(Vancouver, BC) – Whether March comes in like a Lion or a Lamb, we can all agree that we cannot wait for the official start to Spring on March 21st. The arrival of Spring is a time for rejoicing and Mother Nature displays her blossom finery while birds serenade us with their spring songs. This month at Early Music Vancouver, three concerts (two live and one digital) will also delight audiences with heavenly music.
First up on March 3 is the aptly named On the Breath of Angels featuring Czech soprano Hana Blažíková, famed cornetto player Bruce Dickey and The Breathtaking Collective. From the mid-16th century into the 18th, the cornetto was frequently depicted in art as an instrument of angels – paintings, sculptures, and engravings abound in which the cornetto takes a prominent place among the choirs of angelic musicians. The connection with angels in this programme is the inspiration for a musical journey that ranges from 1600 to the present day, exploring the ways in which the cornetto and the human voice can interact, imitate each other, and entwine musically. Works by illustrious 17th-century composers Francesco Cavalli and Giacomo Carissimi will be heard next to works by early 20th century French composer Erik Satie and contemporary composers Ivan Moody and Julian Wachner.
On Sunday, March 12, the incomparable pianist Angela Hewitt returns to EMV with a solo recital of works by Bach, Brahms and Scarlatti. Ms. Hewitt has become one of Bach’s foremost interpreters of our time. In her own words “Bach’s music cries out for a keyboard instrument that imitates the human voice. These days, you don’t hear so much discussion about whether to play Bach on the piano, and there are as many ways of Bach on the piano as there are pianists. What I try to do is not think of it so much as keyboard music but as music that imitates the voice or the orchestra. It’s not piano music in the way Brahms or Chopin is piano music.” This current season sees her performing with orchestras in Finland, Denmark, Montreal, Ottawa, Prague, Germany, and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in New York. Recitals take her to, among others, Barcelona, San Francisco, Seattle, Vienna, Amsterdam, Cambridge, Leipzig, and the famous La Fenice Opera House in Venice. Ms. Hewitt is also an artist-in-residence at London’s Wigmore Hall. In her EMV concert, Ms. Hewitt will be playing Bach’s English Suite No. 6 in D minor, preceded by a selection of Scarlatti sonatas and followed by Brahms’ Sonata in F minor Op.5. After her recent performance at Wigmore Hall, Martin Kettle from The Guardian commented “The beautifully sustained andante, which seems to slip in and out of the harmonic world of Beethoven’s Pathétique sonata, was the highlight of the evening. Truly a woman who can play Brahms, too.”
This past February 3, multi-Grammy Awards and Classical Music Awards Nominee, acclaimed countertenor Reginald Mobley returned to Vancouver to share his “voice of an angel” along with Alexander Weimann and the Pacific Baroque Orchestra in Raise, Raise the Voice – a concert featuring works by Purcell, Bach and Duke Ellington. The sell-out event concluded with a standing ovation. This performance was filmed for later presentation in EMV’s Digital Concert Hall on March 24. Vancouver Presents reviewer Christine Pilgrim said of the concert “…if anyone can interpret text honestly with depth, integrity, and clarity, it’s Reginald Mobley. If any orchestra playing Baroque instruments … can blend musical styles seamlessly, it’s Pacific Baroque. Their interpretation of Purcell’s Fantasia 7 in G major at one minute and the middle eight of Ellington’s In My Solitude at another illustrates their versatility.” If you could not attend the live concert here’s another opportunity to experience Mr. Mobley’s extraordinary artistry.
Live Concerts:
On the Breath of Angels
Date/ Time: March 3, 7:30 p.m.
Location: Christ Church Cathedral
Artists: Hana Blažíková soprano, Bruce Dickey cornetto, The Breathtaking Collective
Tickets: $36-$75 with discounts for people ages 35 and under / $10 rush student tickets at the door based on availability
Concert details and tickets: https://www.earlymusic.bc.ca/events/on-the-breath-of-angels/
Angela Hewitt: Bach, Brahms and Scarlatti
Date/ Time: March 12, 3 p.m.
Location: The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts (UBC)
Artists: Angela Hewitt
Tickets: $36-$75 with discounts for people ages 35 and under / $10 rush student tickets at the door based on availability
Concert details and tickets: https://www.earlymusic.bc.ca/events/angela-hewitt-bach-rahms-and-scarlatti/
Opening in the Digital Concert Hall (DCH):
Raise, Raise the Voice
Opens: March 24, 7:30 p.m.
Artists: Reginald Mobley countertenor, The Pacific Baroque Orchestra directed by Alexander Weimann
Tickets: $20
Concert details and tickets: https://www.earlymusic.bc.ca/events/raise-raise-the-voice/
DCH Tickets: Tickets for digital concerts are $20 each or $90 for a seven-concert Digital Subscription. Digital concerts can be viewed as many times as you want from the opening date through 5 p.m. on May 31,2023. Information and tickets for all Digital Concert Hall concerts: https://www.earlymusic.bc.ca/tickets/digital-concert-hall/
Celebrate Spring with three glorious concerts presented this March by Early Music Vancouver.
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About Early Music Vancouver (EMV):
Early Music Vancouver acknowledges that we operate on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
Our concerts offer a platform for cross-cultural dialogue and exploration of diverse perspectives and relationships with the past. Under the leadership of Artistic/Executive Director, and internationally acclaimed soprano, Suzie LeBlanc, C.M., EMV presents a packed performance calendar with 40+ live performances and digital concerts per year featuring some of the most renowned artists in the early music genre drawn from all parts of the globe.
In addition, Early Music Vancouver presents an annual summer festival (including an artist-in-residence component),produces Intimate Conversations (a series of informative behind-the-scenes podcasts) and presents online courses. EMV also offers a Baroque Orchestra Mentorship Programme with UBC and the University of Victoria plus a BC Scholarship Programme for professional-track music students or active professional musicians seeking to develop skills in early music performance. Early Music Vancouver has been a much-loved, and vital contributor to Vancouver’s cultural scene for more than 50 years. Live performances take place at venues such as Christ Church Cathedral, The Chan Centre, St. Andrew’s Wesley United Church, and The Kay Meek Centre (West Vancouver).
For information on Early Music Vancouver, please visit the following platforms:
Site Web: www.earlymusic.bc.ca
Facebook: www.facebook.com/earlymusicvancouver
Instagram : www.instagram.com/earlymusicvancouver
Twitter: www.twitter.com/earlymusicvan
