Earlymusic festival starts

meets Sergey Khodnev

The Earlymusic festival is one of those actually quite a few seasonal events that can be presented to everyone as a patent. They say, of course, here and there with our academic musical life not everything is enviable, but in some places we manage to reach the highest international standards. In part, this is even amazing: both in the sense of performing culture and in the sense of public taste, Russian authenticism is still walking under the table, and yet the organizers of Earlymusic manage to quite successfully hold festivals year after year, which in terms of level are quite worthy of Western European venues where They have long been accustomed to all this. On the other hand, why be surprised: the educationally-minded festival is right, in the form of some kind of “revolution from above”, bringing to Russia celebrities from the workshop of ancient music, whose big names the local public often hears for the first time - but, having heard, they remember with special zeal.

This year's festival poster turned out to be perhaps the richest in the last five years, if we evaluate both the degree of respectability of the invited musicians and the schedule of concert events in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Yekaterinburg and Perm. It is worth noting that three of these participants will limit themselves to concerts in St. Petersburg - this is where Earlymusic will begin this year. This is, firstly, the wonderful French ensemble Le Poeme Harmonique, masterfully combining in its style Gallic sensitive grace and Mediterranean cheerfulness (September 16, Small Philharmonic Hall). Secondly, Organum is a renowned French choral ensemble specializing in archaeological research in the field of ancient European church music (for example, now - at a concert in the Maltese Chapel on September 18 - Christmas carols from the times of the first crusades, created in the French Duchy of Aquitaine, will be heard) . Thirdly, the legendary harpsichordist Gustav Leonhardt, a mentor for several generations of authentic musicians (September 24, Small Hall of the Philharmonic).

No less spectacular events will unfold later, in early October, also capturing Moscow (and sometimes regional cities). The not very popular Italian ensemble Musica Antiqua Roma will be presented as the next discovery; The famous English countertenor Michael Chance will give concerts together with the ensemble "Soloists of Catherine the Great". Almost the main specialists in early Baroque wind instruments from the Concerto Palatino ensemble will present an unusual program of sacred music of the 17th century for bass and winds. Finally, with his own ensemble Hesperion XXI, the living emblem of authentic performance and, one might say, the patriarch of this movement - the Spanish gamblist and conductor Jordi Savall - will visit St. Petersburg and Moscow.

But the real finale of the festival - albeit somewhat delayed - should be one of the most high-profile events in its history. Earlymusic will finally show in Russia a long-prepared project - an authentic production of the opera "Boris Godunov", composed in 1710 by Johann Mattheson, Handel's friend and teacher. However, more about this rarity in due time: the St. Petersburg premiere of the opera is scheduled for October 26, and the Moscow premiere for November 2.

The youth of authenticism