As the bushfires cast their smoky pall across the East Coast cities of Sydney and Melbourne in January of this year, an ensemble of musicians met to explore the chaos of both the heart and the universe, reflected unnervingly in the upended world we saw around us. Plus ça change…..
This unique artist-led initiative wove the little-heard works of Jean-Fery Rebel and Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre into a narrative featuring enamoured mortals, passionate gods, nymphs, demons, nightingales and inevitable tragedy. The instrumental music performed on baroque instruments evoked the energy, emotion and characters of the tale, while the tragic state of a proud lover’s turmoil was embodied in excerpts sung from de la Guerre’s opera “Cephale et Procris”. Both the period instruments and my voice fought the heat, smoke and humidity to bring the music so stirringly to life, and during our final performance the heavens opened to produce a massive thunderstorm without the Observatory as well as within!
This unique artist-led initiative wove the little-heard works of Jean-Fery Rebel and Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre into a narrative featuring enamoured mortals, passionate gods, nymphs, demons, nightingales and inevitable tragedy. The instrumental music performed on baroque instruments evoked the energy, emotion and characters of the tale, while the tragic state of a proud lover’s turmoil was embodied in excerpts sung from de la Guerre’s opera “Cephale et Procris”. Both the period instruments and my voice fought the heat, smoke and humidity to bring the music so stirringly to life, and during our final performance the heavens opened to produce a massive thunderstorm without the Observatory as well as within!
Led by cellist, Camilla Tafra, Elements Ensemble was a collaboration that united the next generation of Australian baroque musicians in practicing their art and connecting with audiences. It involved musicians from Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and Armidale and took place in the atmospheric surrounds of the Abbotsford Convent complex in Melbourne over the course of a weekend, kicking off a new offering in the baroque music space.
Photo credit: Stephen Tafra
Photo credit: Stephen Tafra
