The Voice of Nature   songs and dances

One charming night
Gives more delight
Than a hundred lucky days:
Night and I improve the taste,
Make the pleasure longer last
A thousand, thousand several ways.
(from The Fairy Queen)

Unusually, this year’s final concert is dedicated to a single composer: Henry Purcell. He ranks among the most prominent composers of the High Baroque. What is special about him is his musical ability to combine different styles – whether English, French or Italian. François Lazarevitch explores this diversity with his Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien. Starting with Purcell’s Arias und Fantasias, he has spanned an arc from the French style (e.g. chaconnes) to the English style (contredanse airs, pavans – written in the imitative style of the viola da gamba consorts) and Scottish airs, etc.

For years, Lazarevitch has been exploring old dances, leading to lively, joyful celebrations with dance master Yvon Guilcher in Hall. He incorporates this knowledge into his interpretation and emphasises what is sometimes a folk-song element in “swinging” style. This swing, which is involuntarily transferred to the audience, will make a party out of the evening.

Tim Mead – Countertenor
Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien
Augusta McKay Lodge, Louise Ayrton – Violins
Sophie Iwamura – Viola, violin
Elsa Frank – Recorder, oboe
Étienne Floutier – Viola da gamba
Justin Taylor – Cembalo, organ
Éric Bellocq – archlute, guitar, cittern
François Lazarevitch – Conductor, Recorder, Flute, Musette