulations. Following another short interlude of poetry, Praetorius closed out the first half of the program with Willem Wander van Nieuwkerk's The Water-Call, a suite for recorder orchestra and harp. Three soprano recorders played stunningly in tune over the harp, with layers of sound from lower and higher register instruments phased in as the music accelerated, to illustrate the movement of the ocean.

The second half of the program opened with Suzko Errobera -- Basque words for "fireworks"-- by Wilfred Reneman, scored for 12 - 18 parts plus bass guitar and djembe, an African percussion instrument. Following a rather formally-structured opening movement, the piece became freer with more jazz-like elements and some musical "fireworks" by soprano recorder and guitar. Music for the Royal Fireworks by Handel followed; again the high choir-low choir groupings, coupled with very precise and focused articulations, provided ample color and sonic interest.

Paul Leenhouts, well known as a recorder virtuoso, wrote Juego de Galilei in 1999 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Praetorius. This final selection was the "Earth" of the four elements, but musically structured to comment on the interactions among the Earth and other heavenly bodies. The program notes detailed how the four groups of instruments "describe their own orbits" and lead the tonality of the earth along a prescribed path. Bass guitar, 'ninos and a garklein, plus percussive sounds of the recorders, heightened dramatic interest.

The interspersing of poems between pieces, the visual elements, the programming of music around a central theme, and, most of all, the precision and passion of the players made the Dutch Recorder Orchestra Praetorius performance truly a joy for the heart, as well as for the ear!
Nancy Tooney

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