Last night’s performance of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 capped off a spectacular day and was for me the perfect end of the Boston Early Music Festival. (The Festival does not end until Sunday but it is the end for me because I am traveling to Germany today.) There were just 10 singers (of which there were only 3 women and… Read More Spectacular Vespers!
Last week’s soloists for Bach’s St. Matthew Passion were not only the same soloists for Saturday’s St. John Passion, they were the chorus too! That meant there were only two singers per part, and the orchestra outnumbered the chorus. Pacific Music Works’ presentation of the St. John Passion was held in the smaller Nordstrom Recital… Read More St. John Passion
No, this time we’re not getting ready to perform Bach, this week we are getting ready to listen to Bach. Carl and I are in the Pacific Northwest visiting family and friends and have been listening to Gustav Leonhardt‘s recording of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion while we have been driving around in the car. On… Read More Getting ready for Bach
As we knew from past Festivals, the 2013 Boston Early Music Festival was going to be nothing short of extraordinary — in the wide variety and extremely high level of the performances, the huge number of international performers, and total number of concerts. Even the music festivals that we go to in Europe don’t compare… Read More Nothing short of phenomenal
Our last concert of the Boston Early Music Festival (my 22nd!) was a four-hour extravaganza, an opera by George Frideric Handel, called Almira in the beautiful Cutler Majestic Theatre. An all-star international cast assembled by Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, with stage director Gilbert Blin, put on a musical feast for both the eyes and… Read More Handel Opera a triumph
Last night’s chamber opera doublebill, La Descente d’Orphé aux Enfers and La couronne de Fleurs by Marc-Antoine Charpentier was breathtaking in its beauty and elegance. The small orchestra, directed by Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, was seated on stage, surrounded by a giant garland of flowers on the stage floor (The Crown of Flowers) The… Read More Charpentier Chamber Opera
We have been so fortunate to be at the Boston Early Music Festival — it is presented in odd-numbered years and I would heartily recommend it to anyone who wants to hear the best of the best in early music. I dare say that at this particular festival every single concert is over the top… Read More Sharing BEMF with the world
Yesterday we boarded the plane right after church and flew to Los Angeles, stopping only to change planes to Boston. We arrived this morning at 7 am and took an airport shuttle to our friend, Edith Ho’s house, where we ate breakfast and took showers before heading into town. Lunch was at our favorite restaurant… Read More The Boston Early Music Festival