by Mike Telin
When you think of music by George Frideric Handel, the first works that come to mind are likely to be his large-scale oratorios such as Messiah, Israel in Egypt, and Solomon.
“People think of Handel’s Gloria as a showpiece for soprano and small ensemble,” Les Délices artistic director Debra Nagy said. “But Silete venti, which is not often heard, is an extraordinary showpiece for a soprano and I think it’s going to be a real thrill to play.”
On Friday, April 24 at 7:30 pm at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Akron, Les Délices will present Starstruck. The all-Handel program highlights the composer’s brilliant chamber music along with dramatic early cantatas brought to life by the magnetic soprano Hannah DePriest. The program will be repeated on Saturday at Heights Theater and Sunday at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church. Both concerts begin at 4:00 pm, and tickets are available online.
In the 1670s, Louis XIV commissioned a series of 39 fountains for the Gardens of Versailles, each modeled on a story from Aesop’s Fables and intended for the education of the king’s young son, the Dauphin.
Although Les Délices’ most recent subscription program actually featured music by composers from what is now the western part of the Czech Republic, it borrowed its marketing title from an American rock anthem and culminated in a major work by a celebrated Austrian.
Navigating dementia — a common, yet devastating part of aging — requires confronting all sorts of complex emotions. People with memory loss, their caregivers, and the medical teams who interact with them all understand this well. So when Les Délices commissioned a piece tackling this difficult topic, they made a special effort to bring the music to those who would resonate with it the most.
“How wretched to forget,” sings the son in A Moment’s Oblivion — a character whose father now struggles to recognize members of his own family. “For all we were forms who we are.”