The Faculty Artist Concert Series concert “Baroque and Beyond” was held in the Ruth Lilly Performance Hall in the Christel DeHaan Fine Art Center on Nov. 3. The performance featured a medley of classic Baroque pieces, as well as a couple of more modern arrangements.
The performance began with a “Fanfare: a boundless moment,” composed by Associate Professor of Theory and Composition John Berners, which was originally created for the inauguration of UIndy President, Robert Manuel.
It was performed by Marko Petričić on bayan, Thomas Gerber on organ, Scotty Stepp on soprano saxophone and Erika Matson on soprano saxophone.
The second set to be played was the first three dance songs of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s “Nouvelles Suites: Suite in A minor.” Gerber played the suite on the classic Baroque instrument, the harpsichord. The Baroque Rameau was featured heavily throughout the evening, as this year is the 250th anniversary of his death.
The next set were three songs played on the organ. They were “Canzon I ‘La Spiritata’” by Giovanni Gabrieli, “Canzona 4” by Johann Kaspar Kerll and “Fugue and Caprice sur le masme sujet, No.2” by Francois Roberday.Before playing the pieces Petričić explained how he was able to achieve the wide range of tones even on the small organ that was used.
The next set, the second part of the “Suite in A minor,” returned to the composer Rameau, and was played by Gerber on the harpsichord. These pieces featured a more technical performance, including the song “Les Trois Mains,” in which the musician crosses their hands over one another in quick succession.
Junior psychology major Dylan Linton said he thought Gerber “played it very well and liked the speed and the way he played it.” The song was followed up by Fanfarinette and La Triomphante.
The fourth set, played once again by Petričić on the organ, featured two songs “Caprice in D” by Gottlieb Muffat and “Le Coucou” by Louis-Claude Daquin. These two pieces were especially representational of the style of the Baroque period.
Gerber concluded Rameau’s “Suite in A minor,” with “Gavotte and Six Doubles.” As the name implies, it is a collection of six different versions of the same piece, each having a distinctive mood.
Following the conclusion of Rameau’s piece, Petričić played “Sonata No. 1” by Vyatcheslav Semyonov, which was one of the non-Baroque pieces, composed in 1984. The piece was played on a bayan, a type of Russian accordion.
This piece had an emotional connection for the performer, who had not played the piece in its entirety since playing it in Italy during his youth, before he came to the United States.
His performance demonstrated that he understood the piece both on a physical and emotional level.
“He’d [Petričić] start slow but then speed up, and he’d really get into it,” said junior athletic training major Brad Kovert. “It is amazing how fast he could get with the buttons [of the accordion].”
While much of the concert was in honor of the 250th anniversary of Rameau’s death, it also marked the 300th anniversary of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s birth, so in honor of him the concert concluded with “Vier kleine Duette Fur Zwei Claviere, Wq 115,” with Gerber playing the harpsichord, and Petričić playing the organ.
The next FACS will be on Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in Ruth Lilly Performance Hall. The concert, entitled “Classics to Moderns,” is free to the public.
