Duo CPE - Bloomfield Hills

About this event

From Gallantry to Madness showcases the polarity between polite and untethered expression that was cultivated in the German salon circa 1800. Music of the gallant style, representing elegance and restraint, coexisted and intermingled with music of the sensitive style, representing fantasy and vulnerability. Among the musical circle of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, our ensemble's namesake, composers established the gallant folk-song genre and revolutionized other genres like the cantata and fantasia. This program brings to life the charming Lieder of Louise Reichardt, Mozart, and Haydn, contrasting cantatas of CPE Bach and Johann Friedrich Reichardt, and dramatic keyboard music of CPE Bach.

Inspired by the sensibilities and cultural revolutions of the Age of the Enlightenment, Duo CPE is dedicated to pushing the bounds of historical performance practice beyond Baroque. With historical-keyboards and poetic declamation at the center of their performance, keyboardist Mikhail Grazhdanov and soprano Andréa Walker instill drama into performances of celebrated as well as obscure repertoire. Drawing from a wealth of music and literature from the turn of the 19th-century, Duo CPE celebrates the particularities of this period seeking to bring the intimacy and immediacy of salon culture to modern audiences.

Pre-concert talk begins at 6:45 pm

From Academy of Early Music