Description

“Modern,” the term by which historians designate the period of Western history that began in 1600, seems ever more surprising as time passes. The word, of course, originally denoted “that which is contemporary or in the style of the day.” Since, however, every generation naturally considers and proclaims itself modern relative to the preceding generation, so, by constantly being associated with artistic expressions that time or fashion makes obsolete, the word has, in our day, lost much of its original sense. It was, however, vigorous and full of meaning at the dawn of the 17th century, and the artists who made the transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque, arguably one of the most radical transitions in the history of art, were fully aware of the novelty of what they were creating, of their modernity. The music that sprang from this early Baroque, still fresh and extravagant today, as well as the later marvels of Corelli and Vivaldi, are rendered here with grace and panache by the Boréades ensemble.