HALIFAX: As part of Musique Royale’s 37th Summer Festival, five ensembles will be on tour through July and August, featuring superb Canadian and international performers.
According to a press release issued last week by Musique Royale, audiences will get to hear Swedish singer Emma Björling, emerging baroque violinist Marie Nadeau-Tremblay, U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion Seán Heely, the Belgian and French baroque duo Curly Music, and much more, all in spectacular historic venues across the province.
Each year a new troupe of musicians feature in The Best of Boxwood concert tour, celebrating the energetic, traditional dance music of Maritime Canada, Scotland, and Ireland, Musique Royale noted. The Boxwood Festival is renowned for its inspiring, multi-generational environment of workshops and concerts centered around early and traditional music, they said, noting that the Best of Boxwood tour showcases the fruits of these collaborations across Nova Scotia.
This year, Musique Royale announced that the featured performers are Catherine McEvoy (winner of TG4 Gradam Ceol Musician of the Year in 2019), Seán Heely (a U.S National Scottish Fiddle Champion), Eamon O’Leary (the much loved Irish singer and songwriter), and Janelle Lucyk (a baroque singer).
At the heart of the group is Chris Norman, who’s brilliant and imaginative flute playing has contributed to groups as diverse as The Baltimore Consort, Skyedance, Helicon, Chatham Baroque, Concerto Caledonia, as well as Hollywood soundtracks and seven solo recordings, Musique Royale noted.
This tour will be coming to the Dundee Black River United Church on Aug. 5 at 7 p.m., according to Musique Royale.
On Aug. 10 at 7 p.m. Musique Royale said audiences at St. John’s Centre for the Arts in Arichat will hear Montreal’s Skye Consort and Swedish singer Emma Björling’s incredible “Trans-Atlantic” chamber folk music. With an intoxicating mix of whirling polskas, groovy reels, passionate love songs and breathtaking hymns, this band has enchanted audiences near and far with their unique mix of Celtic music, as well as traditional music from Quebec, Sweden and Norway and beyond, they said. With voices, fiddle, nyckelharpa, cello, and cittern, these extraordinary musicians have been called “breathtaking” by CBC Music on their recent album and Sweden’s Lira Music Magazine praised them saying “it would be hard to find something better than this,” they stated.
On Aug. 20 at 7:30 p.m. Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Johnstown will host the Aurore String Quartet made up of Jeanne-Sophie Baron violin, Daniel Dastoor violin, Ryan Davis viola, and David Liam Roberts cello.
Musique Royale said this offering highlights the music of Mozart and Haydn, the two prolific composers in Vienna who had a special friendship based on mutual admiration. They said the quartet is made up of four of Canada’s most brilliant emerging artists, each awarded a spot to participate in Barbara Hannigan’s prestigious Equilibrium Young Artist program at the Lunenburg Academy of Music and Performance the week prior to this tour. Musique Royale said it is pleased to feature their artistry across the province.
Musique Royale said the Curly Music tour features Birgit Bornauw (Belgium) on baroque bagpipes and Flemish bagpipes, and Benjamin Macke (France) performing diatonic accordion and footbass.
Two European musicians share their contagious love of music, performing baroque music, and music that “sounds like baroque, and interpreting the music freely, allowing themselves all the liberties that “real” baroque musicians would be forbidden to pursue, Musique Royale stated.
This tour will be performing on Aug. 28 at 4 p.m. at Sacred Heart Church in Johnstown, according to Musique Royale.