If medieval music is thriving in the U.S., why is it not on my radar? writes Judith Malafronte. Can early-music ensembles convincingly present music from the 12th to the 18th centuries, or do performers need to narrow their focus and cultivate a special audience? Is it smart to market the Ars subtilior repertoire to the Bach and Vivaldi crowd?
Toil & Trouble: Where’s the Medieval Audience? Read More »
In 2016, Jordi Savall assembled a group of immigrant musicians with a fundamental mission: to preserve and revive precious musical traditions from a range of under-stress cultures, from Syrian and Kurdish to Armenian, Sudanese, Afghan, and Moroccan. The resulting live performance was captured as ‘Oriente Lux,’ bridging gaps and making connections.
Jordi Savall Blurs All Borders with ‘Oriente Lux’ Read More »
Reflections from a whirlwind summer of singing and travel: “It’s hard to be an ’emerging artist.’ Even though I’m working more each season, my calendar is a patchwork of jobs I’m constantly worrying over. The upshot of being young and ambitious is that my schedule is more flexible than established artists…so when last-minute opportunities come up, I can often say yes. Still, it’s hard to know what work to accept.”
Canto: Chance Favors the Prepared Voice Read More »
Jeannette Sorrell’s adaptation of Handel’s popular ‘Israel in Egypt’ cuts, re-orders, restores, and replaces music and text throughout the oratorio. But Handel didn’t leave us with a ‘definitive’ edition, and Sorrell’s version is so artistically logical that someone new to the work might not know anything is missing. Apollo’s Fire and the outstanding vocal and instrumental soloists make a compelling case.
Handel’s ‘Israel in Egypt’ Rework’d Read More »
A Q&A with Music Before 1800’s new artistic director Bill Barclay: ‘If people are going to take a risk of coming to a concert for the first time, they need something to hold on to’… it’s ‘sadly a bit of an exclusionary pleasure — you have to know a little bit to get a lot out of it, unless there’s something that resonates and makes people understand that early musicians are arbiters of ancient insights into human performance.’
Music Before 1800’s Bill Barclay and Historically Informed ‘Experience’ Read More »
