The much-anticipated Common Grounds concert, held on the evening of June 30, 2016, at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Vancouver, set out to explore the commonalities and differences between the musical modalities of jazz and baroque. Various pertaining elements came up during the evening’s musical conversation such as the distinctions between “high art” and “low art,” the commuting of instruments and styles back and forth across the ages, and the recurrence of (as stated in official materials), “the endlessly creative practice of ‘theme and variation’ [as] a keystone of jazz improvisation, of the Baroque and, one could argue, of life.”
The sections of the programme were divided equally between the two — the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, or its “pocket version,” as Juno Award-winning director Alex Weimann put it, consisting of six musicians, and the renowned Alan Matheson Septet. Given the place of the concert as part of the 31st Annual Vancouver Jazz Festival, opening the evening with a jazz section seemed fitting; the energy and dynamism of those first pieces quickly established audience expectations for the rest of the evening.
Individual instruments traded lines with playfulness, each instrumentalist bringing a new and unique voice to the tune. Additionally, it was notable to see the physical expressions, from eye focus to the back-and-forth torso movement of each musician’s engagement with the music. Most of the pieces were composed by Alan Matheson, who teaches at UBC. It was highly intriguing to hear his creative process, particularly for pieces such as “Trane to Leipzig," built upon a sequence of chords pulled from Bach’s name, and “White Nights”, inspired by the sunlit evenings of Helsinki.
The Baroque ensemble was a strong continuation of those themes. The stately rhythm of the music, written by Renaissance-era composers not exactly household names, was echoed by the musicians in a “pull-recover” motion, as is perhaps typical of a more classical expression and reflective of the difference in tone between the styles. Moreover, it was eye-opening to witness highly virtuosic displays on instruments such as the lute and the now-oft-overlooked timpani (apparently, according to soloist Mr. Ed Reifel, timpani players in the 1600s were highly in demand and formed guilds akin to Fight Club, in the sense that one never talked about it). The skill of the musicians notwithstanding, both solo and tutti pieces were highly evocative, fitting for and amplified by the environs and acoustics of the cathedral.
Finally, the two ensembles came together to perform the world premiere of Matheson’s “Chaconne," a fusion piece (the name coming from a Renaissance style described in the programme as “usually in major keys” and “upbeat”). This was itself divided into two sections. The first, as played by the Baroque ensemble, seemed perhaps more revolutionary than the second, thanks to its reimagining of traditional Renaissance melodies and instrumentation underscored by a modern upright bass. As the emphasis switched over in the second portion, with the jazz septet taking the lead and the lute and cornett performing jazzy lines much like a guitar and clarinet, one wonders whether the soft and mournful purity of their antiquated sounds may have been lost in being played like so.
As a whole, the concert found its basis asking questions about improvisation and virtuosity, challenging the audience to search for the subtle embellishments, flourishes, and call-and-answers that delight the soul and transcend style and time. It was never meant to provide an answer, but to get the discussion started; judging by the standing ovation (accompanied by Matheson’s rousing impromptu trumpet solo), such discussions will be the talk of the town.
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