Perspectives | Into the Baroque
In this set of Perspectives, Staunton Music Festival performers and historians take you inside Baroque music and compositional style. Topics touched on include Vivaldi and the Four Seasons, Bach's Funeral Ode, and Handel's powerful oratorio, Theodora.
Vivaldi's Four Seasons: From Venice to Helsinki
SPONSORED BY DR. SARA N. JAMES
Noted music historian Tim Carter (UNC-Chapel Hill) provides a broad perspective from which to consider Vivaldi's ever-popular Four Seasons concertos. He is joined by Finnish violinists Minna Pensola and Antti Tikkanen, sharing impressions and recollections of their Four Seasons performances from SMF 2015.
Related SMF performances on YouTube
Bach's Twin "Tombeaux" of 1727
SPONSORED BY DON HAYNIE & TOM HAMLIN
Music historian Jon Gibson has a particular interest in 17th and 18th century music, and his understanding of related musical forms and genres brings special insight to Bach's sacred works. In this Perspective, Jon reveals connections between Bach's Trauerode and the aria "Komm, süsses Kreuz" from the St. Matthew Passion, both composed in 1727, and the broader tradition of musical memorials or tombeaux.
Related SMF performances on YouTube
Ritual and Meaning in Handel's Theodora
SPONSORED BY DAVIDSON PERRY-MILLER
In 2019 Staunton Music Festival presented Handel's late masterpiece, the oratorio Theodora, a work filled with superlative music and layers of dramatic meaning. In this Perspective, stage director Timothy Nelson reflects back on his conception for the production of Theodora as well as the magical combination of people and events that brought the performance to fruition.
Related SMF performances on YouTube
