Baroque stars coming to town

A RARE opportunity to experience an intimate live performance of the music of the baroque period will take place at Mackenzie Quarters later this month.

Melbourne-based ensemble Genesis Baroque are set to travel up the Calder to join renowned soprano Sara Macliver and play music normally associated with the period between 1600 and 1750.

Established in 2018, Genesis Baroque is the brainchild of artistic director and founder Jennifer Kirsner, whose aim was to provide a platform for Victorian baroque musicians “to develop a strong identity and sound through dedicated and consistent performing together”.

“The ensemble performs on period instruments, which are instruments that are as they would have been during the Baroque period, with string players playing on gut strings – rather than the steel strings used on modern instruments – and with baroque bows that are less straight and more ‘bow-shaped’,” she said.

“These instruments enable the timbres of the repertoire to come alive. It is very vocal, rhetorical repertoire, and these instruments allow it to speak, particularly when performing with human voice.”

 

After several postponements due to border closures, Kirsner said the ensemble is thrilled to be finally working with Perth-based fellow baroque specialist Sara Macliver.

“I approached Sara back in 2019 as we were keen to work with her due to her warmth, incredible experience with baroque repertoire, and her crystal-clear, silvery voice. She is one of Australia’s finest sopranos,” Kirsner said.

“Sara performs regularly in the concert halls across the country, and to hear her in such an intimate, beautiful venue will be a particularly memorable experience.”

“This is the ensemble’s long-awaited first regional tour, and audiences can expect all the passion, joy, sorrow, and pathos of the wonderfully rich Italian Baroque repertoire, with works spanning more than 100 years, performed by some of Australia’s finest instrumentalists and one of our most celebrated sopranos.

“Even for people who don’t usually attend classical music concerts, this beautiful music was written to express such universal human emotions that it is incredibly accessible for everyone to understand and appreciate.”

Sara Macliver and Genesis Baroque will perform at Mackenzie Quarters on 21 October from 8pm. For further information visit bit.ly/3CghJLC.