by Stephanie Manning
Rarely is there a program title as accurate as Les Délices’ “Winds of Change.” The program embraced the new and different in a variety of ways — referencing both specific events, like the French and Haitian revolutions, and broader ideas, like advocacy for composers of color. Originally presented as an online offering last season, on October 23 the concert proved it was certainly worth hearing live.
Sunday afternoon also featured a first-time venue for the ensemble: West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church in Rocky River. Though visually unassuming, the space delivered fantastic acoustics for small instrumentations. In the Quartet for flute and strings by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de St. Georges, the gossamer sounds of Emi Ferguson’s flute resonated perfectly above a three-piece string accompaniment. Violinist Shelby Yamin, violist Allison Monroe, and cellist Rebecca Reed contributed a great sense of energy to the piece as they supported Ferguson.
Parallel revolutions in France and Haiti have inspired the second episode of this season’s online concert series from Les Délices. “Winds of Change,” which went live on November 18 and is available both on subscription and as a single performance, includes late 18th-century music by Joseph Bologne (Chevalier de Saint-Georges), Karl Bochsa, and Luigi Boccherini, and the premiere of a commissioned piece, Haitian-born composer Sydney Guillaume’s A Journey to Freedom.
If you’re intrigued by the idea of contemporary composers writing music for historical instruments, Les Délices says that their latest program is for you.