We owe an enormous debt to our musical pioneers: the composers, patrons, publishers and the librarians who conserved the music we still perform. Completing the picture were the 17th & 18th century historians who give life to the period – describing their friendships with composers, how first performances were received, and sharing the gossip of the day.
Salut! Baroque’s 2024 Concert Series brings together these personalities in programs of joyous and inspirational music, beginning with The Genius of Johann Sebastian Bach. The complex character behind the music we admire so greatly was not always so well regarded during his life, and it was often his rivals who enjoyed the greater success. This program places Bach’s exquisite music beside composers who influenced his life and work, including musicians who deserve wider acknowledgement such as Buxtehude, Reincken, Graupner and Hurlebusch.
Our second concert explores the constant demands on salaried composers for new repertoire during the Baroque period. Such expectations required inspiration and creativity as well as talent. Bach was inspired by his devoutness and his vast collection of other composers’ works; Handel reinvented himself between German, Italian and English styles, depending on where he was living and what was fashionable; Purcell loved theatrical spectacle; and Rameau was fascinated by the exploration of culture from abroad. In The Influencers, Salut! performs some of the more curious composers who influenced generations of musicians to discover new horizons of musical creativity.
In June Salut! pays homage to the remarkable work of The Historian Charles Burney, who travelled widely throughout Europe and befriended musicians from Handel to Haydn. Through his extensive networking, Burney embarked on cultural pilgrimages, leaving a legacy of strongly opinionated letters, three books and four volumes of the History of Music. The concert will feature composers mentioned in Burney’s historical accounts, which reveal some of the most extraordinary aspects of daily and cultural life during the Baroque period. Burney’s texts, replete with withering observations and gossip, enrich our appreciation of the compositions and provide us with a rich source of cultural history.
Salut!’s final concert for the year focuses on The Networker extraordinaire, Johann Georg Pisendel. During his 43-year association with the Dresden Court Orchestra, including 27 years as concert master, Pisendel was its beating heart. He gathered and inspired an outstanding group of musicians and composers, including Vivaldi, Telemann, Bach, Albinoni, Quantz and Zelenka, many of whom dedicated works to him. Pisendel was a fastidious music copyist during his tenure. He also amassed a collection of more than 2,000 music scores from his trips to Italy and France, giving the orchestra unparalleled access to innovative repertoire.
Join Salut! Baroque in 2024 for a year of musical journeys as we explore music beyond the notes to the stories that helped create the musical masterpieces that continue to enchant us.
https://baroque.com.au/concerts/