The Thirty Years’ War, during the first half of the 17th century, was a period of intense political and religious upheaval in Europe, which claimed the lives of millions of soldiers and civilians due to conflict and famine. However, it was also a time of artistic flourish.
“Somehow, the music that came out of that implies how great art can grow out of terrible things, and how art and music can exemplify the best in humanity, when daily life doesn’t necessarily do the same thing,” says Pacific Baroque Festival artistic director Marc Destrubé, speaking about the upcoming 21st Pacific Baroque Festival.
Destrubé says that as a form of catharsis, music can express a rich tapestry of emotions, even within a single piece.
“Like any art, music tends to follow along a path, stylistically, and those sorts of upheavals give life and a lot of freedom to composers to set off in new directions and experiment and try new things,” he says. “I think it inspires and really delves into the depths of the human soul, and how one expresses emotion through music, and I suppose that despair, and ultimate joy, can all be reflected through music. Sometimes I think what’s maybe most extraordinary about music is, as an artist, you can reflect conflicting emotions at the same time, or different subtleties of emotion in one piece of music, and that’s a special quality.”
This year’s festival—Peace, Friendship and Joy: Music from the German Baroque—focuses on the three musicians in Johannes Voorhout’s painting Allegory of Friendship: Johann Reinken, Dietrich Buxtehude, and Johann Thiele, whose music revitalized Hamburg as a centre of music during the Thirty Years’ War. This music illustrates not the horror and pain of war, but how strife can bring people together in a desire for peace and unity.
“I should say that the Peace program [in the Festival] also has a lot of tragic music, because it reflects the yearning for peace amongst the composers writing in that program, so a lot of the text simply reflects the yearning of the artists and musicians hoping for peace in the horrors of war,” says Destrubé. “Music, or any art, follows a course, and it develops experimentation and new styles, but it’s always in some way reflective of the time when it’s created, and I would say times of hardship, conflict, or great prosperity as well, can inspire a great deal of very rich artistic expression.”
For those who are inexperienced with classical music, Destrubé considers the baroque period to be the most accessible, with brighter, more energetic pieces that are quite short compared to many classical works, and with aspects that resemble some modern music. The festival, which spans a week, features six concerts played at local venues, including the Christ Church Cathedral and the Alix Goolden Performance Hall. A variety of string, wind, and organ music will be accompanied by the vocal talents of soprano Dorothee Mields, and features a finale of choral evensong by the Christ Church Cathedral Choir.
The choice of venue has a great effect on the perception of the music, says Destrubé, because the acoustic resonance flavours the music in the same way that the quality of light enhances visual art.
“If you look at a painting in poor light, you don’t see its best aspects,” he says, “and a good acoustic for musical instruments is the same thing—it brings out the best in the music for people to hear it.”
Pacific Baroque Festival
Various times,
Tuesday, February 18 to Sunday, February 23
Various prices and venues
pacbaroque.com/2025-festival-program