Tafelmusik Concludes US Tour

Canada's internationally lauded Baroque orchestra Tafelmusik has just concluded its 2017 U.S. tour. Travelling to eight cities across the country and in Puerto Rico, Tafelmusik performed a revelatory program titled "J.S. Bach: Circle of Creation." This interactive presentation combines text, music, and projected video and images to explore the world of the artisans - papermakers, violin carvers, string spinners, and performers - who helped J.S. Bach realize his musical genius. The glowing reports have come in from major news outlets. We invite you to read a few of these overwhelmingly positive reviews:

"Bach's music itself was at the center of the program, brilliantly performed from memory by eleven string players, two oboists, and a bassoonist (the harpsichordist read from a score). The playlist was what one might have heard at Zimmermann's Coffee House later in Bach's tenure in Leipzig: single movements from orchestral suites, Brandenburg concertos, and cantatas, along with excerpts from the Goldberg Variations and canons." Daniel Hathaway, Cleveland Classical

"Blair Williams' perfectly pitched narration of Alison Mackay's script moved seamlessly from practical details such as Leipzig, Germany, where Bach lived, to the higher plane of the intersection of industry and culture. Reflective video projections tied together the words and music.

There was plenty of music, echoing and augmenting the spirit of the text. Particularly lovely: a propulsive bassoon line under playful oboes in the overture to Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C Major and the finale, Sinfonia ("Praise the Lord in his riches") which was suffused with radiant joy." Matthew Palm, Orlando Sentinel

"The evening's high point was a magnificent rendition of the Brandenburg Concerto first movement, jovial in melody and the orchestra's clear enjoyment of performing the piece. Fascinating, the concert's verbal discourse on the creation of music paired with such orchestral talent made for quite the unforgettable evening." Gabriel Tanguay, The Santa Barbara Independent

"Tafelmusik was a superb ensemble with a generous sound not found in many baroque orchestras. Musical selections ran the gamut from orchestral pieces to solos for cello, violin, or harpsichord. Often baroque music concerts suffer from textural monotony, but Tafelmusik's timbral variety was pleasant and well-conceived." Christian Hertzog, San Diego Union Tribune

"Their vigorous account of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major, BWV 1048, demonstrated how well the strings played together with a precise, tastefully balanced ensemble without aid of a conductor, a 19th-century convention unknown to Bach the several generations that followed him. [...] For a farewell program to dear old Sherwood Auditorium, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra gave us a celebratory evening of great music, captivating historical context, and polished performance with ample conviction." Ken Herman, The San Diego Story

"Tafelmusik, the early music group based in Toronto, has brought us another of their enlightening takes on Baroque music, this time zeroing in on the resources composer J. S. Bach, based in Leipzig from 1723 until his death in 1750, had to realize his compositions. [...] Musically of course, the concert was splendidly played. Tafelmusik's reputation has been solidly built since its 1979 inception. Let's hope it is back with another of these marvelous, imaginative programs in the not too far distant future." Philippa Kiraly, The Sun Break

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