Salut! Baroque

Singers of the Baroque period touched directly on the emotions of audiences, transporting them from sweet melodies to angry tempests. Nuance and intuitiveness were key – an inflection of the voice here, a gesture there. Jacopo Peri wrote in 1600 of ornaments as “those charms and elegances, which one cannot write down, and [if] written, one cannot learn them from the notation”. As singers saw opportunities to create performances full of extravagant theatrics, some composers remained sticklers for formality and restraint, with Lully declaring of his recitatives: “No embellishment! … I want it to be absolutely plain”. By the late Baroque period, composers began to regain control of their creative output, no longer leaving ornamentation to the discretion of the performers, with Marc-Antoine Laugier suggesting musicians “restrict themselves scrupulously to the notation before their eyes” (1754).

Singers of the Baroque period touched directly on the emotions of audiences, transporting them from sweet melodies to angry tempests. Nuance and intuitiveness were key – an inflection of the voice here, a gesture there. Jacopo Peri wrote in 1600 of ornaments as “those charms and elegances, which one cannot write down, and [if] written, one cannot learn them from the notation”. As singers saw opportunities to create performances full of extravagant theatrics, some composers remained sticklers for formality and restraint, with Lully declaring of his recitatives: “No embellishment! … I want it to be absolutely plain”. By the late Baroque period, composers began to regain control of their creative output, no longer leaving ornamentation to the discretion of the performers, with Marc-Antoine Laugier suggesting musicians “restrict themselves scrupulously to the notation before their eyes” (1754).

Saluting the music of many cultures, Salut! Baroque takes a musical journey inspired by Romani, Moorish and Celtic traditions and the Ottoman Empire. Music was a vital part of these cultures which incorporated singing, dancing, storytelling and poetry, and evoked expressions of love, joy, grief and despair. Traditional folk melodies were passed down aurally through the community and were transformed by distinctive characteristics and embellishments, with improvisations creating flamboyant and virtuosic performances in skilled hands. Some European composers were drawn to the intricate rhythms, the spirited dances, the percussive elements, and the harmonic and modal shifts. Telemann drew inspiration and ideas “to last a lifetime” after hearing “36 Polish pipes and 8 Polish violins” improvising during his employment at the Court in Pless.

Saluting the music of many cultures, Salut! Baroque takes a musical journey inspired by Romani, Moorish and Celtic traditions and the Ottoman Empire. Music was a vital part of these cultures which incorporated singing, dancing, storytelling and poetry, and evoked expressions of love, joy, grief and despair. Traditional folk melodies were passed down aurally through the community and were transformed by distinctive characteristics and embellishments, with improvisations creating flamboyant and virtuosic performances in skilled hands. Some European composers were drawn to the intricate rhythms, the spirited dances, the percussive elements, and the harmonic and modal shifts. Telemann drew inspiration and ideas “to last a lifetime” after hearing “36 Polish pipes and 8 Polish violins” improvising during his employment at the Court in Pless.

Salut! presents its 2023 Concert Season. A subscription covers all four concert dates: Friday 17 February, 7.30pm (Albert Hall) Friday 21 April, 7.30pm (Fairfax Theatre, National Gallery of Australia) Friday 18 August, 7.30pm (Albert Hall) Friday 6 October, 7.30pm (Albert Hall)

Salut! presents a concert of baroque music with works by Bach, Zelenka, Handel, Eccles, Marais, Charpentier & Durante.

Salut! Baroque presents a concert of baroque music with works by Bach, Zelenka, Handel, Eccles, Marais, Charpentier & Durante.