Hortus Musicus opens season with Charpentier opera

Estonian early music ensemble Hortus Musicus will begin its 55th season with a concert at Tallinn Town Hall on August 30, ERR reported. The ensemble will perform in several historic halls across Estonia during the season.

A highlight will be the first known performance in Estonia of French Baroque composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s opera Actéon, written in 1684. The audience will hear an excerpt at the season-opening concert.

Further performances are scheduled for October and March at Kadriorg Palace, whose main hall has a ceiling painting depicting the same legend as the opera: the meeting between the hunter Actaeon and the goddess Diana.

At Niguliste on November 1, All Saints’ Day, the ensemble will perform the medieval litany Litaniae Sanctorum and Gilles Binchois’ Te Deum, a work by the Burgundian Renaissance composer. More music by masters of the Burgundian school will be performed at a concert there in April.

Hortus Musicus will also hold its traditional year-end concert at Tallinn Town Hall. In early May, the concert Europe Was Born will explore the musical roots of Europe. The ensemble will perform in Rakvere, Narva, Viljandi, Kärdla, Kuressaare and elsewhere.

Founded in 1972, Hortus Musicus still includes four members of its original lineup: artistic director Andres Mustonen, wind players Olev Ainomäe and Tõnis Kuurme, and bass singer Riho Ridbeck. Tenor Anto Õnnis and baritone Tõnis Kaumann have joined over the years.

The ensemble’s current instrumental core comprises Imre Eenma on viola da gamba, Taavo Remmel on double bass, Robert Staak on lute and theorbo, and Ene Nael on harpsichord and organ. Violinist Mari-Liis Uibo often performs with the group.