The New College Ante Chapel will be hosting a concert by the International Rameau Ensemble (IRE) at 8.30 PM next Saturday evening, performing excerpts of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s famous Les Indes Galantes and a selection of other Baroque pieces based on the theme of love, such as Lambert’s “Ombre de mon amant, Vos mepris chaque jour” and Charpentier’s “Celle qui fait mon tourment”.
The IRE will be accompanied by acclaimed soloists Katherine Blumenthal and Lawrence Olsworth-Peter, respectibely soprano and haute-contre, who sung the title roles in the 2012 premiere of a revisited production of Rameau’s Acante et Cephise at the Bloomsbury Theatre, in London. The flautist and Birmingham Conservatoire PhD student Lisete da Silva will equally be present among other specialised musicians, to let the audience discover the intricacies of 18th century French court music.
Founded two years ago, the ensemble aims to bring Rameau and his contemporaries’ works back and out into the open, demonstrating how much potential the complex music writing techniques and conventions followed by these composers still have, and making it accessible to curious musicians of all ages by organising their annual International Rameau Summer Schools with the talented harpsichordist Christophe Rousset. Previous performances of this formation include a successful concert at St George’s Hanover Square, where the IRE played Rameau’s Grands Motets. The ensemble has also been featured in BBC Radio 3’s In Tune programme with Sean Rafferty.
About a week before Valentine’s day, this concert should make for an interesting evening for the un-initiated to delve into a world which is rarely presented to the public, and allow anyone already acquainted with Baroque to enjoy the IRE’s programme.
