Part of: Early Music in Weill Recital Hall
Get together with people who love music after this Weill Recital Hall concert for a free drink and discussion with the evening's musicians.
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The Baroque period was a time of extraordinary ferment and innovation, as composers, performers, and audiences turned away from the densely textured polyphonic music of the Renaissance and embraced the more transparent, soloistic style of monody. At the same time, opera was transformed from a rarified aristocratic pastime to a universally popular entertainment; by the early 18th century, when most of the works on tonight’s program were written, it was Italy’s musical lingua franca. Both sacred and secular vocal music were affected by the dramatic power and declamatory immediacy that the flexible, text-oriented musical language of the Baroque era made possible.
Roughly half a century separates Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater from Hasse’s Sanctus Petrus et Sancta Maria Magdalena, but both men were celebrated opera composers who found abundant scope for emotional expression and evocative tone-painting in the drama of Christ’s crucifixion. The opera stage was also familiar territory for three of the other composers represented on the concert, Fago, Schiassi, and Terradellas; their motets, oratorios, and other sacred music reflect their experience in dramatizing characters’ feelings and situations. Rounding out the program are a pair of instrumental concertos for strings and continuo by two Italian composers of the era: Corelli and Durante.
Polish countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński is quickly gaining a reputation as a singer of striking vocal beauty and daring stagecraft. He has been hailed by critics and audiences alike. Autumn of 2018 saw the greatly anticipated release of his debut album, Anima Sacra, a recital of rediscovered 18th-century sacred arias with the Baroque ensemble Il Pomo d’Oro conducted by Maxim Emelyanychev on Erato / Warner Classics.
Mr. Orliński’s star rose rapidly following major competition wins on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2016 and the Marcella Sembrich International Vocal Competition in 2015. In the summer of 2017, he was catapulted to international prominence when his poignant live performance of Vivaldi’s “Vedrò con mio diletto” on France Musique quickly amassed more than two million views online.
Highlights of the 2018–2019 season include an international recital tour with Il Pomo d’Oro, promoting the release of Mr. Orliński’s debut album. He is presented in recital by the Fundacío Victoria de los Ángeles in Barcelona and sings additional concerts in Pennsylvania and Louisiana. He debuts with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra in Handel’s Messiah and at the Montreal Bach Festival in a program of Bach, Handel, and Vivaldi arias. On the opera stage, Mr. Orliński debuts at Glyndebourne as Eustazio in Handel’s Rinaldo, and he returns to Oper Frankfurt to reprise his dynamic portrayal of the title role in the same piece. He also returns to Oper Frankfurt as Unulfo in Handel’s Rodelinda, which he also performs for his role and house debut at Opéra de Lille with Emmanuelle Haïm.
In his spare time, Mr. Orliński enjoys breakdancing, in addition to other styles of dance. He also has been featured in a commercial for the street wear company CROPP, and has appeared as a dancer, model, and acrobat in campaigns for Levi’s, Nike, Turbokolor, Samsung, Mercedes-Benz, MAC Cosmetics, Dannon, and Algida.
New York Baroque Incorporated is an orchestra of period instruments in New York City, bringing vital, informed, and fresh performances of a wide range of 17th- and 18th-century repertoire, while also creating a vibrant landscape for collaborations between historical performance and living composers. New York Baroque Incorporated has collaborated with renowned soloists, including Richard Egarr, Vivica Genaux, and Monica Huggett. The ensemble has performed at Carnegie Hall, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Spoleto Festival USA. Striving to bring period instruments to living composers, New York Baroque Incorporated has premiered works by Nico Muhly, Hollis Taylor, and Huang Ruo. The orchestra also dedicates itself to bringing to life unknown works of the Baroque era, and has revived and presented modern-day premieres of Cavalli’s Veremonda, Aliotti’s Santa Rosalia, and Seckendorff’s Proserpina.
In the 2018–2019 season, New York Baroque Incorporated has launched a new four-part series in St. Paul’s Chapel of Trinity Church Wall Street. Named Alchemy, each program is based on a classical element: water, air, earth, and fire. The orchestra returns to Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue for three concerts that feature Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s St. John Passion, Vivaldi’s “Spring,” Handel’s Organ Concerto in B-flat Major, and Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5. New York Baroque Incorporated is also making its debut at the beautiful Caramoor Center with soprano Vivica Genaux.
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