Byrd and Frescobaldi
Modern Dance and Early Baroque
Byrd–Frescobaldi
Anna Mustonen, dance
Marianna Henriksson, harpsichord
During this concert the receivers of the governmental performing arts prize anno 2018 will perform, the harpsichordist Marianna Henriksson and the choreographer Anna Mustonen.
William Byrd’s (c. 1540-1623) and Girolamo Frescobaldi’s (1583-1643) harpsichord pieces will be heard side by side in this concert. The turn of the century from the 17th to the 18th is often seen as the turn from the “old” to the “new”. In music this can mean e.g. the transition of emphasis from the carefully structured polyphony to the rhetoric monidia being the emotional and speaking solo songs. Byrd’s and Frescobaldi’s pieces reflect this turning point. The piece by Byrd takes the forms of the renaissance dances and you can even hear the cosmos with its planets and their eternally movements; in Frescobaldi’s toccatos the harpsichord speaks a humanlike language and the ambiance is somewhat willing and vast. The power of the music is the same for both the universe and humankind: it puts movement into both celestial bodies and body liquids.
During the times of the birth of the early baroque music people thought that the human voice is a substance that with the help of air and vibrations affects the body and modifies the liquid balances in the body. In Henriksson’s and Mustonen’s collaboration they are searching for a way to get these ideas of music to both be seen and felt. Both listening to and playing music can come out as dancing.
In addition to the concert the audience also has the chance to try these musical influences from the 17th century combined with dancing together with Mustonen and Henriksson during the workshop “Listening with your body and early baroque” which will be held on October 2 at 6 pm at the parish house of the German Church.
Duration: 1 h (no intermission)
See the full list of special arrangements during the times of Covid-19 here.