Baroque Unbound Tour, bound for Blenheim, opens ears to chamber classics
Cellist Tomas Hurnikreturns to Blenheim on Thursdayin a sextet of Baroque virtuosos. Photo: Chucky Najman.
When the Baroque Unbound Tour reaches a city on the South Island, such as Blenheim on Thursday, the virtuoso musicians make an early visit to the venue for an unusual reason.
The harpsichord, predecessor of the piano and a staple of classical chamber music, needs time to acclimatise.
The sextet then can check into accommodations and shake off the travel, but not for too long. Soon, it’s back to the theatre or church to rehearse with all the instruments and contour their seating arrangement to suit the acoustics.
Under the auspices of the Baroque Music Community and Educational Trust of New Zealand, established by cellist Tomas Hurnik in 2015, the Baroque Unbound Tour comprises 10 concerts ringing the island from Timaru back around to Christchurch.
Marlborough marks the second-to-last show. The total time span is 13 days.
The program set for St Andrews Presbyterian Church is the same as Wednesday night at Nelson Christ Church Cathedral, like each performance before and after.
This is not due to limited choices – “The list is endless,” Tomas said of the baroque catalogue – but rather the brevity of the timeline. The musicians had just a week together for rehearsals before opening on 9 February.
“The leader is the violinist from Hungary [Szabolcs Illes]; we’ve known each other for 25 years,” explained Tomas, a Czech who became a Kiwi two decades ago. “Usually, we have a harpsichordist from the Czech Republic [Edita Keglerova], but sadly she got ill before Christmas, so Bethany Angus [from Wellington] jumped in at the last minute.
“It was a little bit nerving, but everything is OK now.”
The soloist spotlight this tour shines on Czech flutist Julie Brana, also playing the recorder. Two New Zealanders – Sara Kadas on viola and Rakuto Kurano on violin – round out the group.
Their program starts with Telemann, moves to Vivaldi and Albicastro, then culminates with Bach. For Marlburians unfamiliar with this music, Tomas said he would “encourage them to be bold enough to try it if they’ve never heard it. They will be surprised how beautiful the music is.”