“Through the Wood, Laddie” – Music of Baroque Scotland and Acadia
By George B. Parous
Yesterday afternoon’s weather posed no hindrance for the very large crowd of music lovers that filled Hicks Memorial Chapel at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. They were there to hear the final performance of the Chatham Baroque ensemble’s Through the Wood, Laddie program, with guest artists Pascale Beaudin, the wonderfully gifted soprano, and Chris Norman, who brought pipes and wooden flutes to life. Their perseverance was well rewarded with fine music, and the accompanying applause that rang through the vast chapel made for the most entertaining afternoon, in quite some time, that came to mind. Chatham Baroque brought their program to the community throughout the weekend, with Friday evening’s performance taking place at the Teutonia Männerchor, Saturday evening’s at the Carnegie Music Hall in Carnegie, and yesterday afternoon’s, the final performance, at the Seminary.
A delightful program it was, too, and it would not be a surprise to find that some in yesterday’s crowd may have been at one or both preceding performances. As has been mentioned before, there is a special aura, a tranquilizing bit of magic, that envelops the soul if one allows it while listening to this ensemble play. The regular members – Andrew Fouts and his hypnotic violin, Patricia Halverson and the mellow loveliness of her viola da gamba, and Scott Pauley, lute, theorbo and baroque guitar all at his command – were on hand, as well as guest artists Pascale Beaudin, soprano, and Chris Norman, pipes and wooden flute, and all seemed to be at the top of their games. As is always the case with any concert program of unfamiliar music, there were numbers that wouldn’t suffer a second or third hearing, and ones that were on-the-spot instantly delightful. One or two of the composers represented on the program, history has left some trace of, such as James Oswald, and he by no means a household name, but the majority of the pieces were “traditional” Scots, Acadian and Quebec. All were worthy of a hearing, and the announcement that the concert was being recorded was good news for any musical historians in the crowd.
The opening number, by the James Oswald mentioned above, was a sonata of Scots tunes, that set the atmosphere, so far as the Scots music was concerned. The tunes were colorfully named – “O Mother what shall I do,” “Ettrick Bank,” “She rose and let me in,” “Cromlit’s Lilt,” “Polwarth on the Green” – and were just as colorfully played by the ensemble. The first part of the program also re-introduced Pascale Beaudin and her lovely soprano voice. She sings with refinement and a richness of shades, and she sang very brilliantly through “The Lass of Peaty’s Mill” and “Lady Bothwell’s Lament,” but with “Au chant de l’alouette” she introduced a novel bit of fun. She taught the audience to sing a part of the song – in French – along with her. She held a placard with the words while she repeated a portion of the tune several times, and amazingly, eventually, something resembling the words and music sang along with her. This bit of fun was followed by what was probably the most fun of the first half, the Quebec traditional arrangement of “Galope St. Blandine – Talencourte Gigue,” a lively piece played by the ensemble that definitely fell into the love-at-first-hearing category.
Andrew Fouts, violin; Patricia Halverson, viola da gamba and Scott Pauley, lute, theorbo and baroque guitar.
To these ears the best music of the entire program was that with Acadian roots. It was well represented on the program and the two guest artists, Ms. Beaudin and Mr. Norman, both have Acadian roots themselves. Having heard of Acadia before, I admit I was yesterday years old when I learned that the place specifically included North American Atlantic seaboard possessions of France in the 17th and 18th centuries, centered in what are now New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. Ms. Beaudin’s sing-along, as well as the “Îles de la Madeleine” waltz, and a few other numbers originating from the region were especially enjoyable. Perhaps if the afternoon had not been so dreary, the somewhat doleful shade that permeated much of the Scots music wouldn’t have been so pronounced. There were moments, certainly, when the Scots music shined brightly; Mr. Noman’s pipes solo was mesmerizing, as was, of course, “Through the Wood, Laddie.”
Chris Norman, wooden flutes, pipes.
Next up from Chatham Baroque is Apollo’s Fire Violin Fantasy, Sunday, February 18, 4:00 pm, at the Calvary Episcopal Church. You can find more information and get single tickets at the Chatham Baroque website.
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