Classical music aficianados will be treated to a preview of the 2016 Pacific Baroque Festival when an ensemble of festival performers brings Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Tunes? to Knox United Church Saturday, Jan. 30.
Fans can discover the music of German baroque composers who predate and influenced Johann Sebastian Bach, and earn an appreciation for rarely-performed music on period instruments.
The ensemble is led by baroque violinist Marc Destrubé, the artistic director of the Pacific Baroque Festival, which will follow Feb. 4-6 in Victoria. He will be joined by fellow violinist Linda Melsted, Natalie Mackie on viola de gamba and Michael Jarvis on harpsichord. The concert also introduces rising young soprano Rebecca Gange, an alumna of the Victoria Conservatory of Music now studying for her Master’s in Toronto.
“They will perform music by German composers before Bach, so it will not be the normal menu of works,” festival manager Brian Groos said. “But the audience will find it revelatory and leave them wondering why this repertoire has been overlooked.”
Featured composers include Johann Kuhnau, Johann Krieger, Christoph Bernhard, Dietrich Buxtehude and Philipp Heinrich Erlebach.
The concert is one of three scheduled for Vancouver Island in advance of the Pacific Baroque Festival, and will follow concerts Jan. 28 in Victoria and Jan. 29 in Metchosin the weekend before the festival itself.
“It is our hope that this will be the first of an annual visit to Parksville,” said Groos.
Doors will open at 6:45 and the concert begins at 7:30 at Knox United Church, 345 Pym Street in Parksville. Tickets are $25, $20 for seniors and students, and may be purchased in advance at Knox United.
For more information, call Knox at 250-248-3927.
— Submitted by Pacific Baroque Festival