Passing Fancy. Beauty in A Moment of Chaos
James Kennerley (tenor), Sonnambula / Elizabeth Weinfeld
rec. 2023, Concert Hall, Drew University, Madison, USA
Texts and translations included
Reviewed as a download
Avie AV2746 [54]

Sometimes the title of a disc does not give much away about what the listener can expect. The disc under review here is a case in point: “Passing Fancy – Beauty in a Moment of Chaos”. What do we make of that? On the back cover we find this text: “The programme features music written by composers forced to hide their identities – social, religious, ethnic, racial, or otherwise – during their lifetime.” That does not explain the disc’s title, but at least the selection of the pieces, which is very different, as the composers are from the late Renaissance (Byrd), the early Italian Baroque (Rossi) and the French high Baroque (Jacquet de La Guerre). At the end of the programme, we even move to the late Middle Ages.

Obviously, the line-up of the ensemble causes some limitations. Sonnambula consists of two violins, three viole da gamba and harpsichord; the harpsichordist James Kennerley also acts as singer in two items.

The programme opens with the latest music: the overture to the opera Céphale et Procris by Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre. She enjoyed the support of Louis XIV, so what could go wrong when she, as the first woman in France, presented a tragédie-lyrique of her own? The premiere took place in 1694, and did not meet with much approval. The liner-notes rightly mention that the ghost of Lully, who had died in 1687, was still very much alive. Catherine Cessac, in the liner-notes to the recent recording of this opera (Château de Versailles Spectacles, 2024) mentions that other operas, by Charpentier, Pascal Collasse and Lully’s son Louis, met the same fate. She then asks: “Should we look for the cause of this poor reception in the quarrel over the morality of the theatre which arose at the end of 1693 and directly affected the opera? Moreover, in this climate of devout suspicion, can we imagine that the public disapproved of the presence of a woman at the Académie royale?” In comparison, Elizabeth Weinfield, in the liner-notes to the present disc, seems to be sure that the latter was the case – but that is more speculation than fact. We get here a performance of the overture in pocket-size format, as it may have been performed in the salons in later years.

The two English composers in the programme felt the effects of their religion, but in different ways. The older is William Byrd. He was and always remained a Catholic, which certainly was not easy under the reign of the firmly Protestant Elizabeth I. However, he was lucky, compared to colleagues, who did not enjoy the Queen’s admiration. Byrd did, and it gave him much more freedom than other Catholic composers. His reputation as a keyboard virtuoso was unchallenged. He even contributed to the collection Parthenia or The Maydenhead of the first musicke that ever was printed for the Virginalls, which was printed, probably in 1611, at the occasion of the wedding of Elizabeth Stuart and Frederick V, Count Palatinate of the Rhine, which was to take place in February 1613. Here we get two pieces by Byrd. The Bells is one of his most famous works, an effective example of imitation. My Lady Nevell’s Ground is from another well-known collection, My Ladye Nevells Booke, entirely devoted to Byrd’s keyboard music.

Richard Dering, on the other hand, was born Protestant, and went to Italy in the retinue of Sir Dudley Carleton, the English ambassador to the Republic of Venice. It is assumed that in his time in Italy he converted to Catholicism. When Carleton returned home in 1615 (the next year he was appointed ambassador to the Netherlands), Dering decided not to return to England, but rather look for employment on the continent. In 1617 he took up the position of organist to a community of English Benedictine nuns at the Convent of Our Lady of the Assumption in Brussels. In 1625 Charles I married the Catholic Henrietta Maria, the youngest daughter of Henry IV of France, and Dering returned to England to serve in her private chapel as organist. When Dering was in Italy, the seconda pratica had already established itself, and that left its mark in his oeuvre. Here we hear two pieces for viol consort, which represent his more traditional side.

With Alfonso Ferrabosco we stay in England, although he was of Italian birth. He was from Bologna, where he was born into a family whose members were in the service of the house of Bentivoglio which ruled Bologna in the 15th century. By 1562 Ferrabosco was in England and entered the service of the court. He acted as a courtier at Elizabeth’s court until 1578, but during that time moved frequently between England and Italy, and also visited France several times. This resulted in suspicions of his being active as a spy, either for Elizabeth or for the Catholic Church. In 1577 he was excluded from the privileged access to the Queen’s apartments, as he was suspected of having attended Mass at the residence of the French ambassador. He denied it, but his position was such that he and his wife had no option other than to leave England, leaving his son and his daughter behind. His oeuvre consists mainly of vocal music; instrumental music takes a minor place, and includes fewer than ten pieces for viol consort, among them three In nomines.

Ferrabosco is the bridge to Italy, and that part of Europe is represented by Salomone Rossi, who has become mainly known for being a Jew who wrote music on Hebrew texts for the synagogue in Mantua where he lived and worked all his life. Rossi was one of the very few Jewish professional musicians of the baroque era who was able to explore his talents as a composer. In most countries in Europe many restrictions were imposed upon the Jewish communities, which often lived in ghettos. His close connections to the court of the Gonzagas in Mantua, where he was born and died, gave Rossi the privilege of going outside the ghetto without having to wear a yellow star. He gained experience as a singer and violinist under Monteverdi, who worked in Mantua from 1590 to 1612.

The programme shows two sides of Rossi. Hashirim asher lish’lomo (The Songs of Solomon) are rather conservative, written in the stile antico of the 16th century. That can be explained by the conservatism in liturgical matters of the Jewish community. It was forbidden to use instruments in the synagogue; that prevented Rossi’s including instrumental parts or even a basso continuo in his Songs of Solomon. The very fact that he was allowed to write polyphonic music was already a deviation from a tradition of ages. The ecclesiastical authorities in the Catholic Church largely considered the modern concertato style inappropriate for liturgical music as they associated it with opera. The views in the Jewish community were probably not very different, which explains why Rossi turned to the safe tradition of the past. The instrumental music represents Rossi’s modern side: it was published in four editions between 1607 and 1622. They show the stylistic development from music related to dance to virtuosic pieces for two treble instruments and bc. The sinfonias probably refer to the practice of including instrumental pieces in secular vocal music, either as introduction or as ritornellos between sections.

Leonora Duarte is the second woman in the programme and also the other Jewish composer. The Duartes were a Jewish-Portuguese family. Although they had converted to Catholicism – not by their own free will, but under pressure of the authorities – they did not feel free and decided to move to Antwerp, which was a relatively tolerant place. There they soon became a centre of domestic music making. The father of the family, Gaspar, and three of his daughters, including Leonore, sang and also played various instruments, such as the violin, the viola da gamba, the lute and the harpsichord. Both Leonora and her brother Diego composed music. Whereas the compositions of her brother are all lost, seven sinfonias for viol consort of Leonora’s pen have come down to us. Three are included here, one of them in a transcription for harpsichord, which makes sense, given that the family owned such an instrument, and Leonore could play it. Sonnambula have recorded the complete works by Leonore Duarte (Centaur); that seems a disc to look out for. I also recommend the disc “The Duarte Circle – Antwerp 1640” (review).

As mentioned, the programme closes with a medieval piece. The earliest documents to mention Enric (or Enrique) de Paris date from 1461, when he was a member of the recently constituted chapel of Prince Carlos of Viana, heir to the Aragonese throne. After Carlos’ death he was in the service of the new heir, Ferdinand. Later he served Juan II in Catalonia, and after his death Ferdinand again. No sacred works by him are known, only two secular songs, one of them the four-part Mi querer tanto vos quiere. Elizabeth Weinfeld writes that he may have “converted from Judaism for political reasons, or for mere survival.” However, in the article on him in New Grove, there is not a single reference to his Jewish identity.

As I mentioned the line-up of Sonnambula, the reader will understand that this song can only be performed by one voice and three viols. That practice is not the problem, but the viols probably are: it is questionable whether they are of the same kind that was played in the 15th century. The other vocal piece, by Rossi, is performed the same way, and that is also debatable, but for a different reason. As mentioned, the Songs of Solomon were written for synagogal use, and instruments were not allowed there. The only argument in favour of this kind of performance is that these pieces may also have been performed outside the synagogue, in a private environment.

Looking back at the programme, I still don’t understand the title of this disc. Not that it matters, but I also find the suggestion that the composers had to “hide” their identity implausible. Byrd did not hide his Catholic conviction, nor did Rossi the fact that he was a Jew. And how could Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre hide that she was a woman? Yes, there were aspects in the life of the selected composers which caused problems of various kinds, but that is something different from having to hide their identity.

Setting aside these considerations, as well as the rather modest playing time, I certainly have enjoyed this disc. Although the programme lacks stylistic coherence, each piece is well worth hearing and is given what it needs with regard to articulation and dynamic shading. The performances leave nothing to desire. I did not know this ensemble; this was a pleasant acquaintance, and I hope to hear more from Sonnambula in the near future.

Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen

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Contents
Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre (1665-1729)
Overture Céphale et Procris
Richard Dering (c1580-1630)
Fantasia a 5 (No. 6) (VdGS No. 2)
Salomone Rossi (c1570-1630)
Gagliarda detta La Norsina
Leonora Duarte (1610-1678)
Sinfonia No. 5
Alfonso Ferrabosco I (1543-1588)
In Nomine a 5 (VdGS No. 1)
Salomone Rossi
Sinfonia a 5
William Byrd (c1540-1623)
The Bells (BK 38)
Salomone Rossi
Elohim Hashivenu (Psalm 80)
Leonora Duarte
Sinfonia No. 4
William Byrd
My Lady Nevell’s Ground (BK 57)
Richard Dering
Fantasia a 5 (No. 4) (VdGS No. 1)
Leonora Duarte
Sinfonia No. 7 (transcription: James Kennerley)
Salomone Rossi
Sonata XI detta La Scatola
Enric (Enrique) de Paris (fl 1460s)
Mi querer tanto vos quiere