Arion Baroque Orchestra presents

French Connection

1642, the English Civil War. King Charles II is in exile in France at the court of his first cousin, Louis XIV. There, he discovers the music of Versailles, which enthralls him such that it will follow him back to England in 1660. Many French musicians accompany him and make London their home, inspiring English composers fascinated by Jean-Baptiste Lully. There follows a period of remarkable renewal in English music, naturally inclined to integrate novel sounds, resulting in a myriad of exciting and engaging works influenced by the mixing of styles. They reflect the open-mindedness of this cosmopolitan court that welcomes the best artists from the continent.

Artists
Arion Baroque Orchestra

Franck-Emmanuel Comte, harpsichord and direction

As artistic director of Le Concert de l’Hostel Dieu since its creation, Franck-Emmanuel Comte has conducted the ensemble in more than 1,500 concerts and 20 recordings. A regular guest in European and world capitals and several international festivals. Franck Emmanuel Comte is passionate about baroque repertoire and also for transversal or atypical artistic projects. He is artistic director of the Musicales en Auxois festival in Burgundy and of the Centre musical international J.-S. Bach of Saint Donat and teaches Baroque aesthetics at the Catholic University of Lyon.

Heather Newhouse, soprano

Canadian soprano, Heather Newhouse studied at the University of Western Ontario, Canada where she completed a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance. In 2006, she completed a Master of Music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. In 2006, she moved to France to pursue further training at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et Danse de Lyon.

In 2012 she was awarded First Prize at the Concours international de chant baroque in Froville and Second Prize at the Concours international de Mâcon. From 2011 to 2013 she was a member of the Opera Studio at the Opéra National de Lyon, working closely with Jean-Paul Fouchécourt. She performed in numerous productions: Parsifal (Blumenmädchen) directed by Kazushi Ono, Die Zauberflöte (Pamina) directed by Stefano Montanari and The Turn of the Screw (Governess) directed by Kazushi Ono.

In 2021/2022, Heather toured Folia (Merzouki) in numerous festivals and opera houses – Chekhov International Theatre Festival (Moscou), Festival dei Due Mondi (Spoleto), Opéra Berlioz, Opéra d’Avignon, Opéra de Saint Etienne – as well as the concert version Dolce Follia with Le Concert de l’Hostel Dieu. She sang Vespro della Beata Vergine de Monteverdi with Ensemble Aedes (Mathieu Romano) directed by Pablo Heras-Casado at Melk Abbey. In 2022, she was delighted to return to Montreal for a new collaboration with Arion Baroque, Mathieu Lussier, in a project that showcased baroque women composers as well as Rameau opera excerpts.

Program
Robert Cambert (1628-1677) and Louis Grabu (1665-1694) Overture, excerpt from Pomone
Matthew Locke (1621-1677) Excerpt from Psyche
Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) Excerpt from Psyché
Nicholas Lanier (1588-1666) Love’s constancy “No more shall meads”
Matthew Locke Suite from The Tempest
Pelham Humfrey (1647-1674) “Where the bee sucks”, excerpt from The Tempest
Henry Purcell (1659-1695) Excerpts from The Tempest, King Arthur, The Fairy Queen

Salle Bourgie
Friday, May 17, 2024 – 7:30pm
Saturday, May 18, 2024 – 4:00pm
Sunday, May 19, 2024 – 2:30pm

To purchase your tickets visit: www.mbam.qc.ca/en/bourgie-hall/

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