This evening, at 8:30 PM, at the Church of Saint John the Baptist (l’Eglise Saint Jean-Baptiste-le-Voeu), the Ensemble Baroque de Nice and soloist Amélie Michel invite you to explore one of the greatest works of our civilization, a piece by Johann Sebastian Bach composed in 1747 (three years before his death). In addition to all its beauty and complexity, it is adorned with a very beautiful name, the Musical Offering.
“The Offering” is unique in that it is the result of a summit meeting with historical, political, familial… and eminently playful dimensions.
1. It was probably during his visit to his son Carl Philipp Emanuel at the court of Frederick II of Prussia that Johann Sebastian Bach began his Musical Offering. The Prussian sovereign, himself a flutist, was thus rewarded with a collection of pieces, either improvised or written, around a theme that he himself would have proposed.
The Musical Offering is composed like a treasure hunt where Bach displays all his mastery and pushes baroque writing to its limits. Here, abundance, formalism, and complexity do not overshadow the refinement of the composition or the expressiveness of the melody.
Gilbert Bezzina and Amélie Michel offer us an evening dedicated to the synthetic genius of Johann Sebastian Bach, but also to the flute, which Carl Philipp Emanuel would frequently use in his work. With Bach’s son, the instrument finds a unique and passionate expressiveness, heralding the classical period and beyond.
PROGRAM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
The Musical Offering (excerpts)
Ensemble Baroque de Nice
Amélie Michel, flute
Gilbert Bezzina, violin and direction
Daniele Bovo, cello
Vera Elliott, harpsichord
