BWW Reviews: Piffaro's RETURN OF THE PIPES Features Royal Favorites

Philadelphia's Piffaro: The Renaissance Band opened its season on the weekend of October 18 with RETURN OF THE PIPERS. Although the title of the concert suggests a celebration of the Renaissance bagpipe, the instrument - whether of melodious sound or of torture is a matter of opinion frequently hotly debated - made its appearance in the opening procession and in a few other numbers, but the real theme was a battle of musical wits among the French, English, and Flemish courts - favored tunes, favored composers, and a certain composer named Henry VIII, who of the three kings at that time - Henry, Francois, and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (the one with the most prestigious-sounding title) was the one known as a composer himself.

Featured at the concert series was the winner of Piffaro's 2013 National Recorder Competition, Martin Bernstein, currently a student at Manhattan's Hunter College High and founder of his school's early music ensemble. Beginning the recorder at the age of five, he's currently a student of several fine early music instructors, including Piffaro's own Joan Kimball.

The opening "Suite of Flemish Tunes" included "T'andernaken," a tune familiar to many early music lovers who may not know the name, and which found its way into the concert multiple times, with variations in tune and instrumentation - not because there was no other music, but because it was apparently the popular song of the day in more than one country. Imagine, if you will, your favorite Beatles tune, covered in multiple countries by multiple singers in multiple languages (or one Nana Mouskouri singing in all of them) with multiple orchestrations - that would be the familiar equivalent in modern music. Even good King Henry had a turn at it, and his arrangement, performed by Piffaro along with several of the others, was certainly no less entertaining than the other variations.

Henry also composed "Pastime with Good Company," which may or may not have been a variation of the previous tune, "De mon triste et desplaisir" by Jean Richafort, but which was also equally entertaining. In that collection of songs, the first after the intermission, Philip van Wilder, the Flemish composer who was also Henry's favorite, was also featured. The arrangement of entirely secular songs was performed with the gamut of Piffaro's instrumentation - shawms, sackbuts, dulcian, various recorders, percussion, and pipe and tabor - that latter being a bit of a "rub your tummy, pat your head" trick, as it involves beating a small drum with one hand and playing a three-hole pipe with the other. It may be the origin of the fife and drum combination, although the fife like the flute is a two-hand instrument so that fifes and drums require multiple musicians.

Bernstein, whose musicality is inspiring, performed throughout the concert, but notably in the piece, "The Several Faces Of a Popular Chanson," based on Sermisy's "Dont Vient Cela" (How comes it, O beauty, I beg thee, that you are not interested in me any more...). The tune was borrowed by Marot (not in this concert, however) for his setting of Psalm X ("Dont Vient Seigneur, "how come, o Lord, I beg thee, that you hide your eyes from me"). The permutations of this and others included Bernstein on a melody with divisions, set up by Kimball, which received unanimous approval from the audience.

Also notable in the performances were Piffaro member Grant Herrold's lute work, as well as Christa Patton's harp, which were both featured on the "English Sampler" segment. Guest artist, sackbut player Lisa Malamut, was also featured throughout the program.

Next on the schedule is Piffaro's eagerly anticipated holiday concert, which will be held, this year, the weekend after Christmas. For more information, visit the Piffaro website, piffaro.org.

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