Performers

Musicians

Sarah Spiteri                        violin

Tatjana Chircop                   violin

Joseph Mallia                      viola

Gilmour Peplow                   cello

Christine Zerafa                 harpsichord/piano

Patrick Camilleri                  drums

Robert Galea                        bass

Sean Vukovic                        guitar

Marc Galea                           guitar

Josef Farrugia                      keyboards

Daryl Ebejer                         vocals

KorMalta

Programme Notes

Sara Gulgass’ research on Baroque Rock, the exciting phenomena of rock and baroque fusion which started in the mid 1960’s, gives us an insight into the genre.

‘Baroque instrumentation and style are not sounds one would expect from a genre whose raucous, incessant beats were once accused of degenerating the youth. This curious sound combination is known as baroque rock because it blended the neoclassic sound of string quartets, harpsichord ostinatos, and contrapuntal techniques with rock instrumentation.’

Some of the greatest musicians in the rock and roll scene were influenced by the Early Music revival. Rather than undertaking a ‘historically informed performance’ route, they opted for a more non-linear approach. 

Although harpsichord and arrangements for strings were used prior to the mid 60s, the music hardly ever focused on the ‘style’. What distinguishes the Rock Baroque fusion which started in 1965, was the imitiation Imitation of the style of the baroque period through the use of counterpoint, fugue, ornamentation and ostinato bass lines. As a result we have been left a legacy of rock music that not only paraphrases direct quotations of baroque pieces but also uses the style of a specific piece as a foundation for a rock song. A good example is Pachelbel’s Canon in D which has been used far and wide as a basis for songs by Procol Harum, Aerosmith, Maroon 5 to mention but a few. A further development came about with Progressive Rock, which who included impressive and highly virtuosic solos and multi movement song cycles, moving away from the 3 minute song to works lasting upwards of ten minutes.

For this year’s edition we will be paying tribute to some of the greatest musicians and composers of our out times including JS Bach, Jon Lord, Vivaldi, Keith Emerson and the Beatles amongst others.

Sarah Spiteri