Baroquefest returns to Canowindra this month, with five concerts planned across three days and the finale already booked out.
“Love, loss and bedlam” is the theme of the annual festival, in its 10th year, with a program artfully curated by Jenny Eriksson.
Festival president Richard Statham says the festival, which grew out of a long-standing annual tour by David Miller from the Sydney Conservatorium, had come a long way in the 10 years since it was formed.
Visitors travel from Canberra, the Blue Mountains, Southern Highlands, Sydney and Melbourne – even New Zealand.
This year, artists including The Marais Project, HIP Company, countertenor Russell Harcourt and Doublinszky and Price all converge on Canowindra for this very special event, from Friday 19 September to Sunday 21 September.
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The series of concerts will feature the most varied program yet, from the pre-baroque composers of Frescobaldi and Monteverdi, you will journey through Bach, Handel, the ‘Mad Songs’ of Henry Purcell, Swedish folk tunes, new works by modern Australian composers Alice Chance and Susie Bishop.
This year’s festival opens on the Friday night at All Saints Anglican Church, with The Marais Project performing with guest artist Russell Harcourt in “Light and darkness, love and loss”.
The repertoire includes duets by Handel and arias by Bach, Monteverdi and Frescobaldi.
Wild Iris Vineyard is the venue for lunch on Saturday, with The Marais Project presenting “The fantastical life of Daniel Solander: Australia’s first Swede”.
Solander was a Swedish naturalist who arrived on the Endeavour in 1770 under James Cook and this concert includes rarely-heard Swedish songs and folk tunes from his era.
HIP Company performs at All Saints Anglican Church on Saturday night, presenting music from their 2025 album Bedlam.
Baroque meets Bebop at Billimari Hall on Sunday morning, in a concert presented by Peter Doublinszki, classical guitar, and Elsen Price, double bass.
The Marais Project and HIP Company combine to bring it all to a spectacular close on Sunday evening.
Go online to https://www.baroquefest.org.au for more information and tickets - some performances and packages are selling out.
