Cape Town Baroque Festival Pass

ABOUT

The Cape Town Baroque Festival returns for it's 5th season. Each event is listed separately but if you would like to purchase a Festival Pass for all the concerts you can do so here:

FRIDAY 22 SEPTEMBER - EVENT 1: NEW MUSIC FOR OLD INSTRUMENTS

19h30 ENDLER HALL, STELLENBOSCH

The 2023 Cape Town Baroque Festival, in collaboration with the South African Composers’ Symposium, presents an exciting programme of new music for baroque instruments. The programme includes sets of variations for baroque violin on baroque themes composed by Matthias Maute in 2021, a piece titled The Seige of Chester (1997) for virginals in a quarter comma meantone tuning by William Mival, and a work composed in 2007 for recorder and percussion by Australian composer Racheal Cogan. Two newly composed works by Arthur Feder and Antoni Schonken will form the centrepieces of this programme.

With: Annien Shaw and Ralitza Macheva (baroque violins), Rosamund Ender (viola da gamba), Caroline Walters (recorder), Emilio February (percussion), and Erik Dippenaar (virginals, harpsichord)

Date: Friday, 22 September, Time: 19.30

Venue: Endler Hall, Neethling Street, Stellenbosch

SATURDAY 23 SEPTEMBER - EVENT 2: A SPANISH SALAD

11h00 BAXTER CONCERT HALL, RONDEBOSCH

The 2023 Cape Town Baroque Festival, in collaboration with the Cape Town Concert Series, present the Lutesong Consort in a programme titled ‘A Spanish Salad - Vocal polyphony from Renaissance Spain’. The aptly named genre of ensaladas (literally: salads) flourished for the largest part of the 16th century in Spain, but only ten survive today. These highly entertaining religious allegories tell of redemption from various natural disasters, and contain a mix of references to popular songs, chant and onomatopoeic nonsense syllables in a variety of metres. The ensaladas developed from the sacred villancico tradition: the singing of songs in the vernacular at matins in chapels and cathedrals on feast days, or as theatrical performance spectacles before the Mass.

Lutesong Consort will perform two ensaladas by Mateo de Flecha (1481–1553) and the ensemble of four singers and period instruments will present sacred and secular villancicos by Francisco Guerrero, Bartomeo Carcères, Juan de Encina and Cristobal de Morales. The vocal works for four singers will be interspersed with instrumental pieces by Luis de Milan, Luis de Narvaez, Alonso Mudarra and Diego Ortiz.

With: Lynelle Kenned (soprano), Lente Louw (mezzo-soprano), Jason Atherton (tenor) and Keaton Manwaring (bass), and an ensemble of period instruments.

Date: Saturday, 23 September, Time: 11.00

Venue: Baxter Concert Hall

SUNDAY 24 SEPTEMBER, EVENT 3: BILL ROBSON – 80th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

WELTEVREDEN, ORANJE ROAD, NOORDHOEK

The 2023 Cape Town Baroque Festival is celebrating the 80th birthday of local harpsichord and organ builder William Selway (Bill) Robson with a series of short concerts in the chapel, originally a farmhouse dating from 1790, that he restored during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as tours through his workshop. The concerts will be performed on historical keyboard instruments built by Robson.

With: Erik Dippenaar, Anna Fusek, Gianluca Geremia and Dale de Windt (harpsichord, organ, spinet, virginals)

Date: Sunday, 24 September

Session 1: Concert at 14.00 - 14.45 and workshop tour at 15.00 – 15.30

or

Session 2: Concert at 15.30 - 16.15 and workshop tour at 16.30 – 17.00

Venue: Weltevreden, Oranje Road, Noordhoek

with complimentary glass of wine and birthday cake!

MONDAY 25 SEPTEMBER, EVENT 4: 17th CAPE TOWN RECORDER SYMP0SIUM

11h00 WESTERFORD HIGH SCHOOL, RONDEBOSCH

The 2023 Cape Town Baroque Festival, in collaboration with the annual Recorder Symposium, presents the 17th Cape Town Recorder Symposium. Anna Fusek will be the guest speaker.

Date: Monday, 25 September, Time: 11:00 – 15:00

Venue: Imbewu Music Centre, Westerford High School, Mount Road, Rondebosch

WEDNESDAY 27 SEPTEMBER, EVENT 5: BRIEF TALES FOR TWO

19h00 6 SPIN STREET GALLERY, CAPE TOWN

The 2023 Cape Town Baroque Festival presents Anna Fusek (baroque violin, recorder, spinetta) and Gianluca Geremia (theorbo, guitar, melodica) in an intimate chamber concert based on a baroque aesthetic, but sometimes also venturing further afield. Do not miss the opportunity to hear these two international award-winning multi-instrumentalists live!

With: Anna Fusek (baroque violin, recorder, spinetta) and Gianluca Geremia (theorbo, guitar, melodica)

Date: Wednesday, 27 September, Time: 19:00

Venue: 6 Spin Street, Cape Town

SUNDAY 1 OCTOBER, Event 6: DOUBLE TROUBLE FESTIVAL FINALE!

16h00 ST ANDREW'S PRESBYTARIAN CHURCH, CAPE TOWN

The Cape Town Baroque Orchestra presents the Festival Finale for the 2023 Baroque Festival consisting of several exciting double concerti, focussing on the dynamic dialogue between two solo instruments and orchestra, and how different composers used this for expressive and dramatic purposes. The concert will be preceded by a talk by Anna Stoddard of FMR's ‘Baroque Bon Bons’.

Concerti by Vivaldi, Telemann and Bach

With: Anna Fusek (recorder and baroque violin), Annien Shaw (baroque violin), Ingo Müller (baroque oboe), Rosamund Ender (viola da gamba) and the Cape Town Baroque Orchestra

Date: Sunday, 1 October, Time: 16:00, pre-concert talk at 15:15

Venue: St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, De Waterkant