Young Chang
Like a flock of birds flying South for the winter, Baroque music
lovers will gravitate to Corona del Mar this week for the 21st annual
Baroque Music Festival, starting Sunday.
Organist Andrew Arthur flew in from London on Thursday. Vocal soloists
are expected from the East Coast. Orchestra members will travel from San
Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles.
Of course, the festival's singers are local, but the amount of travel
required for such events is typical and also a sign of the times, Arthur
said.
"It shows a sheer lack of Baroque musicians," he said. "It's rare in
the States, but more common in England."
Through June 24, a good batch of them will gather at St. Michael and
All Angels Church and the Sherman Library & Gardens to celebrate the
sounds of period instruments -- such as violins stringed with sheep's gut
instead of steel -- and the rare breed of contemporary yet Baroque
musicians.
The repertoire includes music from the 17th and 18th centuries from
Italy, France and Germany, as well as 20th century pieces inspired by
Bach, said Burton Karson, the artistic director, conductor and founder of
the festival.
Guest performers include bassoonist Michael O'Donovan, harpsichord
player Gabriel Arregui and baritone Christopher Lindbloom.
"I started it because nothing was happening in Corona del Mar and at
that time everyone was driving from Newport Beach to Los Angeles to hear
concerts, except for the few given in Santa Ana," Karson said. "There was
nothing that grew out of this area and performed out of this area."
The festival will open Sunday with Vivaldi's concertos for strings and
orchestra and a Poulene concerto for organ, strings and timpani,
performed in part by Arthur.
He rehearsed in an empty St. Michael's sanctuary for an hour and a
half Thursday to "sort out" what was new and familiar on the church's
organ. The one he plays back home is a "four-manual," about five or six
times bigger than the one in Newport Beach.
"It takes some getting used to," the 26-year-old said. "But I think
[the festival] is fantastic."
A Baroque music fan since the age of six, Arthur said it's the style
he finds most interesting and "emotionally charged."
He will also perform at a Baroque music festival at Carmel before he
heads back home.
"It's nice to play in different places," Arthur said.
Looking up at a sunny Southern California sky, he added, "and compared
to London, I'd rather be here any day of the year."
Karson said the intimacy of Sherman Gardens and St. Michael's adds to
