Jack Firneno, the Wire
When audiences attend the Lenape Chamber Ensemble’s Summer Gala Concerts at Delaware Valley University in Doylestown this month, they’re not only hearing a distinctly wide variety of of musical selections. They’re experiencing intimate, unique musical expression.
According to pianist Marcantonio Barone, that’s not necessarily because the pieces they perform are varied and often distinct in terms of instrumentation and selection. Or because the ensemble, under the direction of president and musical director Mary Pitcairn, is so well-regarded as to draw highly accomplished players from competitive markets like New York and as far as Colorado — although, those elements certainly contribute.
Ultimately, it’s that, in a small ensemble without a conductor, those musicians “talk” among themselves. And, when the caliber of musicianship is as high as that in Lenape, the conversation can get quite interesting.
“We are communicating with one another wordlessly through our playing,” Barone explained. “There is a great feeling of shared input in a performance and, if all goes well, a great feeling of camaraderie among the players.”
Barone admits that it’s not always easy to recognize individual expression in recitals of works by the likes of Beethoven, Schubert and Ives, where all the music is composed with no room for improvisation.
But even here, the musicians are responsible for subtle choices that make huge differences. There’s still a great need for interpretation, and that interpretation is their own expression.
“We may have a situation where Brahms has written for all the parts to be soft. But, should the viola project a little more? Should the second violinist vibrate a little more?” Barone offered. “These are subtleties that can’t be notated.”
It unfolds in discussion, literally sometimes. Barone says string players especially often talk out how they’re going to play, in terms of tone or intonation. Other times, it’s done purely through music. “I tend to like to let my talking come through the piano, the way I play a phrase, or hand something off when another player picks up the primary line,” he explained.
Ultimately, Barone calls it a “question of balance”: considerations of small degrees of dynamics and articulation, choices unique to each group of players approaching a piece of music.
And, however subtle, audiences seem to pick up on them — at least in the case of the Lenape Chamber Ensemble. Barone’s been with the group since 1987, the year they debuted their summer concerts at Delaware Valley University. Maybe 90 people showed up the first year. Today, the audiences number in the hundreds.
“Any audience that is enamored by intimate music-making can tell the difference between one that is perfunctory and one that is being played by deeply committed musicians,” said Barone.
Of course, he regards Lenape as a group of the latter — and a rundown of the players proves he’s right to do so. Various members either played or continue to play with major metropolitan orchestras, opera companies and other ensembles across the country and internationally.
Barone’s own credits include work as a guest artist at the Philadelphia Orchestra Chamber Music Concerts, and he has toured throughout Europe and Russia. Stateside, he’s given solo recitals literally across the country.
But as accomplished as he is, there’s always more to learn, and for Barone, the Lenape group, with its roster of highly skilled musicians from across the country, has been an opportunity to do so for nearly three decades.
More than just technical skill, he said, the ensemble has given him insight on how to truly make the music come alive: “I can say honestly I had some of the best teachers in the world, but I have learned at least as much from my chamber member colleagues. By hearing the way people play something or listening to their verbal ideas, you pick up something here, something there. Your general concept of music grows.”
It happens in those “nitty-gritty” moments, like discussing just what a composer meant by “cheerful” or “wistful” in the score. But just as often, it’s during a big-picture approach, like how to think about a piece of music with movements that can last a half-hour or more each.
“The way you look at that, hear it and take it in, improves every time you play it,” Barone offered. And, he continued, working through it with other accomplished musicians, who bring their unique perspectives and skills to the piece, “is like having a great guide on a mountain hike.”
And, at this month’s Summer Gala Concerts, the ensemble, essentially, will guide listeners through centuries’ worth of music. Barone credits musical director Pitcairn for her discerning approach to choosing music, balancing audience expectations and preferences with pieces the players themselves are excited to perform.
The result is three varied programs offering domestic debuts and glimpses of rarely performed pieces. This Saturday’s engagement, for instance, features Charles Ives’ “Sonata №4 for Violin and Piano,” a rarely performed piece. If that name isn’t as immediately familiar as, say, Beethoven or Brahms, pieces from whom are also on the bill, perhaps it should: “Ives is universally recognized as the father of 21st-century music,” noted Barone.
Another fairly rare offering is Franz Schubert’s String Quintet in C Major, featuring two cellos, which the ensemble will play on July 18. Barone referred to it as one of the composer’s masterpieces, and one that’s a favorite among many of his colleagues.
And, the last Gala performance on July 25 will feature the Piano Quintet in F minor by Cesar Franck — a piece of “epic scope,” said Barone — and also the regional, if not national, premiere of the “String Trio (Sollievo dopo la Tempesta)” by contemporary Swedish composer Tommie Haglund.
“All of this music is always top-notch and interesting,” said Barone. “There are always ‘treats’ in each performance, and this season is no exception.”
The Lenape Chamber Ensemble will hold its Summer Concerts at Delaware Valley University in the Life Sciences Building Auditorium, off New Britain Road and the State Street exit of Route 611 in Doylestown, on July 11, 18 and 25 at 8 p.m. each night. Tickets are $18 for adults and $15 for students and seniors. For information, call 610.294.9361 or visit www.lenapechamberensemble.org.
