MUSIC

Mercury Baroque opens its 10th Season on October 9th with Exotique!, a special performance celebrating exotica in French Baroque music. The performance begins at 8:00pm in the Wortham Center, Cullen Theater and features the full Mercury Baroque orchestra, performing on period accurate instruments, under the direction of Maestro Antoine Plante.

The exotic was highly fashionable in 16th-18th century Europe. Turquerie, or the Turkish fashion in art and music, began as a fascination with Turkish culture during the period when the Ottoman Empire posed a serious political and military threat to Europe. Many composers appealed to this fashion by writing Turkish or Exotic themed music.

The program for Exotique! includes two works characteristic of this musical trend: Lully’s Les Bourgeois Gentilhomme (The Middle-Class Gentleman) and Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes (The Gallant Indies). Though nearly 65 years separates the composition of these pieces, they both approach representing Turkish music in the same way by using instruments such as the piccolo, bass drum and tambourine to mimic the sounds of Turkish folk instruments. Turkish culture isn’t the only represented in Les Indes Galantes, however. Rameau’s opera-ballet also features acts inspired by the Incas in Peru and the “savages” of North America.

According to Antoine Plante, Mercury Baroque’s Artistic Director, “This music is very fun to perform because the exotic sections are usually very dramatic and energetic.” Plante goes on to say, “It is interesting to hear how the French interpreted exotic folk music. In retrospect we know that it perhaps wasn’t very similar to actual folk music of the time, but more inspired by and adapted to suit the tastes of the French audience”.

Now in its 10th Season, Mercury Baroque has charmed audiences and critics the world over with its passionate and exciting performances of Baroque music on period accurate instruments. Originally founded as a chamber ensemble, Mercury has since grown into a full orchestra of young, dynamic musicians, performing a subscription series of concerts in downtown Houston, other Houston-area communities and touring both domestically and internationally. In addition to frequent performances, Mercury Baroque is also dedicated to educating future audiences and training the city’s future musicians. Mercury’s educational outreach programs have reached more than 10,000 children in the past 5 years alone.