Quinte Arts Council and Jeunesses Musicales of Canada present

Les portes de paris

A rare opportunity to see and hear this trio of exceptionally talented musicians perform music from the French Baroque era on period instruments - harpsichord, flute and viola de gamba.

Thursday, October 2, 2008
The Ritchie Room in Capers Brasseries & Wine Bar

272 Front St., Belleville, ON
Cocktails at 6:30, Concert at 7:30 pm

Les Portes de Paris bring Baroque-era France to Belleville
Enter into an evening in Paris

by Gabrielle_Loesch

On October 2, The Quinte Arts Council and Jeunesses Musicales of Canada will proudly present Les Portes de Paris, a concert with an original repertoire of 17th and 18th century Baroque music from France. The performance will be held in the Richie Room at Capers Brasserie and Wine Bar in Belleville. This intimate setting is perfectly suited for the period instruments played by the musical trio composed of Anne Thivierge on the Baroque concert flute, Mélisande Corriveau on the viola da gamba, and Olivier Fortin on the harpsichord.

With their dedicated passion for this era, these young musicians from Quebec, will transport you back to the elegance of a French salon and the emotional fluctuations of a period during which many rules were broken, as is illustrated by the various meanings of the word Baroque: expressive dissonance, elaborate ornamentation, extravagance, complexity, distortion, and strangeness in proportions.

The Baroque era of music found its place between the Renaissance and the Classical era (1600-1750). The three pillars of Baroque music are the well known composers: Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) and George Frideric Handel (1685-1759).

The following may have contributed to this particular style of music and, therefore, help explain its rich complexity: the need to ornament the vocal lines of eunuch singers, in order to show off their dynamic range; the rising importance of the Opera House as the social place to be, for the wealthiest families of Europe; and an increased desire by the royal courts of Europe to educate and refine themselves.

Anne Thivierge is a graduate of the University of Montreal’s Faculty of Music and the Brussels Koninklijk Conservatorium in Belgium. She will play the Baroque concert flute which, during the Baroque period, was a re-designed transverse flute. Now often called the traverso (from the Italian), it was made in three or four sections, or joints, with a conical bore from the head joint down. The conical bore design gave the instrument a wider range and a more penetrating sound, without sacrificing its softer, expressive qualities.

Mélisande Corriveau is also a graduate of the University of Montreal’s Faculty of Music where she completed a Master’s in bass viol (also called the viola de gamba) performance. Her instrument is a bowed string instrument similar to the cello. It first appeared in Europe in the late 15th century and subsequently became one of the most popular Renaissance and Baroque instruments. Historically, the viol has many shapes and sizes. By the 16th century, a standard shape for the viol emerged with broad ribs, sloping shoulders and a fairly flat, fretted neck. The 20th century has seen a renewed interest for this instrument because of its authentic performance of early music.

Olivier Fortin has been awarded a prize with distinction at the Quebec Music Conservatory. He furthered his studies with Dom André Laberge and Réjean Poirier at the University of Montreal’s Faculty of Music. His instrument, the harpsichord, is played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when each key is pressed. The harpsichord was most probably invented in the late Middle Ages and became widely used in Baroque music. In the late 18th century, it was supplanted by the piano and it almost disappeared. However, starting in the middle of the 20th century, ideas about harpsichord making underwent major changes, when builders sought to re-establish the building traditions of the Baroque period. Instruments of this type dominate the current scene.

The doors of the Richie Room (at Capers Brasserie and Wine Bar, 272 Front St., downtown Belleville) will welcome guests at 6:30 p.m. You will be treated to delectable hors d’oeuvres that have been specially prepared for the event by Capers, as well as a cash bar.  The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Gabrielle Loesch is a French citizen from France and a newcomer to our area. She is a painter as well as a writer, a member of the Belleville Art Association, the Quinte Arts Council and the co-founder of the Write Way, a writers group that meets monthly at the Belleville Public Library. Gabrielle was raised around the world in Europe, Asia, Africa, the South Pacific and the U.S. We welcome her multi-talented skills in Marketing and Public Relations as well as her multi-cultural background and exposure.

Tickets: $30 includes concert, hors d'oeuvres and cash bar.

The Quinte Arts Council will also present a special one-hour afternoon performance for students at 1 p.m. in the auditorium at Centennial Secondary School (160 Palmer Rd., Belleville).  This student performance is for students in grades 5 to 8 and is free of charge.  Schools can contact the QAC to book their seats.