Ensemble La Cigale

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Thursday, November 16th, 2023
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Salt Spring Baroque is pleased to present Ensemble La Cigale. Formed in 2006 in Montreal, this early music ensemble consists of five musicians playing on period instruments. The players are Madelin Owen (director and theorbo), Sara Lackie (Baroque harp), Sari Tsuji (Baroque violin), Marie-Michel Beauparlant (Baroque cello), and Vincent Lauzer (recorders). La Cigale is known for creating programs that juxtapose formal and traditional styles, explore the links between literature and music, and bring to light little known masterpieces. For this concert they will be joined by Canadian soprano Stephanie Manias, a rising star of the North American concert stage, known for her lush voice and captivating stage presence.

Salt Spring Baroque believes that it is important to highlight music written by women composers. While most of the names familiar to us in Baroque music are male, we do know that women were writing music during this time. Much of this music has only recently being discovered, and is now finally being performed. Ensemble La Cigale will celebrate femininity with a program of Italian music of the Baroque “La grazia delle donne” (The grace of women). The program features works by master women composers: Francesca and Settima Caccini, Vittoria Aleotti and Isabella Leonarda; as well as pieces by some of the men who encouraged feminine creativity: Giulio Caccini and Antonio Vivaldi.

“Who does not know that without women, we cannot experience contentment or satisfaction in this life that is ours? A life which, if it were not for them, would be harsh, devoid of gentleness and more bestial than that of wild beasts. Who does not know that only women banish from our hearts all vile and unworthy thoughts, annoyance, misery, and those tupid melancholy which so often accompany them? »—Baldassare Castiglione, The Book of the Courtier (1528).

Tickets are available at www.saltspringbaroque.com , and at the door.