Ensemble Caprice to Bring SALSA BAROQUE to Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, 4/11

Montreal's Ensemble Caprice will return to the Houston Early Music series with its acclaimed "Salsa Baroque" program of Spanish and Latin American Baroque music on Friday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m. at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church.

Presented as part of Houston's annual "Hispanic Heritage Series," the concert highlights the extraordinary musical dialog between the Old and New Worlds during the 16th through the 18th centuries. This was a time when European polyphony fused with traditional African and Amerindian music to create a style that Ensemble Caprice calls "Salsa Baroque."

Prime examples of this unique style are the villancicos of the Bolivian composer Juan de Araujo and the colorful guarachas of his contemporaries. Also on the program are two sonatas by Andrea Falconieri, an Italian composer influenced by the distinctive Latin American style. Other selections include lively dances known as tarantellas, canarios and chaconas.

Ensemble Caprice features five Baroque specialists, co-directed by Matthias Maute and Sophie Larivière, both virtuosos on recorder and flute. Rounding out the ensemble are guitarist David Jacques, cellist Susie Napper and percussionist Ziya Tabassian.

Most of the pieces on the program can be heard on the group's "Salsa Baroque" CD, nominated for Canada's Juno Award in 2011, however the arrangements will be quite different, according to Maute, who won first prize at the 1990 Early Music Competition in Bruges, Belgium.

Noted for its innovative interpretations of Baroque music, Ensemble Caprice was praised in a 2009 article in the New York Times as "imaginative," "powerful" and "top-flight." The group, founded in 1989, is regularly invited to perform at festivals in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, and it has toured in Israel and Taiwan. Accolades include a 2009 Juno Award for its "Gloria! Vivaldi's Angels" CD, and a Prix Opus from the Conseil québécois de la musique.

Ensemble Caprice will present "Salsa Baroque" on Friday, April 11, 2014, at 7:30 p.m. at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, 6221 Main St., Houston TX 77030. A pre-concert talk with ensemble co-director Matthias Maute will begin at 6:45 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased at HoustonEarlyMusic.org. General admission tickets for "Salsa Baroque" are available for $40; seniors $35; and students with valid student ID cards $20.

For more information, e-mail info@HoustonEarlyMusic.org or call 281-846-4222.

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