The Jefferson Baroque Orchestra launches its Baroque Blog today. We plan to publish informative and interesting articles, program notes for our concerts, and items of interest to all lovers of early music. Let us know if you have written an article you would like to share.
We are practitioners of “HIP”, a clever acronym for “Historically Informed Performance”. We do our best to present the music of the 17th & 18th centuries as it was presented then: as something fresh and new.
In our search for the sounds and performing styles of the period we use the instruments, techniques and singing styles known to Baroque composers and performers. We play from editions free of 19th century accretions, or from facsimiles of original prints or manuscripts. We choose performing venues for intimacy and acoustic clarity; and we try to play and sing in such a way that the music seems as new as when the ink was still wet.
Making the Music
While the musicians who direct our concerts are among the most respected Early Music performers and teachers, most of us are not Early Music specialists. Our members perform with the Rogue Valley Symphony, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Green Show, Rogue Opera, Ashland City Band, Southern Oregon Repertory Singers and Siskiyou Singers. Most of us are not professional musicians – among us are doctors, nurses, attorneys, computer programmers, mechanics, artisans and teachers. But we all share a love for this music and a dedication to share the best possible performances with our audiences. Please help us to spread the word!