This weekend offers up three events within the Valletta International Baroque Festival.
Atys en folie is a parody with puppets of Jean-Baptiste Lully’s opera. It is performed by the Centre Musique Baroque de Versailles using marionettes and featuring live singers and musicians.
The centre is a place for the study and performance of French baroque music, based at the Palace of Versailles. It was founded by Philippe Beaussant and Vincent Berthier de Lioncourt in 1988. An adult choir and children’s choir (Les Chantres and Les Pages respectively) were added in the following two years.
Especially appealing to a younger audience, performances are being held today at 4.30pm and tomorrow at the Manoel Theatre at 6.30pm. Tickets are available at a special price for those aged six to 17 years.
Also today at 7.30pm at the Ta’ Ġieżu church is Cantatas for the Soul featuring compositions by Johann Cristoph Bach and Johann Sebastian Bach. The Dunedin Consort perform in this concert.
Founded in 1995, the group is named after Din Eidyn, the ancient Celtic name of Edinburgh Castle. Under the musical direction of John Butt, the ensemble has established itself as the leading Scottish baroque ensemble, performing at the nation’s major festivals and around the world.
In addition to performing bar-oque and classical repertoire and researching historical performance, the ensemble has commissioned and performed works by numerous contemporary composers, including William Sweeney, Errollyn Wallen, Peter Nelson and Sally Beamish.
John Irving takes centre stage tomorrow for a concert on Bach and the Spirit of the Dance. He will be performing the composer’s French Suites, numbers 1, 3, 4 and 6.
Recently described as “one of the foremost exponents of the period piano in the UK”, Irving is an established performer on early keyboards (notably fortepiano, harpsichord and clavichord), specialising in music of the 18th century.
His performances on fortepiano challenge traditional expectations of the piano repertoire of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, going beyond the notated texts into an improvisatory mode of creative engagement with the score that recaptures performance expectations in the 18th century.
Irving is currently professor of performance practice at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, London, having previously been professor of music at Bristol University and subsequently Director of the Institute of Musical Research at London University.
This concert is taking place at the National Library at 12.30pm.
■ For more information and tickets, visit vallettabaroquefestival.com.mt. The festival runs until January 28 and this space will carry information on daily events throughout.