In the Renaissance and the Baroque, musicians learned not only to play their instruments but also to improvise and compose. Together, these three disciplines formed the basis of musical craftsmanship. How different things are now, where improvisation is hardly taught and composing, especially in historical styles, is quickly regarded as a pretentious activity: ‘do you think you are better than Bach, perhaps?’
Not so for Patrick Ayrton, who, in all modesty, wishes to embrace all aspects of the old craft. After years of practicing and teaching improvisation, he decided to start writing as well. The result: Astrophil & Stella, a beautiful song cycle in the early English Baroque style. For those who can’t get enough of it, Ayrton also has a new series of compositions ready, this time in the 17th-century Italian style. He sets this new music against historical examples. And to wrap it up, during a third concert with his friends Saskia Coolen and Rainer Zipperling, Ayrton is allowed to indulge unashamedly in diminutions and improvisations.
