Event

Enlightened: Music from Germany and Austria around 1700

Enlightened:
Music from Germany and Austria around 1700

Before there was a Mozart, a host of composers wrote great music in German-speaking areas such as Switzerland, Austria and in what is now Germany. Their music is characterized by beautifully constructed melodies, lively dance rhythms and a feel for pleasing the listener.
One of the reasons for their obscurity is that specialist musicians who can interpret their writing have been in short supply. But the clever people period instrument specialists at Friends of Early Music Studio have been hitting the books. The result of their research is a performance of music by keyboard geniuses Bach, Kerll, Pachelbel, and the lute-players Weiss, Weichenberger and Logy on period instruments.
Far from being a concert only for those with a special interest, this performance promises a feast for music lovers. This early 18th Century music shows that these capable composers valued clean and clear-cut contours and a vivid feeling of the theatrical, carefully elaborated by a taste for artful ornamentation. This music was buried in private libraries for centuries in many cases, coming to light only recently.