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Passenger: Carnegie Hall, please.
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Jeff Spurgeon: In New York City, there are lots of ways to get to Carnegie Hall. Subway, taxi, a walk down 57th Street. You've just found another way to get to America's most famous home for classical music. Welcome to Carnegie Hall Live, the broadcast series that gives you a front row seat to concerts by some of the greatest artists in the world, and you get to hear the performances as they happen. You are part of the audience sharing the experience of music making at Carnegie Hall.
Backstage at Carnegie's Zankel Hall. I'm Jeff Spurgeon, alongside John Schaefer.
John Schaefer: And Zankel, Zankel Hall is an interesting place. It's the middle-sized hall here at Carnegie, much bigger than Weill Recital Hall, much smaller than the big Isaac Stern Auditorium, but it's also capable of being configured in various ways. So when we say that the Baroque ensemble Les Arts Florissants are taking center stage, we mean that literally. The audience will be in the round, completely surrounding the musicians in a program that is all about French Baroque opera. This is right in the wheelhouse of this band, Les Arts Florissants, and it includes music by Lully, Rameau, and Charpentier.
Jeff Spurgeon: All the music that Les Arts Florissants is familiar with. A group that has a 40-year history with this work, this literature. They really are known for their stagings of Baroque operas, and while they're an ensemble, there's really one man at the center of that history. It's William Christie, the Artistic Director and conductor this evening.
John Schaefer: Christie is American, actually. He was born in Buffalo, New York, and studied at Harvard and Yale, but he's lived in France since 1971. It was there that he formed Les Arts Florissants in 1979. And together, he and the band have led a real rediscovery of French Baroque music, and tonight is essentially an 80th birthday party for William Christie, and a celebration of all the work he's done in bringing this repertoire out of the dusty archives and back out onto the concert stage.
His relationship with this music has lasted more than half a century, and when we spoke to him earlier this week, we asked how he discovered his love of Baroque music.
William Christie: Well, it happened very early. I remember my first concert at the Buffalo Philharmonic where I heard a harpsichord, and it turned out that the harpsichord player was a friend of my mother's and a friend of my grandmother's.
And I can remember the first recording I heard, actually, and I was maybe 13 or 14, of French Baroque music. Believe it or not, I don't know how she did it, but my grandmother, who was by no means (chuckles) into French Baroque music, had found a copy of an Erato recording of the Leçon de Ténèbres of François Couperin, which I wore out. I listened to it so often. I had a, I wouldn't call it a broad understanding of what Baroque music was all about, but I had notions. And I think it was due essentially to these kinds of contacts. And the most important, maybe, was when I was at college. This was in 1965 or 66. One of my roommates came in holding, brandishing a disc, a recording that he had of Hippolyte et Aricie of Rameau. I think it was the first recording ever out. With Anthony Lewis and the great role of Phèdre was sung by Janet Baker. And that just simply was the turning point you know it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard.
Jeff Spurgeon: William Christie, Artistic Director and founder of tonight's ensemble, speaking about his early discoveries of French Baroque music which you are going to hear tonight and when you talk French Baroque opera, you've got to talk Jean-Baptiste Lully.
John Schaefer: Even though Lully was born in Italy, in Florence actually, but he made his way to France and became the head of the Royal Academy of Music at the court of the Sun King himself, Louis XIV, and it was there that he took Italian opera and adapted it into something more decidedly French. The pieces tend to be longer, there are elements of ballet, there's a prologue praising Louis XIV, and a kind of highly declamatory singing style.
Now tonight, we'll hear excerpts from Atys, which is one of Lully's earlier operas. But we'll also hear excerpts from some of the composers, Jeff, who came after him.
Jeff Spurgeon: Yeah excerpts of Jean-Philippe Rameau, master of late French Baroque opera. But tonight begins with a work by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. His telling of the story of Medea, based on the Greek tragedy. Over the course of this opera, Medea moves from a betrayed wife to a vengeful murderer of her own children. We'll hear Medea confront her husband, Jason, claiming he loves another woman. And we'll also hear Medea's air from the third act of the opera, "Quel prix de mon amour" - "What a Price I Must Pay For My Love". Heh heh. Eh, some other people pay the price, too. At this point, though, Medea knows she's been betrayed by her husband and is ready to seek revenge. And it's at this point in the opera that her thoughts turn to murder.
John Schaefer: And you can hear that reflected in the music, which shifts between different tempos and between major and minor. So it, it helps to underline the text and Medea's unpredictable mental state, and that was typical of music in the French Baroque period. The text really mattered, and the music had to serve the text's meaning, and when we spoke to William Christie, he told us that was central to bringing this music to life.
William Christie: That's the language, which is a stumbling block for many, many people, even for the French sometimes. The language is music in itself. And if you don't start from that point of view, you're pretty much, you're lost. The great composers, like the great Italian composers of the early 17th century, had "prima le parole, e secondo la musica", and it was pretty much the same way in late 17th century France.
Jeff Spurgeon: William Christie saying that the words are more important than the music.
Well now on stage, Les Florissants and William Christie. A company of six singers joins an instrumental contingent of about 13 players for this performance, intermission-less, tonight from Carnegie's Zankel Hall.
So they're turning in every direction in the audience to greet the people who've come to hear them.
And now, we hear Les Arts Florissants from Carnegie Hall Live.
MUSIC - CHARPENTIER Selections from Médée
Jeff Spurgeon: Music of Charpentier, a scene from the opera Médée, performed by Les Arts Florissants.
MUSIC
Lully Selections from Atys
Rameau Selections from Pigmalion
Jeff Spurgeon: Music from Jean-Philippe Rameau's Pigmalion. Bastien Rimondi in the title role with that brief aria, as well as a number of dances from the work, in this performance by Les Arts Florissants from Carnegie Hall Live.
MUSIC
John Schaefer: We're listening to music of Jean-Philippe Rameau, played by William Christie and his ensemble Les Arts Florissants from Carnegie's Zankel Hall.
MUSIC
Jeff Spurgeon: A happy ending to conclude Jean-Philippe Rameau's Les Indes galantes and also to conclude this program by William Christie and Les Arts Florissants of French Baroque opera, music of the 18th century, coming to you from Carnegie Hall Live.
Backstage at Carnegie's Zankel Hall, I'm Jeff Spurgeon alongside John Schaefer. Boy, have we covered a lot of ground on this program.
John Schaefer: A whirlwind tour of no fewer than five Rameau operas. Finishing with the opera-ballet, Les Indes galantes, and William Christie conducting Les Arts Florissants from the keyboards, mostly harpsichord, but a little bit of portative organ as well, and the singers playing to the audience on all sides that's performed in the round tonight, and you might have heard them tramping around the stage. They were prowling around and really acting it up.
Jeff Spurgeon: Absolutely. Acting and working without any music in their hands, so very much in the moment. And you heard the emotion in many of these numbers. Tender emotions, great anger, fury, and some happiness too. That helps out once in a while.
John Schaefer: Ana Vieira Leite, the soprano, at one point striking a pose, leaning against the harpsichord like a cabaret singer at the piano.
Jeff Spurgeon: It's a sultry moment.
John Schaefer: And the rest of the vocal ensemble included two mezzo sopranos, Juliette Mey and Rebecca Leggett; two tenors, Bastien Rimondi and Richard Pittsinger; and the baritone Matthieu Walendzik, with William Christie celebrating his 80th birthday with this concert of music from the French Baroque.
And taking his seat back at the organ, looks like we will have an encore.
William Christie: We'd like to sing an encore. It's a quartet which is rather unusual for Jean-Philippe Rameau. It's called "Tendre amour", Tender Love, and it comes from the Entrée, Les Fleurs, The Flowers, of Les Indes galantes. It's one of the most beautiful pieces I think written in the 18th century.
MUSIC - RAMEAU "Tendre amour" from Les Indes galantes
John Schaefer: An encore performance by Les Arts Florissants, conducted from the portative organ by their founder and artistic director, William Christie, and a piece called "Tendre Amour", Tender Love, from Jean-Philippe Rameau's Les Indes Galantes. All of the singers taking a bow, the musicians, William Christie himself here at Carnegie's Zankel Hall.
We've heard a fair amount of Rameau's music and, Jeff, of Les Indes galantes, in particular, towards the end of this program.
Jeff Spurgeon: And a very beautiful as William Christie said, a very beautiful work performed by the entire ensemble. Thirteen players, including William Christie, and a half dozen vocalists, as you said, all working tonight within a space 20 feet by 20 feet with an organ and a harpsichord and a great deal of expression out of those singers performing those excerpts from these great French operas of the 18th century that were such an important part of French cultural life at that time and a great deal of the legacy of the Sun King, Louis XIV.
Now the applause continues here at Carnegie Hall for the ensemble turning in all directions of the compass at the conclusion of this concert and following an encore.
Emmanuel Resche-Caserta: Ladies and gentlemen, my dear William. As you know, this concert is part of a big tour to celebrate your 80th birthday. [audience applause]
William Christie: I prefer to call it 4 times 20.
Emmanuel Resche-Caserta: Good. So, for your 20th birthday, we've been to Malta, we'll be in Spain and London, and at each concert, we have a little or big surprise. And we have a surprise here as well. So I think this surprise will bring lots of joy to you, and I think it's time for the present.
William Christie: Oh my goodness! [applause]
Joyce DiDonato: Happy Birthday!
Jeff Spurgeon: Joyce DiDonato has just walked on stage to embrace William Christie. So, she is the birthday surprise present for William Christie on this 80th birthday celebration here at Carnegie's Zankel Hall.
Joyce DiDonato: [starts singing "Happy Birthday" song.] [audience laughter] That's terrible after what just happened. Hello, everybody. I'm Joyce DiDonato. [audience cheers and applause] And I've been backstage trying not to be seen. And all I think about, with this gorgeous concert, is it's everything that's right with a world that feels quite wicked at times. [applause]
And Maestro, Bill, we had the great pleasure, at least it was my pleasure, in 2004, doing Hercules together for the first time. Three years, yeah. I was so nervous because I hadn't sung much Handel at that point. And I was so nervous because, you know, one had heard Bill Christie was pretty tough. So I prepared so well that all of my trills were from the right starting point and that the straight tone, just enough but not too, and I studied so hard. And we sat down on the first day. I was quite unknown at the time, and quite scared. And you said, this is going to be phenomenal, and I want you singers to give me everything that you are. From your whitest white note, to your most soul crushing, fiery scream. And we did. And that has been my guiding force through Handel and really through everything. Because you never leave anything unsaid in your concerts. And Bill, you have made this world such a better place by your presence and your music. And what a legacy you leave with all of us that have had the pleasure of working with you. [applause]
MUSIC – HANDEL "As with rosy steps the morn" from Theodora
Jeff Spurgeon: "As with rosy steps the morn advancing drives the shades of night, so from virtuous toils well born, raise thou our hopes of endless light." An aria from Handel's Theodora, sung by Joyce DiDonato. A surprise appearance at this 80th birthday celebration of William Christie and the organization he has been operating for decades now, celebrating great music of the Baroque era, and particularly that of France, but others as well, with his organization, Les Arts Florissants.
A special appearance by Ms. DiDonato at this concert of Les Arts Florissants tonight at Carnegie Hall. Quite a special moment, wouldn't you say, John?
John Schaefer: Well, we knew this was going to happen. The ensemble knew it was going to happen, because they had to prepare it.
Jeff Spurgeon: Right.
John Schaefer: But for William Christie? That must have been a really nice birthday surprise.
Jeff Spurgeon: A really wonderful surprise.
John Schaefer: You could tell just from his reaction when Joyce DiDonato walked out on stage, and a big hug between the two of them at the end of that performance of music by Handel. And Christie sat that one out.
Jeff Spurgeon: Yes he did.
John Schaefer: No conducting, no, no playing the keyboard. He sat in the front row and was basically an audience of one, surrounded by the much larger audience here at Carnegie's Zankel Hall.
And a really lovely way to fill out an evening devoted to Les Arts Florissants, an ensemble that, as Jeff said, specializes in music of the Baroque, is actually named after a Charpentier opera, Les Arts Florissants, The Flourishing Arts.
William Christie: You can imagine my... how moving these moments are. We've just said to each other, we can't save the world, but we're going to make it just a little bit better. We're there when we're needed, essentially. This is the wonderful thing about music. But I'm also very happy that I'm surrounded by colleagues who form the most extraordinary family. As you know, all of the singers tonight were or will be part of our Jardin des Voix. I'm not sure you know all about this, but it's one of the most wonderful things I've ever done in my life. Every two years, we have a selection committee, and we travel the world to select between six and ten young singers. You heard six Jardins des Voix tonight. Some of them a couple years ago. One was about to start his, apprenticeship, if I can call it that, in the Jardin des Voix. We take these young people who are at the beginning of their careers fresh out of music school or conservatory, and we, we essentially work a program. A program that basically has to do with lyric music of the Baroque epoch. And we're able to sell these youngsters who aren't known to some of the best halls in the world. That's our sort of notoriety, I suppose. It's been going on now for 20 years or so, and we've placed a number of youngsters very well in need, who have made and are making extraordinary careers. Tonight, I think we counted, we've got someone singing at the Met, we've got someone singing at La Scala. We've got some two people singing at the Paris Opera. I think just to name a few of the institutions, the great opera houses that are taking this young talent. You're hearing some of these people for the first time, but it won't be for the last time. They have contracts, they have engagements, they have essentially a life of a singer, a solo singer, which I think is going to be rewarding indeed. Thank you for coming to hear us. [applause]
I'm very touched that this happens on my birthday.
John Schaefer: Happy birthday, William Christie. A few final words from the conductor to wrap things up here at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall. And it wraps up this broadcast of Carnegie Hall Live.
Our thanks to Clive Gillinson and the staff at Carnegie Hall. WQXR's team includes engineers George Wellington, Bill Siegmund, Duke Marcos, and Neil Shaw.
Our production team, Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, and Laura Boyman. I'm John Schaefer.
Jeff Spurgeon: And I'm Jeff Spurgeon. Carnegie Hall Live is a co-production of Carnegie Hall and WQXR in New York.
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