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<\/a>\u201cLike any art, music tends to follow along a path, stylistically, and those sorts of upheavals give life and a lot of freedom to composers to set off in new directions and experiment and try new things,\u201d he says. \u201cI think it inspires and really delves into the depths of the human soul, and how one expresses emotion through music, and I suppose that despair, and ultimate joy, can all be reflected through music. Sometimes I think what\u2019s maybe most extraordinary about music is, as an artist, you can reflect conflicting emotions at the same time, or different subtleties of emotion in one piece of music, and that\u2019s a special quality.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s festival\u2014Peace, Friendship and Joy: Music from the German Baroque\u2014focuses on the three musicians in Johannes Voorhout\u2019s painting Allegory of Friendship<\/i>: Johann Reinken, Dietrich Buxtehude, and Johann Thiele, whose music revitalized Hamburg as a centre of music during the Thirty Years\u2019 War. This music illustrates not the horror and pain of war, but how strife can bring people together in a desire for peace and unity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI should say that the Peace program [in the Festival] also has a lot of tragic music, because it reflects the yearning for peace amongst the composers writing in that program, so a lot of the text simply reflects the yearning of the artists and musicians hoping for peace in the horrors of war,\u201d says Destrub\u00e9. \u201cMusic, or any art, follows a course, and it develops experimentation and new styles, but it\u2019s always in some way reflective of the time when it\u2019s created, and I would say times of hardship, conflict, or great prosperity as well, can inspire a great deal of very rich artistic expression.\u201d<\/p>\n
For those who are inexperienced with classical music, Destrub\u00e9 considers the baroque period to be the most accessible, with brighter, more energetic pieces that are quite short compared to many classical works, and with aspects that resemble some modern music. The festival, which spans a week, features six concerts played at local venues, including the Christ Church Cathedral and the Alix Goolden Performance Hall. A variety of string, wind, and organ music will be accompanied by the vocal talents of soprano Dorothee Mields, and features a finale of choral evensong by the Christ Church Cathedral Choir.<\/p>\n
The choice of venue has a great effect on the perception of the music, says Destrub\u00e9, because the acoustic resonance flavours the music in the same way that the quality of light enhances visual art.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at a painting in poor light, you don\u2019t see its best aspects,\u201d he says, \u201cand a good acoustic for musical instruments is the same thing\u2014it brings out the best in the music for people to hear it.\u201d<\/p>\n