Dirk Meerkotter-Retrospective - The African Renaissance Ensemble
Sat May 13, 15:00 - Sat May 13, 17:00
Pretoria Art Museum
ABOUT
The Exhibition
The African Renaissance Ensemble will be performing works that remind us of the love that Dirk and Annie Meerkotter had for Paris.
The Art shown in this retrospective spans a period of 70 years - Curated by Gordon Froud
We will also be showing a recreation of the magnificent windows lost when the Lindenpark NG church was razed in 2022.
The Ensemble
The African Renaissance Ensemble is a group of South African musicians, striving to infect South Africans with our love for early music.
Our goal is to bring this exquisite, little known and seldom performed music to modern audiences
The Music
We are not Classical. We believe that the music that we perform is far more accessible to modern audiences. The pieces are usually short and a massive variety of sound. Much of the music is lighthearted and was composed specifically for dancing or story telling.
The music is highly emotionally evocative and varied.
Instruments
The instruments that were used at the time that this music was written were very different to those in use today. Our ensemble uses a mix of period instruments, including gut string violins, period keyboards (harpsichord, virginal etc.) lutes, and winds that you have likely never seen before. Guitar and percussion also play an important role. You will hear a variety of sound that you have never experienced before!
Concerts
Do not expect a symphony concert. Our performances are not the formal affairs that one expects from a symphony concert, opera or classical chamber concert and neither is the music that we perform. In fact, almost all of the music we play predates the idea of a concert! You will certainly not find our musicians performing in suit and tie, so feel free to dress however feels appropriate.
The concerts are intimate it is important to us that we directly connect with our audiences. Maestro Adam H. Golding provides context and uses the music to weave together a story including anecdotes that range from hilarious to grotesque.
https://earlymusic.co.za/about/