Transformation - The Music of J.S. Bach
We define the end of the baroque period in music with the death of J.S. Bach in 1750. While he was not a revolutionary in inventing new styles, he took existing forms and transformed them in myriad ways. This year’s festival explores various aspects of Bach’s composition, from his unique writing for solo instruments, to his playful and sophisticated transformations of a single theme in his ‘Musical Offering’, and his use of the cantata form to explore the deepest aspects of death and life.
Wednesday Evening, February 24th, 7:30pm
Iberian Splendour: Organ Music of 16th-18th c. Spain and Portugal
Christ Church Cathedral
Emmanuel Arakélian, organ
Thursday Morning, February 25th, 11:00am
Alix Goolden Performance Hall, Victoria Conservatory of Music
Bach’s six years in the employ of Count Leopold in Cöthen (1717-1723) gave him the luxury to experiment, and it in this time that he wrote a number of works for solo instruments, including the six sonatas and partitas for violin, the unique sonata for solo flute, and numerous works for harpsichord, including studies for his new wife Anna Magdalena. This program explores the myriad ways in which Bach exploits the popular dance forms of the time.
This unique program will be repeated on a tour of Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast immediately after the festival. Learn more here!
Friday Evening, February 26th, 7:30pm
Alix Goolden Performance Hall, Victoria Conservatory of Music
Pacific Baroque Festival Ensemble
On a visit to Frederick the Great in 1747, the flute-playing king presented Bach with a complex three-part theme on which to show off his famous improvising skills. Then challenged to do so with a theme in six parts, Bach went home to Leipzig and four months later produced the ‘Musical Offering’, a collection of pieces based on the king’s theme. The program includes the trio sonata from the Musical Offering, and is completed with two masterworks for the same combination of instruments, by Bach’s contemporaries Telemann and François Couperin.
Saturday Evening, February 27th, 7:30pm
From Darkness to Light
Alix Goolden Performance Hall, Victoria Conservatory of Music
Krisztina Szabó
Pacific Baroque Festival Ensemble
Some of Bach’s most beautiful cantatas deal with the subject of death and the possibility of transformation from earthly cares to the rest or redemption that the other world might bring.
We are joined for this program by the wonderful Canadian mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabo, and acclaimed oboist Curtis Foster for this performance of two of Bach’s most beautiful cantatas, along with instrumental music.
Sunday Afternoon, February 28th, 4:00pm
Christ Church Cathedral
Christ Church Cathedral Schola, directed by Donald Hunt
Mark McDonald, organ
Pacific Baroque Festival Ensemble
The Pacific Baroque Festival concludes with a Choral Evensong Service at Christ Church Cathedral, featuring the sacred music of J.S. Bach
This is a free offering and no ticket required!
PURCHASING TICKETS
Single Tickets: $35 + tax & fees and $30 for Seniors/Students + tax & fees
Festival Passes: $105 + tax & fees and $90 for Seniors/Students + tax & fees are also available for purchase here.
School-age and post-secondary students: FREE entry at door with presentation of student ID or proof of enrolment
Or buy by phone at the VCM Box Office: 250-386-5311
GOOD BROTHERS DEVELOPMENTS
DAVID & PEP GROOS FUND FOR VOCAL MUSIC, VICTORIA FOUNDATION
Special room rate for Festival attendees at The Magnolia Hotel & Spa
MEDIA PARTNERS
