Winds, blizzards, tempests, and storms – all the forces of nature pale in comparison to the passions that Baroque art sought to portray. The concert of music by the renowned 18th-century French composer Louis-Nicolas Clérambault will feature singers specialising in portraying a variety of emotions – participants of the 50th Oratorio and Cantata Music Interpretation Course, organised by the National Forum of Music and the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław. Joining them on stage will be an instrumental ensemble led by harpsichordist Marta Niedźwiecka.
Louis-Nicolas Clérambault belonged to a musical family whose members served French kings from the 15th century. His father, Dominique, played in the renowned orchestra Le Vingt-quatre Violons du Roi. Louis-Nicolas was primarily an organist, so he worked in churches, but also at a school for girls founded by the Sun King in Saint-Cyr, near Versailles. The cantatas included in the concert programme are in a style inspired by the Italian school, which was a novelty in Paris at the beginning of the 18th century. The aesthetic of the time was based on the idea of representing feelings that people were too shy to show at that time, let alone today. Hence the title Storms of Passion, perfectly reflecting the Baroque emotional tumults. The singers become actors moved by the music.
Three of the four cantatas are monodramas with modest, chamber accompaniment. In Le Jaloux, we experience the convulsions of jealousy alongside the singer. Others refer to well-known mythological figures – Medea and Polyphemus. Medea will reveal the doubts and hesitation caused by the wound inflicted on her by Jason. Polyphemus will tell the story of his love for Galatea, a love hindered by Acis. The most elaborate is the last cantata – La Triomphe de la paix. It features several characters: Flora, Pomona, and Vertumnus – deities watching over vegetation. Naturally, they detest war and beg Mars to surrender to the charms of spring. Will he grant their wish? We will find out during the concert.
Concert co-organised by:
