Montreal Baroque Festival

Harpsichord, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

I spent the long weekend (here in Quebec June 24 is La Fête Nationale) at the Festival Montréal Baroque, now in its eleventh year. This is a special music festival with a different theme each year. This year's theme was New Worlds with concerts of South American baroque music, music representing the creation of the earth, complete with baroque dancers and circus performers, concerts by large groups and intimate concerts. Each year there is an incredible degree of creativity vis-a-vis the venue and the concerts themselves.



This year the festival also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Société de la Flûte à Bec de Montréal. Each of the groups had an opportunity to play before the main concerts. In addition there was a marathon of the 143 pieces by van Eyck, a Dutch recorder player of the 17th century. He was blind and would play the popular melodies of his day and then improvise variations. These have been written down. I participated in the marathon, playing 2 pieces.



Some evenings go on long after the concert, with young  (and sometimes older) musicians sight-reading through music in the festival cafe. There is camaraderie between the professionals and the pre-professionals as well as with festival goers like me. We all feel part of the festival.

Here are some posts from previous festivals

2009 Susie,
2010 Flûte Alors!  Starting the Parade
2011 Festival Montréal Baroque
2012 Natural Trumpets, Horse Ballet