Nachtklang im Museum I – Kammerorchester Basel

Description

Program: Featuring music by Marin Marais and François Couperin. Concert details: Nachtklang im Novartis-Pavillon bridges music and science. You can explore the pavilion before the concert or register here for a guided tour. «La Gamme, en forme d'un petit Opéra» is a programmatic chamber music piece where Marin Marais transfers the formal structure of the French opera onto a chamber trio consisting of violin, viola da gamba, and harpsichord (basso continuo). The work, lasting over half an hour, is based on an ascending and descending C major scale (la gamme in French means the scale), with each scale degree representing a new imaginary opera scene. The program also takes us to an 18th-century bladder stone operation. French composer and viola da gamba virtuoso Marin Marais underwent this operation at the age of 64. Although this was a specialized discipline, it was risky with a mortality rate of 30%. Survivors often faced severe consequences like infections or incontinence. Marais survived and, in gratitude, composed «Tableau de l’Operation». This suite, an example of program music, musically illustrates the phases of the operation. François Couperin already combined French and Italian stylistic elements when Marais was still opposing Italian forms. Couperin's Concerts royaux, composed for Louis XIV's court, exemplify the blending of musical styles: the French suite form as a framework and Italian stylistic devices such as fugued movements, slow and gravitative adagios, or long phrases with virtuosic figures—where the suite always dominates. The absence of instrumentation details in the score is a peculiarity of the Concerts royaux. The same piece can be played solely on the harpsichord, or the harpsichord can take the bass while violin, viola da gamba, oboe, or flute join in. This freedom is also found with Marin Marais. Participants and additional information: Musicians of the Kammerorchester Basel and guests Katya Polin (violin), Martin Zeller (viola da gamba), Giorgio Paronuzzi (harpsichord), Dr. Frank Petersen (reading)