Colin St-Martin (Huntsville, TX) will join Catacoustic for the third time for our December 3 concert of French Baroque Christmas music. He has enjoyed a career as an orchestral musician,
soloist, and teacher. Mr. St-Martin performs and records with many period instrument
orchestras and chamber ensembles in both the US and Europe including: Arcanum,
Opera Lafayette, the Washington Bach Consort, Tafelmusik Baroque
Orchestra, Amercian Bach Soloists, The Boston Early Music Festival
Orchestra, Cathedra, Ars Lyrica, Mercury Baroque, Arcanum, Bach Vespers, among
others. In addition to his performance activities, he has many recordings
to his credit, including the works of Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Rameau, Rebel,
Lully, Monsigny, Gluck, and Grétry, among others.
I recently spoke with Colin and asked him some questions, so Catacoustic's audience can know more about his musical life story. Colin's creative, elegant, and natural playing inspires me every time I hear him!
Tell me about
your musical journey. Did you start with flute? How did you learn about Baroque flute?
I've always
been a music lover. I was very lucky as a kid because, in addition to my dad be an avid
audiophile and my mom playing the piano, we had season tickets to the Kennedy Center,
so I had the opportunity to attend concerts quite often. Baroque music has always
been my favorite, which I first experienced through the organ music of JS Bach.
Naturally, I suppose, I wanted to play the organ, but as a child piano had to
be my first step. I
played for a few years, but I didn't (and still don't) have any affinity for
that instrument, so
I let my music studies go for a while. Luckily, I suppose, my oldest brother was required
to take a music appreciation class during his undergraduate studies, which meant he had
to buy a recorder. I began to play it, and after a while my parents suggested that I take
recorder lessons. I was extremely lucky to have found a great teacher who still comes to hear
me play when I'm in DC! For my 14th
birthday (I think?), my parents bought tickets for a recital by the renowned recorder
player Franz Bruggen. I had no idea that he was also going to play the baroque flute on the
same program which was quite the revelation for me, never having seen it performed
before. The very next day I set about trying to find an instrument and a
teacher, which I was very fortunate to be able to do. When it was time for
university, I chose music over science, which I also loved. After an impromptu
audition with Bart Kuijken, my musical idol, backstage at the Smithsonian
Museum, he recommended that before coming to study in Europe that I get a
firmer grasp of the basics (theory, history, etc.), which I
did for one year at New England Conservatory. In 1982 I was accepted into Bart's class
in Brussels, where I studied for three years and then returned to the States to
study at the Early Music Institute at Indiana University School of Music, where
I was both a graduate student and adjunct faculty.
What is a
typical week in your life like? Do you teach, as well as perform?
These days I
don't have a regular teaching position. I taught at Peabody 17 years, but I spend my time
now doing research and getting ready for concerts, which takes up a huge amount of
time.
What is your
favorite type of repertoire to play?
Definitely
French Baroque music, next to Bach. I love the French language, art, architecture,
and science from the period before the French Revolution. As repressive as the Ancien
Regime doubtless was, many artists and craftsman of France seemed to find the means to
disseminate their work throughout the western world at the time making it perhaps the
strongest cultural influence on thought and creativity at the time.
What do you
think of early music in the US now? Audience perception? Playing level of musicians? How
does this compare to Europe?
It is very hit
or miss, as far as the level in the US. I think the sheer volume of musical genres that
are available to presenters these days sometimes does not translate into a consistently
high level of performance for an audience to enjoy. I've seen many concert calendars
where there might be two early music groups represented in a season: one a highly
respected ensemble with numerous recordings and the other a group of enthusiastic
amateur performers. In my experience, I find that in Europe the average level of early music
performance is higher, though I strongly believe that their best is no better than ours. In
order for professional early music performance to thrive in the US, we need presenters and
audiences that can appreciate it and who are willing to make the effort to support
American groups, like Catacoustic!
Where do you
see the future of early music in the US?
I have been
thinking about this a lot. In attempting to build audiences, there is the very real temptation
for early music groups to go the "greatest hits" route of music
history, which can
stretch the skill and knowledge of any performer to the breaking point. My interest in
going into this field in the first place was to be able to get as much as possible from the
repertoire and instruments that I love most and not "do the best I
can" with as much
repertoire and as many instruments that a music director can throw at me. A
very good thing is
that more and more universities and conservatories offer early music performance as
a course of professional study which can only serve to improve things and help
create ever more discerning audiences.
What should
someone do, if they are interested in beginning or playing Baroque flute more
seriously?
My advice is
to listen to lots of recordings and get in touch with a player/singer that you have heard and
really like. Get their advice on a recommended course of study. Early music is a
tiny little world compared to the music industry in general, and most players/singers are
happy to help out those just getting started. Even the most well known among us are not
celebrities in the common sense of the word– it’s not like trying to get an interview with Meryl Streep!
