Now in its 16th year, the Sackville Festival of Early Music is back to bring us two concerts, taking place on September 25th and 26th. But this year, they are skipping the stage and taking to the internet.
Due to current public health restraints, the festival’s 2020 edition will be held entirely online via live-streamed performances. Starting at 7:30 p.m. on September 25th, and then again at the same time on the 26th, the festival will host many musicians who will perform Renaissance, Baroque and Early Classical music, all free of charge.
“We are delighted to be offering a safe, socially-distanced concert experience for early music enthusiasts in the Sackville community, and globally via the internet, while still ensuring a rich and varied program,” says Festival Artistic Director Linda Pearse. “We are proud to be meeting the challenge of this unprecedented moment in partnership with our outstanding 2020 Festival artists and our generous supporters.”
Following the streams, the performances will be available for playback for 48 hours, so those who miss the initial screenings can still catch the music. Concert links will be posted on the festival’s website and social media accounts as well as emailed to its mailing list.
Friday’s concert will include performances by the Granby and Quebec-based ensemble l’Harmonie des Saisons (Harmony of the Seasons). In addition, the show will feature a program entitled Intimate Music for the King’s Chamber, consisting of tenor singer Philippe Gagné, viola da gambist Mélisande Corriveau and harpsichordist Eric Milnes, who will be performing works by composers from the court of Louis XIV.
Saturday’s concert will feature TENET Vocal Artists, who are presenting Heavenly Queens, a celebration of music by, for and about early Italian women in music.
The TENET Vocal Artists will also be performing a recently discovered work by Francesco Gasparini: “Mass for Five Treble Voices,” which was published in 2019 and has not yet been recorded.
For more information on the 2020 Sackville Festival of Early Music, including artist profiles and complete concert program details, please visit the festival’s website HERE.
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