Peace, Friendship and Joy
- Music from the German Baroque
February 18th - 23rd, 2025
The 2025 Pacific Baroque Festival embraces the most cherished human values as expressed through the music of 17th and 18th century Germany. Curated by our featured soloist, the extraordinary German soprano Dorothee Mields, the programs exemplify the most profound emotions, expressed in music for voice and an intimate instrumental ensemble. The music of Buxtehude and Bach are a thread through the festival programs, combined with that of lesser-known composers whose music deserves to be heard.
“Her vocal instrument is flawless: pure and transparent in timbre, yet capable of the most subtle inflections and cultivated shadings. She can find both radiant sweetness and compelling emotional depth…”
– Vancouver Classical Music
“This soprano has everything: sweetness, “unaffected purity” (Charles Downey),
pitch-perfect intonation, unflappable at any tempo, and with a movingly dramatic
execution of the text because she loves the word nearly as much as the note.”
– forbes.com
“Mields is splendid. Her poise, luminous vocalism and animated dialogue with the
band show why she’s an Early Music legend.”
– BBC Music Magazine
Tuesday Evening, February 18th, 7:30pm
St Barnabas Church
Aaron James, organ
World travel may have its attractions, but in the end there’s no place like home. In the privacy of a comfortable music room, Baroque keyboard players could explore musical ideas that were too intimate—or too irreveren —for a formal public setting. This program explores the capabilities of the Brombaugh chamber organ at St Barnabas Church to capture the sounds of home: laughter and tears, songs and dances, and even the sounds of a few domestic animals.
Note: Due to the smaller size of the venue, this concert is not included in the Festival Pass. Tickets for this concert must be purchased separately.
Wednesday Evening, February 19th, 7:30pm
Christ Church Cathedral
Aaron James, organ
Why stay at home when there’s a whole world to explore? In the organ lofts of Europe’s great cathedrals, Baroque keyboard players had unparalleled resources for musical expression, with all the grandeur and drama you could wish for. This program will take us on a musical tour of seventeenth- century Europe, stopping at the great churches of five major cities to hear the resident organists improvising: Seville, Rome, Augsburg, Passau, and Lübeck. The organ at Christ Church Cathedral provides an ideal venue for this program, which features some of the gloriously colourful South German music that inspired Helmuth Wolff to build this instrument.
Thursday Morning, February 20th, 11:00am
Alix Goolden Performance Hall, Victoria Conservatory of Music
Dorothee Mields, soprano
Pacific Baroque Festival Ensemble
The German Reformation initiated by Martin Luther, along with the invention of the printing press, led to religious and cultural unrest, culminating in the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648). This resulted in an exceptionally fertile time in the arts, with writers, artists and composers reflecting the horrors of war and the longing for peace and heavenly pleasures.
Friday Evening, February 21st, 7:30pm
Alix Goolden Performance Hall, Victoria Conservatory of Music
Dorothee Mields, soprano
Pacific Baroque Festival Ensemble
This program brings together the music of four prominent North German composers of the 17th century, Reinken, Buxtehude, Theile and Erlebach, whose friendship is documented in a painting by Johannes Voorhout: “Allegorie der Freundshaft”
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Saturday Evening, February 22nd, 7:30pm
Joy
Alix Goolden Performance Hall, Victoria Conservatory of Music
Dorothee Mields, soprano
Pacific Baroque Festival Ensemble
This program includes one of J.S. Bach’s best-loved cantatas, the “wedding” cantata, BWV 202, along with the sunny violin concerto in E Major, and a ‘fictive’ wedding cantata compiled by Dorothee Mields of iindividual movements from other Bach works. A feast of joyful music!
Sunday Afternoon, February 23rd, 4:00pm
Christ Church Cathedral
Christ Church Cathedral Schola, directed by Donald Hunt
Mark McDonald, organ
Pacific Baroque Festival Ensemble
The Pacific Baroque Festival concludes with a Choral Evensong Service at Christ Church Cathedral, featuring the sacred music of baroque Germany.
This is a free offering and no ticket required!
PURCHASING TICKETS
Single Tickets: $35 + tax & fees and $30 for Seniors/Students + tax & fees
Festival Passes: $105 + tax & fees and $90 for Seniors/Students + tax & fees are also available for purchase here.
School-age and post-secondary students: FREE entry at door with presentation of student ID or proof of enrolment
Or buy by phone at the VCM Box Office: 250-386-5311
THE PACIFIC BAROQUE FESTIVAL IS SUPPORTED BY
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OLIVE OLIO'S PASTA & ESPRESSO BAR | GOOD BROTHERS DEVELOPMENTS
DAVID & PEP GROOS FUND FOR VOCAL MUSIC, VICTORIA FOUNDATION
The Magnolia Hotel provides Festival audience members with a special rate during the Festival: a 15% discount on the best available room rate.
MEDIA PARTNERS
