Sparkling Energy – a celebration of concertante baroque music
The second church concert by Klosters Music combines the Goll organ played by Andreas Jost with a string ensemble from Zurich’s La Scintilla Orchestra in St. Jacob’s Church.
Curiosity, passion, delight in playing music – all this is associated with the ensemble “La Scintilla” (The Spark), which will performing on historical instruments. The musicians of the Zurich Opera gathered here have been passionate about early music for over 25 years. Our new series of church concerts, which sets out to present the Goll organ in different combinations, started on 4th January with timpani and trumpets. The upcoming concert entitled “Sparkling Energy” will now feature an entire string orchestra in St. Jacob’s Church. The opening Concerto Grosso op. 6 No. 1 from 1739 by Georg Friedrich Händel expresses enormous charm in its alternation of solo and tutti parts and the marked contrasts between the slow and fast movements. The Canon and Gigue by Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706) and the Concerto for Two Violins in D minor by Johann Sebastian Bach are genuine Baroque classics that have lost none of their appeal despite their familiarity. The burden of violin virtuosity is borne by more than just one violinist. This results in an extremely exciting interplay for the audience to enjoy. There is another such interplay between the cuckoo and the nightingale – namely in the second movement of Händel’s Organ Concerto No. 13 in F major, which gave the work its popular name. In this concerto, the organ constantly makes striking intervallic leaps – sometimes downwards, sometimes upwards. And the nightingale joins in, chirping its trilling changing notes.
The solo part is performed by Andreas Jost, professor of artistic organ performance at the Zurich University of the Arts and organist at the Zurich Grossmünster Cathedral. There, the stylistically versatile musician, who is particularly committed to contemporary organ music, has interpreted the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach’s Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C, which Jost selected for the concert in Klosters, is a unique piece due to the slow movement inserted in the middle. The fugue for four voices is characterised by an unusual, rhythmically concise theme and, despite its complexity, a wonderful transparency. This is also evident in the organ concerto in A minor (BWV 593), which Bach transcribed for organ from a concerto for two violins by Antonio Vivaldi. A celebration of all lovers of concertante baroque music!
January 2025