The Muffat Collective bring the historical sounds of Baroque Passions
to River of Art Festival for Music in the Regions’ Spring tour
Moruya and Narooma are in for a classical music treat when eccentric ensemble The Muffat Collective take audiences on a historic musical journey through 18th Century Europe, presented by Music in the Regions (MitR) and River of Art from 24 September to 2 October.
Featuring music by Antonio Vivaldi and his contemporaries performed on original baroque instruments, Baroque Passions is a beautiful music program that is influenced by Italian cathedrals, French salons and German coffee houses.
The Muffat Collective will perform Baroque Passions as part of the River of Art festival in Moruya at St John’s Anglican Church on Saturday 24 September at 2pm, and in Narooma at St Paul’s Church on Sunday 25 September at 2pm.
Music in the Regions Executive Director, Janine Collins, said: “One of our strengths is the opportunity to bring many styles of classical music to regional NSW. This tour will even involve a harpsichord travelling along the coast, a delicate keyboard instrument that is not often seen outside of major cities due to its fragility.”
The Muffat Collective’s Baroque violinist, Matthew Greco, said: “We are thrilled to be working with MitR and for the opportunity to take our classical music to regional centres outside of Sydney.
“We specialise in historical performance, recreating music from the 17th and 18th Centuries on instruments such as the Baroque violin, harpsichord and fascinating viola da gamba. To say we are passionate about this style would be an understatement, and being able to share this with as many audiences and communities as possible is extremely important to us.”
At its core, Baroque music is a shared experience where the pieces played are designed to dazzle the senses and impact audiences with the full range of emotional states, called affects in the 17th and 18th century. Flirting with the limits of human desire, these rarely performed works frenetically exchange hate for love or despair for joy.
“The intimate venues along the NSW South Coast are the perfect settings to get up close and personal with not only this special form of music making, but also us as performers. We are looking forward to talking with audiences and getting to know members of the community so we can return for years to come,” Matthew said.
Leanne Joyce, River of Art Festival Chair, said: “We're thrilled to welcome MitR and The Muffat Collective this September as we celebrate regional arts in all forms. MitR will bring more than world class classical performances to Eurobodalla, including an opportunity for emerging musicians of all ages to be inspired on their creative journey and network with an independent touring organisation.
“The experience will be made more special by the venues St John's Church at Moruya and St Paul's Church at Narooma that have quite the presence and acoustics! Seats are limited, so we encourage music lovers to book now. Excitingly, the Moruya performance concludes as the gates open for Luminous: Art After Dark, so plan to spend a few hours enjoying the sights, sounds and tastes of the festival's newest and biggest event for 2022.
“The following day is the final day of the festival, and the Narooma performance brings an opportunity to spend the morning exploring the festival program in the 'land of the clear, blue water' and perhaps spot a whale from sea or shore.”
The Muffat Collective will be performing Baroque Passions at:
MORUYA - St John’s Anglican Church, Saturday 24 September at 2pm (River of Art Festival)
NAROOMA - St Paul’s Church, Sunday 25 September at 2pm (River of Art Festival)
WOLUMLA - Wolumla Memorial Hall, Thursday 29 September at 6pm
COOMA - St Paul's Anglican Church Hall, Friday 30 September at 7pm
NOWRA - Nowra School of Arts, Sunday 2 October at 2pm
For more information about The Muffat Collective’s Baroque Passions tour and to purchase tickets, please visit www.musicintheregions.com.
VIDEO: Muffat Collective | Vivaldi
Premiered Sep 6, 2020 Matthew Greco | Baroque Violin Rafael Font | Baroque Violin Marianne Yeomans | Baroque Viola Jamie Hey | Baroque Cello (Appears courtesy of The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra) Anton Baba | Baroque Cello Rob Nairn | Baroque Double Bass Anthony Abouhamad | Harpsichord Antonio Vivaldi 00:00 - Concerto for Strings in D Major RV 121 - Allegro 02:12 - Concerto for Violin and Two Cellos in C Major RV 156 - Largo 05:44 - Cello Concerto in G Minor RV 417 - Allegro The group’s namesake Georg Muffat (c.1653-1704) was a composer, a professor of rhetoric and a traveller who sought to unite different styles and musical tastes to ‘Make perfection in music’. The Muffat Collective’s historically informed performances on period instruments engage contemporary audiences with the drama, exuberance and grandeur of the Baroque style. After completing his studies at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music Jamie Hey joined the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra in 1995, becoming principal cellist in 2002. Jamie is also a founding member of the ensemble Chacona who research and perform works by the Italian Baroque composer Alessandro Scarlatti.
