Great Barrington — Peter Sykes, organ; Juilliard’s John Thiessen, baroque and modern trumpet; and Adam Gautille, modern trumpet, will perform a program of Bach, Vivaldi, Monteverdi, Jeremiah Clarke, John Stanley, and others at the First Congregational Church on Sunday, June 4 at 4 p.m. The full sound of the church’s historic Roosevelt organ, combined with two brilliant trumpets, should make for a truly joyful noise.
Here is Sunday’s program:
- C. Monteverdi (1567-1643) — Orfeo: Toccata
- G. Frescobaldi (1583-1643) — Il secondo libro di toccata: Toccata Quinta
- J. Clarke (c. 1674-1707) — Suite of Ayres for the Theatre
- J. Stanley (c. 1712-1786) — Voluntary in D minor, Op. 5 no. 8
- A. Marcello (1686-1739) — Concerto for Oboe in D minor
- J.S. Bach (1685-1750) — Concerto in A minor, BWV 593
- P. Franceschini (1651-1680) — Sonata in D Major for Two Trumpets and Organ
- J.S. Bach (1685-1750) — Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue in C Major, BWV 564
- A. Vivaldi (1678-1741) — Concerto in C Major for Two Trumpets, RV 537
When the Berkshire Bach Society calls Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Trumpets in C Major “sparkling,” they join a long list of admirers who describe it that way. One of the most celebrated works for multiple trumpets in the classical music canon, the C Major concerto follows the usual fast-slow-fast movement structure for concertos, featuring energetic melodies with smart interplay between the two trumpet parts, including imitative and call-and-response passages.
The funny thing is, Vivaldi’s piece arguably sounds better‚or at least clearer—with organ accompaniment than with the composer’s original orchestration, because a pipe organ is the perfect match for two trumpets. It holds its own so admirably. And when one of the trumpets happens to be of the baroque variety, all the better. More candy for the ear.
Clearly, an instrument like the 1883 Roosevelt is a veritable organ museum. If only the church would let you take a tour of the organ loft to see the massive instrument up close. And at this concert, that’s exactly what they do immediately following the performance. Here’s what I wrote last year about the same instrument:
“Of 34 extant organs built by Hilborne L. Roosevelt (1849-1886), the one he made in 1883 for Great Barrington’s First Congregational Church is the largest. In its day considered the finest organ in America, the instrument has 73 ranks, 3 manuals, and 60 stops, with gilded pipes towering above the church’s sanctuary like glittering spires in the land of Oz. The organ’s sound is largely the same as it was in 1883, owing to a lack of funds over the years to ‘modernize’ the instrument according to the latest fashions in musical style.”
Peter Sykes is principal instructor of harpsichord at The Juilliard School in New York City and Associate Professor of Music and Chair of the Historical Performance Department at Boston University.
Hear Peter Sykes, John Thiessen, and Adam Gautille perform a program of Bach, Vivaldi, Monteverdi, Jeremiah Clarke, John Stanley, and others at the First Congregational Church on Sunday, June 4 at 4 p.m. First Congregational Church is located at 251 Main Street, directly across the road from Yellow House Books.
