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Show Classical Corner. . . by David Norton History & Repertoire XVII: The English Baroque Our survey this month looks at the English Baroque. There isn't a lot to look at, folks! The 17th Century was a time of enormous political upheaval in England. Since one's very survival tended to be a doubtful proposition, there was precious little space left over to devote towards making merry. The very strict Puritan religious ethic was conceived and brought to full flower here. The Puritans had no particular interest in any artistic endeavors, which partially accounts for the limited nature of the arts in early Colonial America. With the Restoration of the House of Stuart in 1670, things changed. Happy days were here again, so to speak. The music heard was the music of the theater. Out of this cultural melange came Henry Purcell (1659-1695), one of the geniuses of English music. His instrument was the harpsichord, and his choice of composition the English opera, entirely different from Italian opera and much closer to a folk tradition. Many of his works are suitable for solo voice, and even the staid Purcell Society of London acknowledges that the guitar is a reasonable instrument for accompaniment. Segovia and Bream each transcribed a few of Purcell's shorter harpsichord solos for guitar. They are perfectly acceptable, but personally speaking, they're not my cup of tea. With the tricentennial commemoration of Purcell's death next year, we can probably expect to see a few more arrangements come forth. Other names from the period-William and Henry Lawes, Thomas Mace, Jeremiah Clarke, John Blow-wrote for the lute to some extent. But by this time, the lute was (as we have seen) very closely associated with the French. Because England and For The Record ... Peter, Paul & Mary Peter, Paul and Mary were in concert on November 18,1993 in Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City, Utah and I had the pleasure to go Back Stage and "hang" with them prior to and after the show thanks to the Space Agency (Bruce, John & Steve), who managed the show, for the privilege. I sat with each of the three members of the group and got some prized station ID' s & Radiothon pitches for KRCL 91FM and I got the following sketches: Peter Yarrow was born May 31,1938, in New York City, where he was raised and he now splits time between New York & Colorado.He learned to play the violin and guitar in his youth and was adept at both when he enrolled in Cornell University in upstate New York in the late 1950's. His major was Psychology, but he enjoyed music and played at school functions and in local clubs. After getting his degree, he was set to make Psychology his career, but when he returned to New York City, he couldn't avoid the lure of the folk music boom of the time. He began working with various folk groups and was attracting the attention of local folk music fans. In May of 1960 he was chosen as a cast member for a CBS TV special, "Folk Sound, U.S.A." That exposure, in 10 Intermountain Acoustic Musician, April 1994 tum, gained him a spot in the 1960 Newport Folk Festival, which reaffirmed his decision to makeFolk Music his career. Noel Paul Stookey was born November 30,1937, in Baltimore, Maryland where he was raised and he now lives above a Community Radio Station in Blue Hill Falls, Maine. His early musical history seemed to make him an unlikely candidate for the folk music scene. As a teenager growing up in Baltimore he was a fan of Rock 'N' Roll music and later used his skills with the electric guitar to work in a Rock band and by working as emcee in local clubs, which helped him pay for his college tuition at Michigan State University. After receiving his degree, he moved to Pennsylvania with his family and worked a number of jobs before deciding to try his hand as an entertainer again. He moved to New York City and went through months of near starvation trying to break in show business. He took a position with a chemical company to keep going while he sought work as stand-up comic in his spare time. He began making a name for himself in the Greenwich Village clubs by the end of 1960. He was "turned on" to acoustic music at a "freebie" classical guitar concert at Cooper Union in New York France were becoming increasingly hostile to one another during this period, a situation which culminated in the wars of late 18th and early 19th centuries, it follows that what was good in one country was abhorred in the other. So, the English musical literature of this era is something of a dry well. Next month we go to Germany, to begin a three-part visit with the last generation of master lutenists. ~~~ On Monday, April18, the UCGS and the Utah Symphony Youth Guild are cosponsoring a masterclass with Sharon Isbin. Ms. Isbin is acclaimed as one of the finest classical guitar virtuosi ever to take the stage, and she will appear in a solo recital at Abravenal Hall on Tuesday, April19. The masterclass is at the Salt Lake Arts Center, 20 S. West Temple, and begins at 2 p.m. Admission is $10 for auditors (the performer's slots are full). Please call me at 943-2262 if you would like more information. City and he became acquainted with Mary at that time. Mary Allin Travers was born November 7,1937, in Louisville, Kentucky, but moved to New York City as a small child and still lives there. She became interested in Folk Music at the age of 12 and took lessons in the genre from the likes of Charity Bailey and was influenced by Pete Seeger and Josh White. While in high school in the 1950's, she sang with various teenage folk groups and made two appearances at Carnegie Hall with the Songswappers, one the groups. She went to finishing school after high school and during that time, won a job in the chorus of a Broadway show. The show flopped and she worked at various literary and advertising jobs during the day, while trying to increase work and contacts in the music field at night and on weekends. She met Noel Paul Stookey and Milt Okun in the early 1960's. Milt was once a music teacher and a folksinger in the 1950's and in 1960, he turned his attention from teaching and performing to the handling, managing, promoting, and producing of the flood of new and young talent that he could see continued next page |
