The early music movement began its quest for authentic sounds with repertoire from the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Baroque. But early music does not end with the death of J.S. Bach in 1750. A new generation of musicians is actively engaged with the Romantic repertoire and discovering refined, dreamy timbres and even humour in music that was once considered exclusively heavy and serious.
Emily Worthington shares her research into the historic clarinet in a programme centered on Von Weber. Johannes Leertouwer enchants us with quartets by the black composer Chevalier de Saint-Georges, who remained virtually unknown for a long time. And Postscript, Jed Wentz, and Shunske Sato bring declamatorium back to life – a combination of spoken word and musical interludes – with a performance of Lord Byron’s Manfred.
There is also room for depth in these The Late Collection concerts: by way of introduction, host and recitation artist Simon Mulder quizzes the musicians about their work and artistic choices. In this way, historical instruments and recent research give the romantic repertoire a new voice.
