ARTicles vol. 3 i.2b: The Carthage Consort

This spring, the otherwordly strains of the viol will transport the Loeb Stage to another time and place. The viol, a six-stringed bowed instrument, first appeared in Europe in the late fifteenth century. Heard primarily in consort (ensemble) music, it became one of the most popular Renaissance and Baroque instruments, appearing in homes and royal courts all over Europe. The A.R.T.’s production of Dido, Queen of Carthagewill feature an onstage consort of viols, The Carthage Consort, made up of local early music specialists Laura Jeppesen, Jane Hershey, Emily Walhout, and alternate Carol Lewis.). The viol resembles a cello and is played between the legs; its full name, in fact, is “viola da gamba,” literally “leg-viol.” While there are many different sizes and styles of viol, a consort typically includes treble, tenor, and bass viols. The instrument shares qualities with the violin family, but is not a direct ancestor of the violin. The viol has a more subdued, mellow sound than the violin, and is best appreciated in harmonic and rhythmic combination with other viols. Although the viol’s popularity was eclipsed in the seventeenth century by the rise of the virtuoso solo violinist, the twentieth century has seen a resurgence of the performance of early music on authentic instruments. Laura Jeppesen, music director for Dido, first began playing the viol while she was a violinist in graduate school at Yale. Her professor asked her to play out of a fifteenth- century songbook, and sent her to Yale’s collection of musical instruments. A history lover, Jeppesen began to study the viol. Upon graduation, she won a Fulbright scholarship and traveled to Europe for further musical study. She recalls, “I fell in love with the possibilities. I went for three years and came back a gamba player.” When Jeppesen returned to the United States, she and her husband, violinist Daniel Stepner, decided that Boston, with its music community and dedication to the performance of early music, was the logical place to call home. This production marks Jeppesen’s debut as a music director in the theatre and her second production at the A.R.T. She played in the musical ensemble for Alvin Epstein’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dreamin 1980, under the musical direction of her husband. When she was asked to work on Dido, Jeppesen immediately began extensive research to learn more about Marlowe’s work and biography. Combining her findings with her musical knowledge, she and director Neil Bartlett began to conceive their ideas for the viol music they would use. Although they began their research with a broad scope, they kept returning to one composer in particular: William Lawes. Lawes entered the English arts scene a generation after Marlowe. Born in 1602, he, as a young man, became a musician to King Charles. He composed mostly for consorts in four, five, and six parts, with instruments ranging from the viol to the organ, harp and the theorbo. Lawes is known for writing rich harmonies as well as pioneering the “lyra-viol” style of playing, in which the strings of one viol are played together, chordally rather than monophonically. During Lawes’ time, composers frequently thought of music as passionate speech and the musician as orator. Lawes’ close harmonies and dark, haunting melodies radiate a theatrical quality. In fact, he wrote frequently for the theatre, more than any other composer until Henry Purcell, although his theatre music has only been rediscovered in the twentieth century. Although we do not know if he ever composed music for a posthumous production of a Marlowe play, it is interesting to note that he wrote for the Blackfriars’ Theatre, the same place where Dido, Queen of Carthageis believed to have been first performed. Jeppesen sees Lawes’ work as a perfect match for the challenge of Marlowe’s play. She describes Lawes’ music as ” the most intimate in the world. It is strikingly original and full of dramatic contrast. He intensifies harmonies and calls upon virtuosity from performers.” Watching Jeppesen and her colleagues play together as they have for twenty years, one cannot help but notice the intimacy and intricacy of their ensemble work. By underscoring speeches, punctuating acts, and creating resonance around the events of the play, the consort of viols will add emotional intensity to the world of Dido. Says Jeppesen of the family of viols: “They speak. They convey human feelings on a human scale. I hope we will find phrases that truly express the passion of this work.” Emily Otto is a second-year dramaturgy student at the A.R.T./MXAT Institute for Advanced Theatre Training.