The Oratorio of the 17th and 18th Centuries: Instrumentation and Basso Continuo
From 19 October to 22 October Belgium / Brussels
The second part of an in-depth exploration of basso continuo, this "colloque" examines the development of the practice through the genre of the oratorio, from its origins in Italy at the beginning of the seventeenth century to the early nineteenth century. Bringing together research and performance, the project will involve all the classes of the Department in an exploration of repertoire spanning three centuries of musical history.
The mornings will be devoted to lectures and presentations, introduced by Marc Vanscheeuwijck, who will outline the main stylistic developments and transformations of the oratorio. The presentations will focus in particular on the role and evolution of basso continuo within this repertoire.
The afternoons will be dedicated to collective performance practice. Divided into eight groups, students will explore different periods and traditions of the oratorio through works by Carissimi, Kapsberger, Colonna, Perti, Handel, Caldara, Vivaldi, Haydn and Mendelssohn. Working with their teachers, they will prepare selected excerpts, adapting the original scores where necessary, and share their approaches in an inter-class collaborative setting.
The conference will conclude with a musical presentation in the form of a performance trail. The experience will be extended through a study trip to Bologna and Modena, allowing students and teachers to deepen their research through direct engagement with the historical places and sources that shaped the history of the oratorio.
