Romanian Baroque Players

Evidence of Lewes punching way above its weight as an arts venue can be gleaned from a quick look at the itinerary of the Romania in Advent group’s European winter tour. The group are a mixture of English and Romanian musicians, who are touring the continent to promote cultural links between Romania and some of its EU partners, funded by the Romanian Cultural Institute and the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Their tour will hit London, Paris, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Brussels… and Lewes.

St John Sub Castro is becoming quite an important classical music venue, then, and tonight’s concert is something to look forward to. Directed by violinist Alison Bury, the group, called the Romanian Baroque Players, will be performing an Advent concert of Baroque orchestral music, including Corelli’s Christmas Concerto, Bach’s Jauchsett Gott, and pieces by Vivaldi and Biber. The group features trumpets (led by David Blackadder) strings and the voice of tenor Bianca Manoleanu. This Romanian singer will also be performing two Romanian arias for advent and several Romanian Christmas carols. But the highlight will surely be Bach’s piece, penned in the 1730’s. It’s a wonderfully joyful cantata, probably originally written to celebrate the New Year, which has more recently become closely associated with Christmas. Hallelujah, then, and sarbatori fericite, as the Romanians say on December 25th. AG