The festival, which runs from July 30 to Aug. 8, with 10 events in all
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
The classical highlight of high summer has long been Early Music Vancouver’s annual festival, which runs from July 30 to Aug. 8, with 10 events in all, exploring the theme Bach Untamed.
EMV always presents a mix of regional, national and international performers. This summer’s extra special guest is Alon Sariel, who plays mandolin and lute as well as conducting, composing, and acting as a goodwill ambassador for animal welfare. Sariel gets two showcases. First, on July 31, 7:30 p.m., he’s to be heard in Plucked Bach, a program derived from his newly released Pentatone disc and presented in the lovely plucked-instrument-friendly venue of Congregation Beth Israel. Sariel ends the festival in grand style with an evening of works with orchestra, played by EMV’s Pacific Baroque Orchestra, this time downtown at the Vancouver Playhouse, Aug. 8 at 7:30 p.m. Sariel does extra duty as a continuo player on several other programs, and will be featured in a free run-out concert at Granville Market July 27, at noon and 1 p.m.
Of course there’s lots more Bach, including motets in the program Vanish! Spirits of Gloom on Aug. 6, 7:30 p.m., Christ Church Cathedral. Also at the Cathedral, same time, next day, it’s Bach & French Flair! featuring works by Telemann, Rameau, and J.S. Bach for the very eighteenth century combo of flute, violin, viola da gamba, keyboard and violin. An added bonus is a pre-concert chat by EMV Artistic Director Suzi LeBlanc, half an hour before concert time.
It wouldn’t be a festival without a few surprises and extras. The opening concert is an fusion matinee, Vocal Landscapes of India and Italy, July 30 at 1 p.m., featuring British tenor Charles Daniels and Vancouver’s own Shruti Ramani, who combines Hindustani vocal tradition with contemporary jazz. Then there’s a showcase for up and coming Canadian talent with cellist Cameron Crozman and pianist Meagan Milatz. The Early Romantics is a 1 p.m. matinee Aug. 6, with music by Beethoven, his D major Sonata, opus 102 for piano and cello, Robert Schumann’s Five Pieces in Folk Style, and Mendelssohn’s second Cello Sonata. The added draw here is a chance to get to know EMV’s recently made Graf-style fortepiano, built by Paul McNulty. Both programs are at Christ Church Cathedral.
Is there anyone still labouring under the misapprehension that early music is a refined and dryly academic proposition? Check out the Fox Cabaret Aug. 2, 7:30 p.m., for Banned From The Concert Hall, a bawdy night of dirty drinking songs — and worse — featuring a trio of tenors, Benjamin Butterfield, Isaiah Bell, and Timothy Carter, with Mark McDonald on harpsichord. Tellingly, no under-19s allowed.
Music doesn’t come much grander than the works of Giovanni Gabrieli and his contemporaries. Immortal Gods, How Great a Man! on July 30, 7:30 p.m. at Christ Church Cathedral, is an introduction to the sounds of the early baroque with cornetto virtuoso — and EMV favourite — Bruce Dickey directing.