Idyll - Pastoral works by Charpentier

Exploring idyllic settings from a late 17th-century perspective, singers of Lutesong Consort (www.lutesong.co.za), and period instrumentalists of the Cape Town Baroque Orchestra, under the musical direction of Erik Dippenaar, present four works for solo voices and instruments by Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643–1704). Likely intended for performance in aristocratic salons and private circles, these works evoke an idealised landscape of shepherds, shepherdesses and courtly romance. In contrast to many of his French contemporaries, Charpentier composed several vocal works in Italian, perhaps reflecting both the tastes of his patrons and his own engagement with Italian music.

The three Italian works on the programme, namely Serenata a tre voci, H.472, Amor vince, H.492 and Cupido perfido, H.493, illustrate his assimilation of Italian stylistic features within a French compositional idiom, resulting in music that is direct in expression yet no less affecting. These works are contrasted with the Idylle sur le retour de la santé du Roi, H.489, a more ornate example of his distinctively French style.

Date: Wednesday, 22 July

Time: 19:00-20:30

Venue: St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, De Waterkant, Cape Town

Tickets: R280, R240 (pensioners), R100 (learners/students)

With:

Lutesong Consort

Elsabé Richter, Vasti Zeeman-Knoesen (sopranos)

Lente Louw (mezzo-soprano, Artistic Director: Lutesong Consort)

Willem Bester and Van Wyk Venter (alto/tenor)

Keaton Manwaring (bass)

Cape Town Baroque Orchestra

Annien Shaw and Ralitza Macheva (baroque violins)

Rosamund Roth (viola da gamba)

Uwe Grosser (lute, chitarrone, baroque guitar)

Dale de Windt (chamber organ)

Erik Dippenaar (harpsichord, musical direction)