Love, Hope and Heaven on Earth with Dorothee Mields

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Wednesday, February 12th, 2025
7:00 PM to 8:30 PM

Salt Spring Baroque is starting it’s 2025 season with German soprano Dorothee Mields, Vancouver harpsichordist Alexander Weimann, and Salt Spring's Clark Saunders in “Love, Hope, and Heaven on Earth”, a fascinating programme of beautiful songs on the deeply human subjects of life and love.

The program opens with A Solis Ortus Cardine by Celius Sedulius (ca. 450) - a Gregorian chant where each verse begins with a consecutive letter of the Latin alphabet, making the poem an “abecedarius”. The programme then moves into baroque works by composers of the late 16th and early 17th centuries – including two songs by Barbara Strozzi, said to be the most prolific composer – man or woman – of printed secular vocal music in Venice in the middle of the 17th century. Clark Saunders will read texts and poetry that underscore the themes presented in the songs, including biblical texts, and poetry by Alfred Lord Tennyson, Pablo Neruda, Margaret Atwood and Billy Collins.

Dorothee Mields is one of the world’s leading interpreters of 17th– and 18th-century music and is beloved by audiences and critics alike for her unique timbre and moving interpretations. She appears regularly with the Collegium Vocale Gent, Netherlands Bach Society, L’Orfeo Barockorchester, Freiburger Barockorchester, RIAS Kammerchor, Bach Collegium Japan, Orchestra of the 18th Century, Lautten Compagney Berlin, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra Toronto, The English Concert and Klangforum Wien. She has an increasing wide discography, featuring many award-winning recordings. Her solo album La dolce vita and War & Peace — 1618:1918 with the Lautten Compagney, won the OPUS Klassik in 2019.

Alexander Weimann is one of the most sought-after ensemble directors, soloists, and chamber music partners of his generation. After traveling the world with ensembles like Tragicomedia, Cantus Cölln, the Freiburger Barockorchester, the Gesualdo Consort and Tafelmusik, he now focuses on his activities as Artistic Director of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra in Vancouver. He also teaches at the University of British Columbia where he directs UBC’s Baroque Orchestra Mentorship Programme.

More information is available at saltspringbaroque.com. Tickets available at saltspringbaroque.com and artspring.ca.