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Montreal Season 2008-2009 | Montreal Recorder Festival
Concert Proposals
La Follia and the Gypsies
Gypsy Music in the Renaissance and Baroque Periods
A unique programme featuring pieces taken from Uhrovska zbierka, a collection from the country now known as Slovakia, and works by composers who were influenced by the gypsy music they heard while travelling throughout Europe. Much baroque music draws its inspiration from the gypsy music that made its way up through social circles as far as the nobility. One example is Telemann's Polonaises, that reflect his fascination with listening to local folk musicians when he visited Kraków while employed by the Count of Promnitz. Capturing the spirit of the times, this lively programme will be performed on authentic reproductions of historic instruments, including several sizes of tambourine, instruments that travelled easily with the nomadic gypsy musicians of the period.
Instrumentation : 2 winds (recorders, baroque flutes), violoncello, baroque guitar, percussion
Vivaldi and His Secret Bride
Music by Vivaldi, Sammartini, Handel,
Caldara & J.S. Bach
During a long period of Antonio Vivaldi’s life, the singer Anna Girò accompanied him on his travels. Whenever one of the Red Priest’s operas was performed, Anna was among the cast and the rumor spread quickly that she was Vivaldi’s secret bride. In 1734, the Bishop of Ferrara refused the couple access to his domain claiming that, as an ordained priest, Vivaldi was in a state of sin by travelling with a woman. Anna Girò was as famous a singer as Vivaldi was a violonist and composer and they must have made an impressive team. There is documented evidence that Vivaldi’s operas were performed as far away from his native Venice as Prague.
Instrumentation : 2 winds (recorders, baroque flutes), violoncello, harpsichord
Pearls and Peace: Modern times in Early Music
Music by de Dijon, Dufay, Binchois,
Paymour, Rossi, Ortiz and Cantemir
The passage of our lives and world history are influenced by war, peace, love and unhappiness and music has depicted these burning issues throughout the centuries. This cross-cultural, multi-ethnic program brings music from oriental cultures (Turkey), the Balkans (Greece), Eastern Europe (gypsy music), France, the British Isles and Italy, in addition to Jewish music by Salomone Rossi. The composers of the past take us on a fascinating and colorful journey into the rich universe of human emotions. Guillaume Dufay (15th century), Diego Ortiz (16th century), Salomone Rossi(17th century), Dimitrius Cantemir (18th century) and others reveal their timeless insight into the joys of living and the suffering of mankind at times of war and death.
Instrumentation : 2 winds (recorders, renaissance and baroque flutes), viola da gamba, lute, percussion
Baroque Turbulence
Concerti by J.S. Bach, Telemann, Sammartini and Vivaldi
A baroque fireworks display, during which sparks fly and virtuosic eccentricity prevails. This concert takes the audience on an adventurous journey into the fascinating world of the baroque concerto. Music expresses the values of the society in which it evolves and competition and rivalry were the currency of the baroque era, with conflicts that led to the American and French revolutions. The origin of the word concerto is concertare--to compete--but contrary to the social reality of the times, conflicts in music were a source of pleasure. In this program, gaiety, melancholy, joy and sadness are each expressed in turn.
Instrumentation : 2 winds (recorders, baroque flutes), 2 violins, viola, violoncello, double bass, harpsichord