By Meg Cotner
On Saturday, March 2, WEKA welcomed harpsichordist Arthur Haas to Portland for a very interesting and informative lecture recital focused on two composers: Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre and François Couperin. Arthur is currently on the faculty of Stony Brook University in NY and Yale University in CT. On a personal note, he was my teacher during my DMA studies at Stony Brook, and I was pleased to introduce him to the audience in attendance.
Each half of the recital was in turn divided in two parts: first came the lecture, then the playing; a handout was provided to all attendees. The first half centered around Jacquet and the second half around Couperin. Arthur performed on Reed College’s Franco-Flemish double (built by Ken Bakeman in 1973, restored by Byron Will in 2002, and retrofitted by Paul Irvin since 2012).
Arthur talked about the Jacquet and Couperin family connections, of which he asserts are many. He speculates that François and Élisabeth must have known each other, a very intriguing idea.
He played her D minor suite from 1707, in which was what he considers to be her masterpiece, the Chaconne, which is the final movement. Arthur asserts that in it there is a connection between her and Couperin.
At intermission there was a chance to have some nibbles and something to drink, and then it was back to more learning and music.
The second half focused on François Couperin’s Second Ordre from 1713. It contains one of his most well-known keyboard pieces, Les Idées Heureuses, but it also contains La Terpsicore, which was a nickname for Jacquet. It was a delight to find all these connections, and Arthur made a strong case for them.
At the end of the recital, Arthur answered a few questions, and spoke with audience members afterwards. People walked around and tried out the instruments, purchased CDs and snacked on what was left of the reception food.
Overall, it was a very interesting afternoon. Many thanks to Arthur Haas for spending time with us here in Portland.
For videos of the entire session, click here.
Arthur Haas is one of the most sought after performers and teachers of Baroque music in the United States today. He studied harpsichord with Albert Fuller at Juilliard and Alan Curtis in Berkeley and Amsterdam as well as receiving a masters degree in Historical Musicology at UCLA. Mr. Haas received the top prize in the Paris International Harpsichord Competition in 1975, and then lived in France until 1983, performing and teaching in many of the major European early music festivals. He participated in the premier recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variation Canons with Alan Curtis, and has also recorded suites for two harpsichords by Gaspard LeRoux with William Christie. Solo CDs of D’Anglebert, Forqueray, Purcell and his contemporaries, Jacquet de La Guerre, F. Couperin, the complete harpsichord works of Rameau, and most recently solo works of Bernardo Pasquini, have all received critical acclaim in the press.
Known for his expertise as a continuo player, Mr. Haas has toured with such distinguished early musicians as Marion Verbruggen, Jaap ter Linden, Julianne Baird, Wieland Kuijken, and Bruce Haynes. A member of the Aulos Ensemble and Empire Viols, he has toured frequently all over the US and Canada. Annual summer workshop and festival appearances include the International Baroque Institute at Longy, the Virginia Baroque Performance Workshop, and the Amherst Early Music Festival, where he served as artistic director of the Baroque Academy from 2002-2012. He is also a featured soloist in the annual Portland (Maine) Bach Virtuosi Festival. Mr. Haas teaches harpsichord and early music studies at Stony Brook University and the Yale School of Music, and was a founding faculty member of Juilliard’s Historical Performance program.