Baroque and Early - my/maSCENA

Bach and Buxtehude, 1705

By Benjamin Goron on 31 October 2018 Baroque and Early

In 1705, J.S. Bach trekked to the northern German city of Lübeck to meet Dietrich Buxtehude. This encounter, the only one between these two men, is a significant event in itself, if not a momentous one for the Baroque era. The latter was an organist basking in the limelight when the former was all of 20, his career still in the making. Call it a meeting of the minds, a rite of passage or a quest for truth: all conjectures are possible. All have been subject to some discussion at one time or another, more so in the last couple…

We Do Not Hear What They Heard – Tuning and Temperament Through the Ages (Part 1)

By Carol Xiong on 31 October 2018 Baroque and Early

The practice of using period instruments in Early Music has facilitated a general awareness of how Baroque pitch is about a semitone lower than modern pitch. Less commonly known are developments in temperament, tuning and pitch over the course of history. Their implications go beyond the concert experience. In many profound and surprising ways, they have influenced why composers wrote the music that they did. Definitions Tuning, temperament and pitch are not interchangeable. Pitch is the simplest to understand. It is the frequency at which sound waves move, when referred to in a musical context. Pitch can be measured in…

Passion baroque – The Musical Language and Aesthetics of the Era

By Gilles Cantagrel on 31 October 2018 Baroque and Early

Following Heinrich Wölfflin of Switzerland, the Catalonian art critic Eugenio d’Ors situated the Baroque between the execution of Giordano Bruno in 1600 and the death of Johann Sebastian Bach in 1750. […] Since one of the general features of Baroque music is the use of basso continuo, it is natural to observe that the continuo appeared around 1600 only to disappear shortly after 1750. This century and a half is subdivided just as easily into three half-century periods – Early, Middle, and Late Baroque – a division that is much less arbitrary than it may seem at first glance. Three…

Autour de la flûte – Period Instruments Brought Up to Date

By Benjamin Goron on 31 October 2018 Baroque and Early

Since its foundation by flutist Mika Putterman in 2004, Autour de la flûte has presented 13 seasons of concerts, bringing together renowned musicians and ensembles such as Suzie LeBlanc, Susie Napper, Les Voix Humaines, Discantus, Notturna and La Petite Harmonie. Without specializing in an era or genre, Autour de la flûte offers a flexible setting for thematic concerts based on the use of period instruments and covering repertoire from the Renaissance to today. Putterman studied at McGill University, the National Conservatory of Music of Paris and the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. She is active in the early music scene, having…

Nicandro e Fileno: a Historical Recording

By Benjamin Goron on 30 October 2018 Baroque and Early, CD and Book Reviews

On the strength of last year’s production of Nicandro e Fileno by Le Nouvel Opéra and Les Boréades, ATMA Classics has now released this Italian pastoral opera, never issued on record before. Composed by Paolo Lorenzani to a libretto by Phillipe-Julien Mancini, Duke of Nevers, the opera was premiered in September 1681 at the Château de Fontainebleau, a retreat occasionally used by Louis XIV and his loyal subjects. For its time, the Italian style of the work was quite subversive. So much so that the king’s personal secretary Lully forbade its use. And if that weren’t enough, the subject matter…

A Builder with Pluck – Meeting with Yves Beaupré

By Philippe Gervais on 30 October 2018 Baroque and Early

Yves Beaupré is fortunate to have a job as rare as it is exciting. He is the only Quebecer to devote himself entirely to the building of harpsichords. For nearly 40 years, he has created between three to five instruments a year, each with its own decorations and sonority. As soon as a harpsichord is finished, Beaupré’s Montreal workshop fills with friends and musicians to behold the new wonder, which is then brought to life by the fingers of a performer, himself surprised by the result. The instrument is then sent to its new owner, often in Quebec, but also…

Renaissance of Baroque – History of an Era in Montreal

By Philippe Gervais on 30 October 2018 Baroque and Early

How can Baroque music, born 400 years ago, seem so young to us today? The oblivion in which it has been immersed may have been paradoxically beneficial to the form. Ask any first- or second-generation “baroque specialist” and they will share the excitement they felt at their first Monteverdi Vespers, first Rameau, first Handel concerto with Harnoncourt, first contact with the viola da gamba, this strange instrument for which a certain Marin Marais, it was said, had written nearly 600 pieces. Discovering a particular genre of music is one thing; rediscovering it with a whole generation of music lovers is…

Photo: Marco Borggreve

Julian Prégardien – Tenor and Teacher Takes On Another Role

By Arthur Kaptainis on 30 October 2018 Art Song, Baroque and Early, Choral, Opera, Vocal

Like father, like son. Both Christoph Prégardien, the father, and Julian Prégardien, his son, are noted for baroque and classical opera and oratorio as well as 19th-century Lieder. Both have made highly-regarded recordings of Bach. Julian, however, is taking a step farther than his father – and most singers this side of Barbara Hannigan – by conducting the St. John Passion while singing the role of the Evangelist on Nov. 22 for the Montreal Bach Festival at the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul. (There will be a repeat performance on Nov. 25 at the Saint-Benoît-du-Lac Abbey in the…

Performing Baroque Music Today: As Fresh and Alive As Ever

By Pierre Chénier on 30 October 2018 Baroque and Early

Baroque music first enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in the 1970s and has never looked back. Nowadays, the works of major figures like Bach, Handel, Vivaldi and Couperin continue to be in the public eye, as are those of their lesser-known contemporaries. The performance of Baroque music, notably on records, has gone through different stages. The first, dating back to the 1930s, belonged to the pioneers who brought it to centre stage. Its guiding lights were cellist Pablo Casals, harpsichordist Wanda Landowska and guitarist Andrés Segovia, who included Bach in most if not all of their recitals. One never tires…

Infusion Baroque at L'Gros Luxe in St-Henri : : Montreal, QC : : Images by Danylo Bobyk Photography : : www.danylobobyk.com

Infusion Baroque – Old ”Infused” With New

By Carol Xiong on 30 October 2018 Baroque and Early

Infusion Baroque has it all: brilliant virtuosity, musical integrity and a concert presence unlike any other. With their innovative and often interactive performances, these musicians offer a progressive and accessible approach that is rarely seen in the mostly-serious world of art music. The Mandate Behind the Name This multi-talented female quartet (Alexa Raine-Wright, baroque flute and recorder; Sallynee Amawat, baroque violin; Andrea Stewart, baroque cello; and Rona Nadler, harpsichord) draws inspiration from anything and everything with a humourous sense of inquisitiveness. Even its name resulted from an exercise in free association. Nadler recalls: “We knew we wanted something beyond the…

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