Salut! Baroque Presents Cultural Journeys

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 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.

Works by Antonio Vivaldi, Charles Henri De Blainville, Marion Campbell, Mateo Romero, Jan Josef Ignác Brentner, Nicola Matteis, Dmitrie Cantemir, Johann Heinrich Schmelzer, Luigi Rodolfo Boccherini, Johann Vierdanck, Nathaniel Gow, Georg Philipp Telemann.