Baarer:innen dare baroque bow adventure

"You have to put more pressure on the bow," explains Plamena Nikitassova to the 30 or so string players of the Baar Chamber Orchestra and has them repeat a passage. "That was already better. But it needs even more pressure. It has to really scratch." Violinist and early music specialist Nikitassova introduces the members of the Baar Chamber Orchestra (BKO) to the sounds and bowing techniques of the Baroque period on a Saturday afternoon in April at the Bahnmatt Pavilion in Baar. The BKO rehearses the well-known Four seasons by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) for his spring concerts in mid-May.

Many amateur musicians have probably played this famous work before. However, unlike most amateur orchestras, the Baarers do not play with their normal bows, but instead practice historical performance practice, as is usually the case with professional ensembles. The Baar Chamber Orchestra has rented baroque bows for the entire ensemble for the duration of the project, which will last just under four months. And they play very differently with these than with modern bows.
More pressure and more precisely shaped tones

Short, light bow, more precisely shaped notes

"You have to get used to the light weight and the shortness of the baroque bow," says Eva Schlumpf, member of the orchestra board and violinist in the BKO. "At the beginning, I always 'ran out of bow'." To produce and change the sound, you have to work much more with weight than with bow speed. It's not all that easy, as the episode quoted at the beginning illustrates. A lot has to be learned anew and differently.

The rehearsal with Nikitassova, which took place in Vivaldi's Seasons will take on the solo violin part is a bit like a violin lesson for a whole orchestra. That is intentional. Conductor Manuel Oswald, initiator of the project and himself a trained violinist, has agreed with Nikitassova that she will teach the amateur players the baroque technique in several rehearsals. "With the baroque bows, the individual notes can be shaped much more precisely and in greater detail," says Oswald, who conducts a total of four EOV orchestras. It opens up a new world with unimagined possibilities that remain closed with the bows commonly used today. Oswald wants his string players in Baar to experience this additional dimension. At the same time, the training in differentiated articulation also helps with "normal" violin playing, so that the orchestra members can benefit beyond the baroque project.

Baroque vs. modern sound contrasts in concert

Finding 30 baroque bows to rent was not easy, says Eva Schlumpf. However, thanks to the help of the husband of a cellist, a violin maker, the Baarers were finally able to rent bows for the entire orchestra. The rent is 15 francs per month per bow. "We are currently trying to find a foundation that will cover the rental costs of around CHF 2,000 in total," says Schlumpf. Only if no funding could be found would the orchestra members have to pay the rent themselves.

The extra time and money invested is bearing fruit. Even at the rehearsal weekend, Vivaldi sounds different - one is almost tempted to say better - than one usually hears played by amateurs. Light. Intense. Dynamic.

You can look forward to the concerts with anticipation, as the BKO still has a month to rehearse after the EOV editors' visit. The concert program "Lifetimes" complements baroque music with works from later eras, which are played with modern bows. This direct juxtaposition will allow the audience to experience the contrasting sounds.

"Lifetimes" concert by the Baar Chamber Orchestra with works by Vivaldi (played with baroque bows), Rachmaninov, Elgar and the Danish String Quartet. Sat, 12 and Sun, 13.05.2023, both at 7.30 pm, Church of St. Thomas, Inwil near Baar. Admission free, collection. www.baarerkammerorchester.ch