News Release:
Music researcher and performer returns to Armidale
| 9/2/04 023/04 Rosalind Halton will deliver the second New England Bach Festival Lecture on 14 February, 2004. Formerly at the University of New England and now Senior Lecturer at the University of Newcastle, Dr Halton's internationally-recognised research on the music of the 18th century is complemented by her acclaimed performances and recordings of Baroque music. Her double solo CD, The French Harpsichord (ABC Classics), received a Soundscapes recording award in 1997 and she has gone on to edit and direct previously unrecorded cantatas by Alessandro Scarlatti for ABC Classics, an undertaking greeted internationally as a major contribution to the field. Dr Halton's lecture, Bach and all that Jazz, will examine the dichotomy between what we perceive as the soundworld of the 18th century and Bach's seemingly insatiable appetite for different styles and new music technologies. Importantly, for historically informed musical performances of Bach, the speaker will ask whether the general soundworld Bach lived in was one to which he might subscribe in performances of his own compositions.
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"It is no surprise that jazz players – from Loussier to Paul Grabowsky – have been drawn to Bach," Dr Halton said. "Syncopations and richly coloured dissonances are of the essence of his music; the 'unequal' performance of small note values in French baroque style are also part of the language of jazz." During the lecture, Dr Halton will illustrate her discussion with performances using the harpsichord. Those present will also hear some new recordings of Bach's Cantatas, Keyboard Partitas and Inventions. This annual lecture is hosted by the Northern New South Wales Chapter of the Musicological Society of Australia Inc. in association with the New England Bach Festival. The lecture will be held at 3pm in the C.B. Newling Building (Old Teachers College on Mossman Street), University of New England, Armidale, Australia. Entrance is by paid admission ($10 full/$5 conc.). All proceeds will go to the Northern NSW Chapter of the MSA Inc and the New England Bach Festival. For further information, contact Jason Stoessel, 02 6771 4825, or Andrew Alter, 02 6773 6457. Additional details concerning the 2004 New England Bach Festival, 12-16 February, may be found at http://www.armidale.com/nebf/. |
