Thursday 23 March 2017, 20:15, Lutherse Kerk The Hague
European Union Baroque Orchestra performs Bach and Händel
They receive universal acclaim for their your youthful energy and powerful performances. When the musicians of the European Union Baroque Orchestra appear on stage, the audience brings down the house and reviewers reach for superlatives.
The secret of their success? The ensemble has a new line-up every year. Only the best baroque musicians qualify to become a member. Dozens of aspiring musicians apply, but no more than 25 are selected. They work with the best conductors and soloists for many months and go on tour optimally prepared. This year the ensemble will be conducted by the renowned harpsichordist and conductor Lars Ulrik Mortensen.
The programme fits the musicians like a glove. The soloist is the soprano Maria Keohane. In 2000 she won the Musica Antica Award during the Van Wassenaer Early Music Competition. She has every chance to shine in Händel’s solo cantata Tu fedel! Tu costante, a brilliant piece with which the composer, just 21, was able to win over the audience in Rome. It started his international career that brought him to London, where he could develop himself to one of the most acclaimed opera composers of his time. 25 Years after his early success in Rome, Covent Garden hosted the first performance of Händel’s opera Alcina. Maria Keohane will sing the aria Ombre pallide from this masterpiece. It was immensely popular in its time.
Lars Ulrik Mortensen will take the limelight in Bach’s Harpsichord Concerto in A-major. The European Union Baroque Orchestra will finish their only concert in The Netherlands with Bach’s Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten, a sparkling wedding cantata and an ode to spring. Unsubscribe
This concert is also the final event of the European Early Music Network (REMA). This year it takes place in The Hague. Musica Antica da Camera is one of the main organisers.
European Union Baroque Orchestra.
Lars Ulrik Mortensen (conductor and harpsichord), Maria Keohane(soprano), Bojan Čičić (concert master and solo violin) and Neven Lesage(oboe).
George Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)
Concerto Grosso Op 6 no. 10 in d-minor, HWV328 – Cantata Tu fedel? Tu costante? HWV171a – Passacaglia in G-major HWV399 – Ah! Ruggiero: Ombre pallide from Alcina
