Following a sold-out opening night performance at this year’s Castlemaine State Festival, acclaimed early music ensemble Genesis Baroque will return to Castlemaine this week with an intimate new concert, The Directors’ Cut.
Founded in 2018, Genesis Baroque brings together some of Australia’s leading historically informed musicians, performing dynamic and engaging programs on period instruments across Melbourne and regional Victoria. The ensemble is known for its imaginative approach to music of the 17th and 18th centuries, while also exploring later Classical and Romantic repertoire through historically informed performance.
Led by violinist and artistic director Jennifer Kirsner, the ensemble has built a reputation for vibrant, emotionally rich performances and for championing Australian musicians and soloists. Their debut recording of Arcangelo Corelli’s Concerti Grossi Opus 6 debuted as the highest-selling Australian album on the ARIA Classical Album Charts and received widespread critical acclaim.
Kirsner said the upcoming Castlemaine concert marked an important milestone for the ensemble.
“The Castlemaine concert on June 13 is our first self-presented performance in Castlemaine, after a sell-out opening night performance at the Castlemaine State Festival in March,” she said.
The concert will feature Kirsner on baroque violin alongside harpsichordist and principal music director Donald Nicolson, baroque violinist Meg Cohen, Woodend-based baroque cellist Edwina Cordingley, and acclaimed baroque harpist Hannah Lane.
According to Kirsner, the program is deeply personal to the ensemble.
“It’s a really personal program of pieces that Donald and I particularly love, from all over Europe — really an introduction to us as a band, and an introduction to the type of music that we love to perform most as an artistic team,” she said.
Audiences can expect a colourful and accessible selection of baroque dance and folk-inspired music from England, Spain, Italy and France, alongside a strikingly inventive work by Bohemian composer Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber.
“There are baroque dance and folk tunes from England, Spain, Italy and France, as well as the most incredible piece by Biber which is really wild and improvisatory,” Kirsner said. “It’s particularly beautiful and really accessible music for people who may not have experienced this style of music before.”
Kirsner said the ensemble was deeply moved by the warm reception they received in Castlemaine earlier this year and hoped to make the region a regular touring destination.
“We attracted a capacity audience at the Town Hall, which was a truly heartwarming experience and we were incredibly touched to be invited,” she said. “We are hoping to make Castlemaine one of our regular touring destinations, and would love to build our audience and connection there.”
The Directors’ Cut will be performed at Christ Church Castlemaine on Saturday June 13.
Tickets are available at events.humanitix.com/the-directors-cut-castlemaine