The robust roster of talented local performers in the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the American Guild of Organist is another artistic jewel in Kansas City’s crown.  Their spring collaboration with the Kansas City Baroque Consortium was a worthy offering of eighteenth-century organ concertos by well–known composers (Handel, Haydn) and lesser known (Pietro Domenico Paradies, Michel Corrette, and “il Londinese” Giuseppe Sammartini).  The appreciative crowd of 200 organ enthusiasts gathered in Grace and Holy Trinity’s nave to hear the 1998 D. Leslie Smith positive organ, specially tuned to A=415 Hz, in the soloist slot.

The lowered A (modern tuning is typically 440 or 442 depending on the ensemble preference) proved to be somewhat detrimental as the strings struggled to keep the pitch lowered appropriately.

Roseann Penner Kaufman of Rainbow Mennonite Church performed Handel’s Concerto in F major, HWV 295 otherwise known as “The Cuckoo and the Nightingale.”  Compared to November performance, this rendition was much stronger both from the soloist as well as the ensemble.  The second Larghetto was lovely with the alterations between the orchestra and Penner Kaufman.  Instead of improvising an organ ad libitum cadenza between the second and third movements (I don’t blame her! It’s a lost art.) she performed a matching short interlude by Telemann.  Her registration clearly set off this interjection.

Pietro Domenico Paradies’ Concerto in B-flat major featured Mary Davis.  Joining the orchestra on the Allegro second movement, Davis brought out the syncopations well, but I felt the performance lacked fluidity.  It became evident that Paradies was writing in an Italian opera tradition in the Adagio third movement. The lines were melodic and singable to a fault.

Terry Foster’s performance of Haydn’s Concerto in C major, Hob XVIII:10 was one of the highlights of the evening.  It was the stateliest concerto played and it delighted with some interesting harmonic twists, especially in the final Allegro.  Foster’s second movement, the Adagio, was the most steady and delicate of the evening.

Michel Corrette’s Concerto in D minor, Op. 26, No. 2 showcased some dazzling playing by William McCandless. McCandless also bumped up the relative tempo from the previous pieces quite a bit.  With this tempo increase and the only minor tonality on the concert, this concerto stood out even more.  The solo lines of the Andante, doubled in the transverse flute, occasionally did not agree on rhythms or intonation, but when they matched it was a lovely sound combination.  The final Presto was charming and deftly played by McCandless.

The Kansas City Baroque Consortium played Giuseppe Sammartini’s (“il Londinese” not to be confused with his brother “il Milanese” Giovanni Sammartini or any of the other members of the musical Sammartini family) Concerto in A major, Op. 9, No. 1 with the most personality.  They found the nuances in articulation and line, making the concerto sound different from the other repertory performed.  John Ditto, who served as soloist for the piece, at times struggled with maintaining a steady pulse, while the final movement Allegro assai, lacked energy. 

Overall the concert was enjoyable but the tropes of eighteenth-century composition were so prevalent the pieces became too similar and predicable.  After the seemingly endless sixteenth-note sequences, it was the slow movements of each of the concertos that I found most pleasant and engaging.

REVIEW:
Greater Kansas City Chapter of American Guild of Organists
with Kansas City Baroque Consortium
The Eighteenth-Century Organ Concerto
Monday, March 21, 2011
Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral
13th St and Broadway Blvd, Kansas City, MO
For more information visit http://www.kcago.com.

Top Photo: Terry Foster

By Lee Hartman

Editor-in-Chief; Traditional and New Classical Contributor

Lee Hartman holds degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (D.M.A., M.M.) and the University of Delaware (B.M.). At the University of Delaware, he received a Dean's Scholar position enabling him to pursue an individually designed academic program combining music education and composition. At the University of Missouri-Kansas City he served for three years as the Assistant Director to Musica Nova, the conservatory's new music ensemble, while teaching a variety of composition classes.

In 2007 he was invited to both the Iceland Academy of the Arts in Reykjavík, Iceland and the Sichuan Conservatory in Chengdu, China to give lectures and master classes in composition. In the summer of 2009, Hartman served as an orchestra manager for the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble and Aspen Opera Theater Center for various performances. He serves on the National Executive Committee of the Society of Composers, Inc. as Submissions Coordinator. His primary composition instructors include James Mobberley, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Paul Rudy, John Beall, and Jennifer Margaret Barker. He currently teaches music theory at the University of Central Missouri and general music classes at Park University having previously taught at UD (2007–08) and UMKC (2006–07).

His compositions can be found at http://www.leehartmanmusic.com