Interview with Paul van der Linden – Florilegium Musicum
By: Ida Verhaar, February 2025
The St. Matthew Passion, written by Bach nearly 300 years ago, remains a timeless masterpiece. In the Netherlands, performances of this work have become a cherished tradition in the weeks leading up to Easter. This is especially true for the Philips Choir, which has performed this powerful passion annually since 1948. This year’s rendition is particularly special due to a collaboration with the renowned Baroque orchestra Florilegium Musicum. This professional ensemble, specializing in historically informed performances, will join the choir to bring the unique sound of Bach’s masterpiece to life. What makes a Baroque orchestra so special, and why does it suit Bach’s music so well? We spoke with Paul van der Linden, orchestra manager of Florilegium Musicum.
baroque orchestra Florilegium Musicum
Can you start by telling us something about the orchestra itself?
Paul: Certainly! Florilegium Musicum was founded in 1978, during a period when the search for authentic performances of baroque and classical music was on the rise. Over the years, the ensemble has developed into an internationally respected orchestra, consisting of specialized baroque musicians who play historical instruments or precise copies of them.
What makes a Baroque orchestra different from a modern orchestra?
Paul: One major difference is the tuning. While modern orchestras tune their instruments to 440 Hz, tuning varied greatly during the baroque period. Nothing was standardized yet; in fact, the tuning fork was only invented in 1711. There was also a phenomenon of pitch inflation. After the baroque era, musicians aimed for greater volume to fill larger concert halls with a more projecting sound. To achieve this, violin gut strings were replaced with metal strings, the violin’s bass bar was thickened, and the bridge was raised. Altogether, these changes created much more tension in the instrument—tension that could literally cause old instruments and gut strings to snap. These modifications allowed modern instruments to produce more volume and a higher, more direct tone, at the expense of the round, warm, velvety sound of the Baroque violin.
Today, modern and baroque orchestras exist side by side. In baroque orchestras, musicians return to historical instruments. To play them properly, the pitch is lowered by a semitone to 415 Hz. We sacrifice pitch and volume but gain warmer, rounder tones in return. That’s what makes it so special!
Did wind instruments also sound different in the baroque period?
Paul: A baroque oboe, for example, sounds rounder and warmer than a modern oboe, and a wooden transverse flute has a softer, warmer tone compared to the metal version used today. There are other differences too: a modern oboe has metal keys, while a baroque oboe lacks these aids for almost all tone holes, meaning the musician must cover the holes with their fingers alone.
Are there any special instruments that will be featured in this performance?
Paul: One striking instrument is the oboe da caccia, a curved hunting oboe with a warm tone, which is often replaced by an English horn in modern orchestras. Additionally, the viola da gamba will be heard, a six-stringed bowed instrument played between the legs, producing a rich, resonant sound. “Viola da gamba” literally translates to “leg violin” because the instrument rests on the musician’s legs.
Paul van der Linden – oboe da caccia
How does baroque performance practice differ from the modern approach?
Paul: Baroque performance practice features shorter phrases and subtle dynamic contrasts. That is at odds with the classic and later periods with often long, flowing phrases. In the latter case, higher notes often overshadow lower ones, blending them together. This is much less the case in historical performance. Additionally, there is less use of vibrato, which allows the harmony to be heard more clearly. This results in a lively, almost light and transparent sound in which all parts remain distinct.
Did you know that in the baroque era, long notes were rarely played at exactly the same volume throughout? For string players, this was technically impossible because baroque bows were lighter, meaning a long note would naturally decay at the end of the bow stroke. This gave the music a natural, breathing quality.
Finally, why should music lovers not miss this performance?
Paul: I’m especially looking forward to it, not least because, as someone born in Eindhoven, this feels like a homecoming [laughs]. But seriously, thanks to the collaboration between the Philips Choir and Florilegium Musicum, this performance of the St. Matthew Passion promises to be a truly special and authentic experience. The audience will be treated to the historical sounds of Bach’s masterpiece— a unique opportunity to hear this music as it would have sounded in Bach’s time!