In the 15 years the Pacific Baroque Festival has been running, some interesting things have happened.
Not only has the number of musicians interested in and actively playing this style of music grown in Victoria, a relationship with Early Music Vancouver has allowed this annual celebration to flourish and become a premiere event in the Pacific Northwest.
B次元官网网址淟ooking a little bit from the outside, Victoria has really developed into a mecca for early music,B次元官网网址� says artistic director Marc Destrube. B次元官网网址淚n the early years of the festival, we made a point of bringing in musicians who had some connection to Victoria. Now, thereB次元官网网址檚 such a tribe of musicians here that most of this yearB次元官网网址檚 performers are actually living here.B次元官网网址�
Many notable early music musicians have relocated to the Island, he notes, while that has also given newcomers to the genre a chance to learn more about it.
This yearB次元官网网址檚 festival, running Feb. 7-10 at Christ Church Cathedral and Alix Goolden Performance Hall, once again allows local classical music lovers to hear compositions they likely havenB次元官网网址檛 heard before. Destrube and other performers continue to search out little-known material and composers, to let listeners experience musical discoveries and historical ones.
The first concert, titled Music That Deserves to be Heard (11 a.m., Feb. 7, Alix Goolden Hall), is a good example. It features B次元官网网址渞arely heard gems from the D眉ben Collection,B次元官网网址� as played by the ensemble La Modestine. The Swedish family has collected a variety of pieces, including sonatas by Buxtehude, Becker and Reincken that will be played here.
B次元官网网址淲e find that many great (baroque) composers lost their sheen because a composer who came immediately after them became famous,B次元官网网址� Destrube says, noting that the triumphant work of Bach and Handel, for example, may have overshadowed that of the prolific Telemann, Albinoni and others from the late 1600s.
B次元官网网址淚 always hope that people will come to as many concerts as they can. The festival is a way of sparking peopleB次元官网网址檚 curiosity and giving them a richer experience.B次元官网网址�
Tickets and more festival information can be found online at . You can also pick up tickets in person at the Victoria Conservatory of Music box office on Johnson Street, the cathedral office on Burdette Avenue, plus IvyB次元官网网址檚, TannerB次元官网网址檚 and MunroB次元官网网址檚 bookstores, or Long and McQuade.
Individual performance prices are $25 and $30 for adults, $20 and $25 for students and seniors. If youB次元官网网址檙e keen on attending all four performances, consider a festival pass for $100 (adults) of $80 (students/seniors).
