This Sunday, the Baroque Student Group presents its third annual celebration of the enchanting Baroque era.
The BSG started with “a group of pianists [who] wanted to gain experience playing the harpsichord,” a quintessential instrument from the era, explained Darlene Castro, a member of the representative board of the BSG and a senior in composition.
The representative board of the BSG organized the event in collaboration with the Art and Art History Departments at the U. Artworks from the 17th and 18th centuries will be displayed for attendees to view as part of the “immersive experience,” explained Castro.
According to Castro, popular refreshments from the Baroque period will be served including hot chocolate and coffee “which were all the rage at this time,” and a number of desserts.
The event, in its entirety, is free to the public.
Held at the Thompson Chamber Music Hall inside of David Gardner Hall, festivities will begin at 4 p.m. and the concert performance will run from 5 to 6 p.m.
The presentation will feature a gallery hour preceding the concert performance. Replicas of Baroque-era instruments belonging to the College of Music will be on display. Castro and her advisor, Lisa Chausty, the professor in charge of the Early Music Ensemble, will be demonstrating a variety of instruments including the harpsichord, woodwinds and strings.
Castro and the three other members of the representative board of the BSG decided to theme this year’s event around a progenitor of the Baroque movement in France, King Louis XIV. “Louispalooza” is about exploring the generation of the French version of Baroque music and its combining with the existent Italian style.
King Louis XIV reigned for 72 years and 110 days, the longest term of any monarch in the history of major European kingdoms. In that time, he established the French style of music, dance and performance through his royal academies.
Louis held a deep appreciation and fascination for the arts. He even performed in Jean-Baptiste Lully’s opera Ballet de la nuit. For his role as the sun, Louis was nicknamed the Sun King.
By using the Sun King as the theme, the BSG was able “to have a lot of options for performances,” said Castro. “His reign of 72 years includes lots of composers” so the board could customize an incredible setlist, Castro added.
The concert finale will be a composition by Francois Couperin. Stylistically, the piece functions as “a treaty to unite French and Italian styles,” Castro said, as a way of tying the night together.
Couperin believed that “music is so affected by society, art and politics…really, everything,” said Castro. The representative board of the BSG wanted to reflect that sentiment in Sunday night’s festivities. Music, especially Baroque-era compositions, is “so interdisciplinary,” remarked Castro.
The College of Fine Arts’ organization, The Party, is promoting Louispalooza this year. According to Castro, the BSG expects “to get an audience of art, art history and music students,” as well as aficionados from amongst the general public.
“The hope is,” said Castro, “that people can better enjoy the music [of the Baroque era] if they understand where it came from.”