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Ensemble Caprice have in the past 20 years become one of Canada's leading early music groups. Winner of the 2009 JUNO award for best classical recording of the year with their CD Gloria! Vivaldi's Angels, they have thilled audiances throughout Canada and the USA. Under the artistic direction of Matthias Maute and Sophie Larivière, Ensemble Caprice is renowned for its innovative interpretations of baroque music. Originally formed in Germany in 1989 and now based in Montreal, the ensemble continues to give concerts in Europe and has appeared at the Vlaanderen Festival in Bruges, Belgium, the Netwerk-­‐Reihe of the Organisatie voor Oude Muziek in The Netherlands, the International Recorder Symposium in Stuttgart, the Recorder Festival in Stockstadt, and the Early Music Rencontres in Heidelberg. In 2005, the ensemble made its U.S. debut in the Boston Early Music Festival concert series and has subsequently appeared in many parts of America, with additional tours of Israel and Taiwan. Closer to home in Canada, the ensemble has its own concert series at Redpath Hall in Montreal and was recently nominated for the Conseil québécois de la musique's prestigious Prix Opus award in three different categories, including best early music concert and CD. A new recording featuring the music of Fux, Caldara and Badia was released in June 2007. Ensemble Caprice’s most recent recording project, for the Analekta label, focuses on a unique, anonymous collection of early gypsy music (1730) from Eastern Europe and works by Vivaldi. Matthias Maute has achieved an international reputation as one of the finest recorder and baroque flute players of his generation and as a composer. In 1990, he won First Prize in the soloist category at the prestigious Early Music Competition in Bruges, Belgium. Mr. Maute is also esteemed for his artistic direction of Ensemble Caprice, for whom he produces ingenious and fascinating programs. The ensemble has appeared at several major venues in Europe, North America, Taiwan and Israel. In addition to his work with Ensemble Caprice, Mr. Maute is invited to appear as a soloist at important festivals in Europe and the United States, as well as with the baroque ensemble Rebel. In 2003 and 2005, he was the featured recorder virtuoso at the Boston Early Music Festival and he will make his debut at New York City’s Lincoln Center in December 2008. His compositions hold an important place in the world of contemporary recorder music and are published by Breitkopf & Härtel, Amadeus, Moeck and Carus. Mr. Maute has made twenty recordings on the Analekta, Vanguard Classics, Bella Musica, Dorian, Bridge and Atma Classique labels. He is a professor at McGill University in Montreal. Sophie Larivière has been a member of Ensemble Caprice since 1997 and is the Artistic Co-­‐Director. In this capacity, she helps to enrich the creative direction of the ensemble in its quest for musical discoveries that blend virtuosity with expressivity. With Ensemble Caprice, Ms. Larivière has appeared in numerous concerts, in particular in Israel (Tel Aviv and the Mediterranean Arts Festival), Europe (Vienna, Berlin, and Stuttgart), the United States (Chicago, Los Angeles and the Boston Early Music Festival) and Canada (Edmonton, Grande Prairie and a Debut Atlantic tour). A facile and eloquent performer, Ms. Larivière is invited regularly to appear with such early music ensembles as the Arion Ensemble, the Opéra de Montréal, Le Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, La Nouvele Sinfonie, the Theatre of Early Music, Rebel (New York), Les Violons du Roy (Quebec), the New York Collegium Musicum and Le Concert Spirituel (Paris). Ms. Larivière has made recordings on the Analekta, Virgin Classics, Atma Classique, Antes Edition and Interdisc labels.

Susie Napper was awarded Quebec’s “Personality of the Year” Prix Opus in 2002. She is the founder and Artistic Director of the Montreal Baroque Festival. Having grown up in an artistic milieu in London, she then studied at the Juilliard School in New York and later at the Paris Conservatory. Since then, Ms. Napper has appeared with several internationally-­‐known early music ensembles, such as the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Stradivaria in France, the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, the Trinity Consort of Portland, Tafelmusik, Ensemble Caprice and the viola da gamba duo Les Voix Humaines. Her concert tours have taken her as far afield as China, Japan, New Zealand, India, the Middle East, Europe and North America. Ms. Napper’s recordings, which include most of the known repertoire for two viols, can be heard on the Harmonia Mundi, EMI, Erato, ADDA, CBC Records, Naxos, Analekta and most notably on the Atma Classique labels. Ziya Tabassian began playing the tombak at the age of eleven. He began his formal training in Iran, pursuing his studies with Master Tehrani's method. In Canada, he studied classical percussion with Julien Gregoire at the University of Montreal and later returned to Iran to continue his training with M. Bahman Rajabi. Ziya is an active member of Constantinople, which he co-­‐founded with his brother Kiya Tabassian. In addition to Ensemble Caprice he has collaborated with the Kronos Quartet, the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, En Chordais, and the Studio de musique ancienne de Montreal. His solo CD, entitled TOMBAK was recently released on the Ambiances Magnetiques label. David Jacques was born in Saint-­‐Georges de Beauce, Quebec in 1978 and has a Doctorate in the interpretation of early music from the Université de Montréal. He began his studies of classical guitar at the Cégep de Sainte-­‐Foy, continuing at Université Laval and later at the Québec Conservatory. He has recorded more than 15 CDs on the XXI-­‐21, ATMA and Analekta labels and collaborated on numerous other productions. His Pièces de guitarre de Mr Rémy Médard(Productions XX-­‐21) won the Conseil Québécois de la Musique’s 2008 Prix Opus Disc of the Year award in the early music category. David has also published several arrangements for guitar for Les Productions d'OZ. Active both in Canada and internationally, he has performed over 2000 concerts in 30 countries on all five continents. He is currently Professor of Classical Guitar at Université Laval and the Cégep de Sainte-­‐Foy and is frequently invited by other musical organizations to give master classes and workshops.

zzling'sOia­Choanœ.7:30.}a rov·. Hercbelrin antriverat7.ClilltC'J N0rE80()1(CAPI\ICIOUS BACHHardly a mon th goes bywithout a new renditionofBach's BrandenburgConcertos arriving in thevirtual space where recordstores used to be. A versionby the Montreal-basedgroup Ensemble Caprice,on the Analekta label, standsrapheri-malend, toR playgwa,"othebytheaeroaïdof0.)DEASvalin·thlo­:stival.au dl·Ua6oougbienœsown:-e evelayedspaœnitiese St.,.}Phil­~8 hisnix ofy bal·ra relyubiqnbinedirec­inGi­•• livea ne er,nyinglandpres·1d thene27lhetic:romparty.Uletteareth:>frers110rk:sman,(509at 8.}icselinistout not only for its fleet,characterful approach butalso for its startling choiceto intermingle Bach'smasterpieces with Baroquestylearrangements of sevenpreludes and fugues byDmitri Shostakovich.These 1ast are the workof the group's leader,Matthias Maute, who findsfresh, vibrant colors inShostakovich's outwardlydoleful music. There's astrong philosophical pointbehind the endeavor, asMaute explains in themagazine Early MusicAmerica: given that weroutinely adapt the musicof the past for modeminstruments, why notreverse the equation? Asyou listen, you imagine atime machine that hassomehow transportedShostakovich's Bachianpieces to the messy desk ofBach himself, who, pUZ7.ledbut intrigued, tries them outwith his orchestra in Cëthen.He li.lœs what he hears.- Alex&$$

MusicExploring Bach for His Gypsy SideBill BlackstoneThe Ensemble Caprice, top, is coming to New York for the concert “Bach and the Bohemian Gypsies” at the Miller Theater.By Michael BeckermanPublished: November 6, 2009SO this musicologist wants to establish that thefinale of Haydn’s last symphony (No. 104) is basedon a folk song. He goes into the fields, finds a groupof peasants and calls them over: “Hey, do you guysknow this tune? Dee-da-dah, dee-da-dah, duh-duhda-ta-daduh-dah.” The peasants shrug theirshoulders: never heard it before, sorry.Twenty years later another musicologist comes by,finds the same group of peasants and says, “Hey,lads, sing me your favorite song.” The peasants lookknowingly at one another and start, “Dee-da-dah,dee-da-dah ... .” The musicologist concludes thatHaydn’s finale is definitely based on folk music.Bill Blackstone Monumenta Musica Slovaca Facsimile IA section of the Uhrovska Manuscript of 1730, which the ensemblesuggests can be connected to works by Bach.Such are the vagaries and pitfalls of writing history.The past happened long ago and mostly far away.Reconstructing it even from meticulously preservedand ordered documents is a feat that requires thegreatest skill, enormous luck and endless stamina,and it is usually at least half wrong anyway. So howcan we recover the vanished past from invisibletraces left by an oral tradition? Matthias Maute, aGerman recorder and flute virtuoso and composer,and the Ensemble Caprice offer tantalizingpossibilities in “Bach and the Bohemian Gypsies,” aconcert to take place at the Miller Theater atColumbia University on Saturday evening.The approach taken by the ensemble, founded inGermany in 1989 and now based in Montreal, isprovocative, first because its primary source hoversweightlessly between the written and oral traditions.For at the core of the group’s repertory, among theconcertos of Vivaldi, Telemann and Bach, arearrangements of pieces from the astonishingUhrovska Manuscript. Created in 1730 andrediscovered only in the mid-20th century, thiscollection of almost 350 pieces features single-lineviolin melodies in several hands that represent acompendium of contemporary practices. Thekaleidoscope of tunes includes Polish dances,Hungarian songs, ballads in Slovak, mealtime ariaslabeled “Ad mensam,” marches, preludes, even aFaust ballet.In a series of vibrant performances and recordingsthe Ensemble Caprice has suggested a strongconnection between the manuscript and works byBach, Telemann and Vivaldi. Many tunes in theUhrovska Manuscript feature scales and rhythmsseemingly worlds away from the so-called standardpractice of the High Baroque and also reflect aconsiderable degree of virtuosity.

Thus the second bold stroke of the ensemble’sapproach: the assertion that the manuscript representsGypsy music-making. The group’s arrangements areimaginative, even powerful, and the playing is topflight.But there are also questions. How can we be surethat any of these composers knew the kind of musicfound in the Uhrovska collection? How would thesepieces have been performed? Should items in themanuscript be called Gypsy music at all? Finally, whatdoes it mean to market anything as Gypsy these days?The first of the Ensemble Caprice’s recordings to minethis material was “Vivaldi and the Baroque Gypsies,”for the Canadian label Analekta. (Samples can be heardon analekta.com.) The accompanying notes suggestthat Vivaldi’s Ospedale, the orphanage in Venice wherehe worked, was on the banks of the “Slavic canal,” andthey invite the reader to imagine who was likely to havewashed up there and what kind of music they mighthave played. The notes also draw attention toconnections between Vivaldi’s virtuosity as a violinistand Gypsy fiddling. But the composer was mute onthose subjects. Not all virtuosos are Gypsies, and not allGypsies are virtuosos, so the connection may be a bitfanciful.More recently Mr. Maute and the ensemble havereleased “Telemann and the Baroque Gypsies” onAnalekta, and here the link between the composer andthe oral tradition is easier to document. In 1739Telemann wrote of his time in the employ of CountErdmann von Promnitz at Sorau (now Zary, Poland)from 1705 to 1706: “When the court spent half a year inPless” — now Pszczyna, Poland — “one of Promnitz’sestates in Upper Silesia, I became acquainted, as inKrakow, with music of Poland and the Hanakia regionof Moravia in its true barbaric beauty.”“I once heard 36 Polish pipes and 8 Polish violinsplaying together,” he added. “One can hardly believewhat wonderful ideas such pipers or fiddlers have whenthey improvise while the dancers rest. In eight days anobservant person could snap up enough ideas fromthem to last a lifetime.”This echoes what Dvorak said about African-Americanmusic (and also what Brahms said about Dvorak). Inthe first few bars of the Presto from Telemann’sConcerto for Two Flutes in E minor his debt to ruralmusic making becomes abundantly clear.The case of Bach is more like that of Vivaldi, since wehave no evidence that Bach heard the kind of playingTelemann describes.The Ensemble Caprice prods us to think broadly aboutissues of moment. We tend to treat musical works astimeless products of genius, often conflating what isspecial about, say, Bach or Mozart with the soniccurrency of the age, giving the “great composers” creditfor both what is written and what has vanished. As MelBrooks would say, “It’s good to be the King.” But anyconcept of a written “high style” is incomprehensiblewithout the richness of an oral tradition alongside. Theprogramming of the Ensemble Caprice goes as far asthat of any early-music group in insisting that thesedifferent musical worlds be given equal weight,challenging listeners to hear familiar music from adifferent angle.But the question of musical Gypsies is complicated.There is no doubt that the Gypsies, who call themselvesRoma, are implicated in the Uhrovska collection insome way. There may be arguments about whetherpieces marked “Hungaricus,” of which there are 102,are Hungarian in character or whether they weresimply collected in the area designated as Hungary,and whether any of these were played or created byGypsies. But at least one piece, No. 230 in thecollection, is clearly marked “Czigan,” the Hungarianand Central European word for Gypsy.Even here nothing is certain. Does the title mean thatthe piece was played by Gypsy musicians, or could itsimply be a stylized tune, the way Polonaise suggestsPoland? The question is further complicated by thehistorical tendency of groups like Hungarians andRomanians to say things like, “We paid the Gypsies toplay our music, and now everyone calls it ‘Gypsymusic.’ ”While it probably does not make sense to give theGypsies credit for the entire spectrum of traditionalperformance, as the Ensemble Caprice does, there is acertain rough justice at work since so many have takencredit for music played and created by the Gypsies. It istime to acknowledge that at least since the 17th centurythe musical landscape of Europe and North America,the “classical” manifestations as well as the “popular,”would not be the same without the presence of Gypsies,whose voices, real and imagined, have carvedthemselves deeply into the tradition.Whatever doubts may linger about the ultimateGypsiness of the Uhrovska Manuscript or Bach’s“Italian” Concerto, the marketing concept “... and theGypsies” is ingenious.

It is a hard world out there for early-music ensemblestrying to make a living. Even if the highest quality istaken for granted, how do you sell Telemann? Themarketing of something as Gypsy music usuallyimplies an erotic blend of expressivity and virtuositythat one doesn’t always associate with, say, theGerman Baroque. It is why a composer like Brahmschose a “Gypsy Rondo” finale for his G minor PianoQuartet and why music as disparate as punk,flamenco and hip-hop are marketed as “Gypsy”:Gypsy music sells.Yet one may feel a slight discomfort about theEnsemble Caprice’s marketing strategies. For thosewho study contemporary events there is evidenceaplenty that Gypsies are in terrible straits in parts ofEurope, and some have raised fears of a holocaust.The Ensemble Caprice ought to think carefully aboutwhat it means to represent Gypsies as romantic andcarefree, as “the Bohemian Gypsies,” at a momentwhen their situation is precarious.This is especially important since the ensemble hasestablished itself as an immensely thoughtful andprogressive force on the musical scene. A group thatencourages listeners to rehear the world whilecontemplating relationships among repertories andgroups might also take the lead in demystifying theRoma.Meanwhile, though nothing is ever exactly asadvertised, the pieces the Ensemble Caprice has tooffer — traditional as well as classical — are jewelsnonetheless.A version of this article appeared in print on November 8, 2009, onpage AR25 of the New York edition.Finding BohemianInfluences in BaroqueBy Vivien SchweitzerPublished: November 17, 2009Baroque music and Gypsy tunes may seem unlikelybedfellows on a program, but Matthias Maute, artisticdirector of the period-instrument Ensemble Caprice,argues that Bach and Telemann may have beeninfluenced by itinerant musicians.In a concert called “Bach and the Bohemian Gypsies” atthe Miller Theater on Saturday evening (part of theseries Bach and the Baroque), the excellent EnsembleCaprice, founded in Germany in 1989 and now based inMontreal, offered selections from the UhrovskaCollection of 1730. This compilation, rediscovered in themid-20th century, includes almost 350 violin melodiesfrom Eastern Europe.Bach, writes Mr. Maute in the program notes, walkedgreat distances through northeastern Germany as ayoung man and might have been exposed to Gypsymusic. Telemann’s encounters with the genre are betterdocumented: he wrote of his appreciation of the“barbaric beauty” of Gypsy music in what is now Poland.Musicologists might debate the connections, but themusic making on Saturday was first rate in the group’sstriking arrangements of selections from the UhrovskaCollection. The violinist Olivier Brault offered virtuosicsolos, performing with soulful, improvisatory flair.Bach was represented by his Concerto in F (BWV 1057),with fine playing from the harpsichordist KennethWeiss, and an arrangement of the Italian Concerto byMr. Maute, who played the recorder with panache. Theprogram also featured Telemann’s Concerto in E minorfor recorder and flute, with its Gypsy-like finale, andseveral Bach polonaises.The next concert series features Trio Settecento on Dec.4 at the Miller Theater, Broadway at 116th Street,Morningside Heights; (212) 854-7799.A version of this article appeared in print on November 18, 2009, onpage C2 of the New York edition.

Review Ensemble Caprice: Soprano Dawn Bailey a highlight among featured delights2012-12-03 09:59Review Ensemble Caprice: Soprano Dawn Bailey ahighlight among featured delightsBY RICHARD TODD, OTTAWA CITIZEN DECEMBER 2, 2012Montreal’s Ensemble Caprice, under the artistic direction of Matthias Maute, presented a colourful and varied program ofChristmas-themed music from the Baroque era as celebrated in Europe, Mexico and South America.Photograph by: Bill Blackstone, The Ottawa CitizenEnsemble CapriceDominion-Chalmers ChurchReviewed: Sunday at 3:30Montreal’s Ensemble Caprice is a superb little group of musicians who not only play instrumentsmodelled after those of the Baroque era, but who do it with consummate expertise and musicality. Theirinstruments include flutes, recorders, baroque guitar, baroque cello and percussion.The “around the world” part of the program title is a little fanciful. Four continents were skipped over,but I suppose they experienced little in the way of a Baroque period. There were works from sixEuropean countries and several from Latin America.http://www.ottawacitizen.com/story_print.html?id=7641062&sponsor=Page 1 sur 2

Review Ensemble Caprice: Soprano Dawn Bailey a highlight among featured delights2012-12-03 09:59The afternoon began with Francesco Manfredini’s Sinfonia pastorale per il Santissimo Natale, aforgettable work, but a cheery way to open the program.Of the many pleasures of the afternoon, none was greater than the singing of soprano Dawn Bailey,and happily she sang a lot. She began with the aria usually called Sheep May Safely Gaze from Bach’sCantata no. 208. The two-recorder obligato was a treat as well.Following that there was a suite of European carols of which she sang several. The suite was a delightfrom beginning to end, but special mention goes to Silent Night for the simple purity of Bailey’s singingand the exquisite accompaniment by Caprice players gave one to understand why this has been themost popular carol in the world for nearly two centuries. It might be noted that Silent Night isn’t reallyfrom the Baroque; it was written in 1818. Timeless, you might say.As if to compensate, most of the set of South American pieces that followed were pre-Baroque in styleand mostly in date of composition. Although they didn’t sound radically different from their Europeanmodels, they did have moments of what I assume was a South-American sound. Once again, sopranoBailey’s numbers were the most memorable.Also outstanding were the two solo instrumental pieces that opened the second half of the concert.These were a Chaconne for solo guitar and a fantasia for recorder.Next came three Mexican items, including one, Tarará, by the not-entirely-obscure Antonio de Salazarwho lived from 1650-1715. It was a delight.One of the highlights of the afternoon was a wonderful arrangement of Corelli’s famous ChristmasConcerto, the Concerto grosso, op. 6, no. 8. The concluding Pastorale was especially beautiful in itssetting for two recorders rather than the original two violins.© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizenhttp://www.ottawacitizen.com/story_print.html?id=7641062&sponsor=Page 2 sur 2

Ensemble Caprice, early music a bluesman would get | ThirdCoast Digest2012-10-09 09:3110/09/12 / SIGN IN / CREATE ACCOUNT SearchArts & Culture > A/C Feature 3 > Ensemble Caprice, early music a bluesman would getEnsemble Caprice, early music a bluesman would getOctober 7th, 2012 | By Jonathan BrodieShareThis | (0)Comments | Archives and RSS feed for Jonathan Brodie0Like3 people like this. Be the firstof your friends.Many years ago I heard a Chicago Bluesmannamed Lefty Diz. He was scheduled to begin at 9p.m. His band was ready to go. No Lefty. Lefty’sturquoise Stratocaster, on stage and cradled in itsstand, looked lonely. At 9:15, the band startedwithout him. 9:25, still no Lefty. 9:30. The crowdgot antsy.Then a commotion from the back of the room, andthere was he was, in an purple suit and whitesuede shoes. As the band played on, he strollednonchalantly through the congregation at aleisurely pace. A sudden, vigorous leap propelledhim to the stage. He grabbed the neglectedStratocaster and produced a stupendously loudand illegible chord. It somehow fit the ongoingmusic impeccably. The audience went nuts.What does this Blues moment have to do with theEnsemble Caprice, the Canadian group that EarlyMusic Now presented Saturday night at UWM’sZelazo Center?At first blush, Lefty Diz and Ensemble Capricemight seem as close as Corsica and Cudahy. Onsecond blush, it’s more like Kenosha and Racine.Ensemble Caprice: Matthias Maute and Sophie Larivière (recorders andCaprice’s Matthias Maute and Sophie Larivièretransverso flutes), David Jacques (baroque guitar), Susie Napper(baroque cello) and Ziya Tabassian (percussion).(recorders and transverso flutes), David Jacques(baroque guitar), Susie Napper (baroque cello) andZiya Tabassian (percussion) called their show Salsa Baroque. They played 17th and 18th-century Spanish and SouthAmerican repertoire, not Chicago blues, and boxwood recorders versus a turquoise Stratocaster.But you could argue that Lefty Diz and Caprice work from the same playbook. It would read that music can be playfulas well as dramatic, can be for dancing, should fit the venue and should offer a chance to show off great chops andimagination.The goal of Ensemble Caprice, according to the program notes and Maute’s articulate onstage commentary, was toshow how the challenge and excitement of the Americas changed the music the Spaniards brought with them. TheSpanish musical forms, Tarantellas, Canarios, and Chaconnes, to name a few, could not remain static. Music thattravels never does. Native American and African influences transformed the Spanish music.Caprice let us know, from the get-go, that the concert would not be early-music conventional. It had a little Lefty Dizhttp://thirdcoastdigest.com/2012/10/ensemble-caprice-early-music-a-bluesman-would-get/Page 1 sur 3

Ensemble Caprice, early music a bluesman would get | ThirdCoast Digest2012-10-09 09:31about it. Jacques strolled in first, already playing an upbeat tune, Jacaras, on his guitar. Napper came out next andclapped out a rhythmic ostinato — and left her cello resting on stage.The clapping sent a message that carried through the concert: The world abounds with simple sounds to honor anduse.Maute and Larivière entered through the back of the house and reached stage in a stately manner (even so, theywere much faster than Lefty), and the antiphonal processional turned into an ensemble. This wandering was an aptmetaphor for the thesis of the concert. Things happen when music moves from one place to another. It made perfectsense for the performers to enter the hall as migrants.After the opening Jacaras, Caprice played another 26 pieces, in eight sets. Maute, the charismatic and witty leader,tied these sets together with a story of his own invention. Like all fine story tellers, he gave the impression that hewas improvising. The improvised spirit made its way into the musical performance as well. Divisions and variations inBaroque music were largely improvised, but then or now it’s far safer safe to practice “improvised” variations. Thatmakes the music more reliable but less spontaneous. To Ensemble Caprice’s credit, lots of improvisational musicalconversation seemed to be going on.Some tunes were quiet and melancholic, Falconieri’s La Suave Melodia, for example. Some were introspective, witheruptions of wild division playing; Ortiz’s Doulce Memoroire gave Napper quite the work-out, and she was more thanup to it. If you like ground basses, this program’s numerous chaconnes and passacaglias were for you. Capriceplayed them with cheerful rhythmic verve that reminded us that chaconnes and passacaglias have their roots indance.The question of authenticity always comes into play at early music concerts. Did the music really sound like this 400years ago? Probably not.As a learned concert-goer remarked to me, this ensemble’s lack of concern with “authenticity” made theirperformance all the more authentic. Ensemble Caprice, among many other groups in the early music movement as ithas lately evolved, have found a convincing path to authenticity by not attempting to sound 400 years old. Rather,they try to imagine how free-wheeling musicians might have thought 400 years ago. They are like 17th and 18thcentury musicians not in the sounds they make (although period instruments certainly help) but in their imaginativeapproach. Caprice took old tunes, added salsa and chutzpah and served an evening of grand entertainment.The late Lefty Diz would have understood this concert. He might have even sat in with the band.Next up for Early Music Now: The Alba Consort on Nov. 17.Don’t miss anything! Bookmark Matthew Reddin’s TCD Guide to the 2012-13 Season, sponsored by the FlorentineOpera. And each Tuesday, consult the TCD On Stage for the week’s events.Related StoriesOn Stage 10/2: Dark Theater, Light MusicEarly Music Now finishes in a Blaze of GloryFine Arts Quartet: A magical “Trout” on a Summer EveningPhilomusica’s “Goldberg”: Brains and lyrical beautyOn Stage 4/17: Tours, galleries and guests galore(0)Comments | Post Comment | Print This | Email This | Author RSS | Write to the EditorLeave a ReplyName (required)Mail (will not be published) (required)WebsiteSubmit Commenthttp://thirdcoastdigest.com/2012/10/ensemble-caprice-early-music-a-bluesman-would-get/Page 2 sur 3

Jpost | Print Article12-05-10 14:46May 10, 2012 Thursday 18 Iyyar 5772 14:45 ISTExercise Your Brain Games You Didn't Know Existed to Fight Brain Decline and Aging. www.lumosity.comScience of Opera @ McGill Understand the Science of Opera this seminar. Register online now! www.mcgill.ca/operaConcert Tickets All Shows All Venues No Service Charge www.actickets.comSalsa Baroque styleBy MAXIM REIDER10/05/2012The Exciting 17th- and 18th-century music from Spain and Latin America ina rare concert.Photo by: CourtesySalsa Baroque, performed by the Montreal-based Ensemble Caprice, is one of the most intriguing concerts inthe Felicja Blumental International Chamber Music Festival this year. On May 17 the ensemble, conducted byMatthias Maute, with soprano Shannon Mercer, will perform 17th- and 18thcentury music of Spain and LatinAmerica by composers such as Murcia, Falconieri, Ortiez, Fernandes, Zipoli and Aroujou.Speaking on the phone from Toronto, Maute, who serves as co-artistic director for Ensemble Caprice withSophie Larivière, talked about the ensemble and his own musical career and approach to music.“I initially learned recorders, which are instruments that cover the entire span from Baroque to contemporarymusic and also reflect my approach as a conductor. Least of all do I want to be associated with this or thatperiod or music style,” he says.Maute describes his 15-member ensemble as “a wonderful group of musicians to go on tour with. We have alot of colors of music to present, since our ensemble includes flutes and recorders, Baroque guitar, cello andvarious percussion instruments, which makes the performance so special.”Ensemble Caprice has been collaborating with Mercer for several years now. “What I especially appreciateabout Shannon is her incredible voice and her ability to manage a very wide repertoire, which includesRomantic, Baroque and contemporary music – in that way, being similar to my approach to music. She isblessed with a perfect sense of style. So, for example, when she sings Spanish music, she is able to give itthat special flair it demands,” says Maute.Speaking about the concert program, Maute says that “a Western music lover on the whole knows howEuropean Baroque music of that period sounds, with names like Corelli or Schutz immediately coming tomind. But here we find something different. There obviously are elements of Baroque music but also clearinfluences of other cultures, which makes it unique and colorful. We always immensely enjoy playing it, andthe audience seems to enjoy it as well, seeing it as a kind of a crossover. And indeed, here one can discernboth Italian and Spanish music, but also that of those unfortunate black slaves who were brought from Africato work in the silver mines of Latin America.”Maute, for whom this will be his second visit to Israel (he participated in Felicja Blumental Festival three yearsago), says he and his colleagues feel honored to be invited to the festival again and can’t wait for the momentthey land in Tel Aviv.Ensemble Caprice presents two programs in the same day. While the above-mentioned concert starts at 9p.m., the other one at 5:30 p.m. will serve as a sort of introduction to the world of Baroque music in Europeand Latin America.May 17 at Recanati Hall, Tel Aviv Museum of Art. For more about the festival programs:www.blumentalfestival.com. Reservations: (03) 607-7020http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=269422Page 1 sur 2