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Browsing: Baroque and Early

Clavecin en concert Performs Four Classical Trios

By Newswire on 10 February 2025 Baroque and Early, Classical Music, Montreal, Newswire, Strings

Montreal, February 5th, 2025 – Clavecin en concert is pleased to announce the first classical trios concert of 2025, featuring works by Johann Christian Bach, Franz Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Alongside the symphony, string quartet and keyboard sonata, the trio for violin, cello and keyboard remains one of the major genres of classicism. Derived not so much from the Baroque trio sonata, but rather from the “harpsichord pieces that can be played with the accompaniment of a violin and a viola da gamba” in which the French masters gave pride of place to the keyboard, the classical trio…

(L to R) Antoine Malette-Chénier, Catherine St-Arnaud, and Sylvain Bergeron. Photos: Alex Tran, Gaetz Photography, and Guillaume D. Cyr

Review | La Nef: From Double-Digit Cold to Sunny Spain

By Jan Krejcar on 7 February 2025 Baroque and Early, Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Montreal

I was at a dinner party on a very cold, very wintry night right after Christmas, and one of the guests (a non-musician) said, “Wouldn’t it be nice if people researched old instruments from hundreds of years ago and played the pieces that were written then on those instruments?” I didn’t know what to say, really. There have been whole university departments dedicated to historical instruments for many decades now. But I was pleased to see, a month later, on an equally cold and equally wintry night, music from a time very long past, played on just such instruments, making…

Tafelmusik’s Baroque Brew: Triple Espresso With Alfredo Bernardini

By Heather Weinreb on 31 January 2025 Baroque and Early, Classical Music, Interviews, Orchestral, Strings, Toronto, Winds

When baroque oboist Alfredo Bernardini first performed with Tafelmusik in 1982, the baroque oboe was a much rarer specimen than it is today. “At the time,” he says, “there were only a handful of baroque oboists in the world.” Bernardini was fortunate, then, to be performing alongside his teacher Bruce Haynes, an early pioneer who uncovered a lot of the history, repertoire and technique of the instrument. Bernardini also considers himself fortunate, now, to be returning to play with Tafelmusik, a group he holds in high esteem. Tafelmusik “is a very special group,” he says. “It is one of the…

Les Boréades: Early Music Academy in the Eastern Townships

By Heather Weinreb on 31 January 2025 Baroque and Early, Classical Music, Education, Interviews

This summer, Montreal-based baroque ensemble Les Boréades will be returning to Saint-Camille, QC, to host the ninth edition of their annual summer music academy. While the repertoire changes from year to year—the 2025 edition will focus on the music of the French Baroque—the basic premise of the academy remains unchanged: L’académie de musique ancienne de Saint-Camille is a vibrant weekend of socializing, music-making and concertizing in the heart of the Eastern Townships A Brief History As the musicians of Les Boréades are often invited to teach and perform at summer festivals, they have always mulled over the idea of starting…

Les Idées heureuses' Musique et danse en Nouvelle-France. Photo: Brenden Friesen

Review | Les Idées heureuses: Enthralling Portrayal of Life in New-France

By Heather Weinreb on 21 January 2025 Baroque and Early, Classical Music, Dance, Montreal, Newswire, Vocal

Les Idées heureuses’ Jan. 16th concert took the notion of historical performance to new heights. Musique et danse en Nouvelle-France was not only performed with period instruments from the 18th century such as viols and harpsichords but also featured dance and costumes from the era. The letters of Élisabeth Bégon were the main historical material. A diplomat’s wife in the early days of New France, Bégon’s letters provide a window into the experience of the colony’s elite. One letter makes light of a priest’s sermonizing against balls, another laments the harsh winters in her new home. Another yet mourns the…

Rose Naggar-Tremblay, contralto soloist in ArtChoral's Messiah. Photo: TamPhotography

Review | ArtChoral’s Messiah Preserves its Original Freshness

By Heather Weinreb on 24 December 2024 Baroque and Early, Choral, Concert Reviews, Montreal

Every holiday season, Handel’s Messiah comes to town. Not once, not twice, but many times. With all the options, how can an audience member decide which one to choose? On Dec. 22, ArtChoral and Ensemble Caprice delivered an inspiring performance of Handel’s Messiah. It seems that Juno award-winning conductor Matthias Maute takes avid delight in showcasing how old works can always sound new, so long as they are performed with technical precision, intentionality, and a lot of joyful energy. When Messiah season comes around next year, audiences would do well to consider ArtChoral’s version. What you missed? A Baroque oratorio,…

Orchestre classique de Montréal presents Handel's Messiah in Saint Joseph’s Oratory. Photo: Tam Photography

Review | Orchestre classique de Montréal’s Warm & Welcoming Messiah

By Amanda Wong on 15 December 2024 Baroque and Early, Choral, Concert Reviews, La Scena Online, Montreal, Vocal

As the holidays approach, George Frideric Handel’s Messiah begins to line concert programs around the world—and so, Orchestre classique de Montréal presents its annual performance of the great oratorio in one of the city’s most fitting venues: Saint Joseph’s Oratory. There, OCM, Filles de L’île women’s choir, Chantres Musiciens men’s choir, and four Canadian soloists presented 44 movements from the original piece under the baton of Israeli-French conductor Roï Azoulay. Though originally written for Easter, the English oratorio has become synonymous with Christmas. It details the birth and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ despite the fact the majority of…

OM Messiah. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Anna-Sophie Neher, Emily D'Angelo. Photo: François Goupil – Orchestre Métropolitain

Review | Yannick’s Messiah Vibrates Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica

By Wah Keung Chan on 10 December 2024 Baroque and Early, Choral, Concert Reviews, La Scena Online, Montreal, Vocal

Performances of Handel’s Messiah at Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica had been an annual tradition of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra up until about 12 years ago when its artistic director Kent Nagano did away with Handel in favour of Bach. Orchestre Métropolitain (OM)’s artistic director Yannick Nézet-Séguin grew up with this tradition as he announced before the concert from the stage, and this is the second year in a row that OM has presented Messiah at the Basilica to a full house. Nézet-Séguin hinted that this will become a tradition, so hopefully, it will be an annual event. What you missed? Dec.…

Les Idées heureuses at Bourgie Hall, Nov. 12 Photo: Catherine St-Arnaud

Review | Medieval meets folk with Les Idées heureuses

By Heather Weinreb on 14 November 2024 Baroque and Early, Concert Reviews, Montreal

On Nov. 12, Les Idées heureuses presented their second concert of the season at Bourgie Hall. Jamais je ne t’oublierai : échos du Moyen Âge dans nos chants du terroir consisted of a program of French and French-Canadian folk music and Medieval works. As the title suggests, the program was conceived to illustrate the echoes of Medieval music in our local folk tradition. The concert was divided into five thematic sections—May, The Mother, Flowers, Cries, Goodbyes, and Dances—each featuring one folk song, arranged by Jean-François Daignault, and various Medieval works. What you missed: From its conception through to its execution,…

Chants de Victoires: La Nef in Stormy Waters

By Arnaud G. Veydarier on 11 November 2024 Baroque and Early, Classical Music

Seán Dagher is recognized as one of the most eminent specialists in early music and folk music in Quebec, and on Nov. 29 he will once more join La Nef, to perform Chants de Victoires. Composer and arranger, Dagher will accompany the audience on an unusual musical journey inspired by the famous naval victories and shipwrecks that have punctuated the history of the St. Lawrence river. Using extracts from a rediscovered manuscript from the time of New France, the show will air forgotten songs, some of which haven’t been performed in more than three centuries. Songs of New France brought…

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