‘Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches;….. And ever again, in the wink of an eye, Painted stations whistle by.’ (Robert Louis Stevenson 1885). And so it was as Fiori’s director (on a recent adventure aboard one of those smartly efficient German trains) passed through place after place with fascinating musical connections – Halle (where Handel was born), Eisenach (where the great JS Bach was born), Leipzig, Berlin, Lübeck, Erfurt, Frankfurt, Magdeburg, Hannover, Köthen and so on – all places redolent with meaning to the lover of early music. A real tour through baroque history. These places were the stomping grounds of Telemann, Buxtehude, the Bach family, Handel and their contemporaries. The Brandenburg Gate in all its impressive grandeur, the huge Marienkirche in Lübeck (where Buxtehude hung out during the latter part of the 17th century), the famous Nicholaiskirche in Leipzig where Bach’s choirboys performed their Sunday cantatas – all landmark places to pause and ponder the lives of some of the baroque’s best known composers.
Fiori’s summer programme brings alive the music of some of these composers (see Fiori Musicali – Fiori Musicali ). Handel will be centre stage when we perform in June with distinguished trumpeter David Blackadder, and Bach‘s fourth Brandenburg and music by Telemann are on the menu for our popular Castle Ashby concert at the end of July – with much more besides. A real whistle stop tour – with plenty of music too by composers whose names may be less familiar today but whose music is definitely worth exploring! So much to look forward to on our musical adventure this summer…. Tickets for the journey can be found at Fiori Musicali event tickets from TicketSource.
Recipe of the month
wild garlic soup