In partnership with the Victoria Conservatory of Music, the West Shore Arts Council proudly brings the Pacific Baroque Festival to the West Shore for a Jan. 29 performance.
Since 2005, the festival has celebrated music from the period, bringing the powerful baroque harmonies and lyricism to Vancouver Island.
“It is hoped that enough interest is shown in this concert for the festival to make this an annual occasion in the West Shore communities,” said Pacific Baroque Festival co-ordinator Brian Groos.
This year the festival features the music of 17th-century Germany, a rich, often under-appreciated period of music from which the genius of Johann Sebastien Bach emerged.
“German baroque music is largely known today through the works of the great composers: Bach, Telemann and Handel,” explained Groos, “yet these composers did not emerge from a musical void. In fact there was a grand musical legacy from which they drew inspiration – music that drew on Italian and French baroque explorations – but was forged by unique German experiences, including the impact of Martin Luther and the incredible devastation of the Thirty Years War.”
This emotionally charged period of music was informed by the complexities of the time, following the religious transformations of the Protestant Reformation. German baroque music can be characterized by its powerful, expressive quality and richly layered melodies.
“Audiences should prepare themselves to be surprised, as this concert will reveal some outstanding music of incredible beauty and powerful emotions,” Groos said. “And they will begin to wonder why they have not heard this music before.”
On Jan. 29, a small ensemble of musicians will perform the compositions of early German baroque composers at the Church of Saint Mary of the Incarnation in Metchosin. This performance is one of three small-venue shows in the 2016 concert series, aimed to encourage a more intimate and personal appreciation of the music.
The program will include the compositions of Bach’s predecessors: Johann Kuhnau, Johann Krieger, Christoph Bernhard, Dietrich Buxtehude and Philipp Heinrich Erlebach.
The talented ensemble consists of baroque violinists Marc Destrubé and Linda Melsted, Natalie Mackie on the viola da gamba, harpsichordist Michael Jarvis and soprano Rebecca Genge, a Victoria Conservatory of Music alumna.
Tickets are available for $25, or $20 for students and seniors. They can be purchased online at pacbaroque.com or at Westside InstaPrint (Jacklin Road), Tom Lee Music in Millstream Village, or Coast Collective, 318 Wale Rd.
For more festival information, visit pacbaroque.com.
For a look at what’s happening around the West Shore, visit the arts council website at westshorearts.org.
