Baroque musicians draw large crowd

PARADISE – The musical notes of violins, violas, cellos and recorders echoed through the canyons and saddles of the Lolo National Forest during the Montana Baroque Music Festival.

The eleventh annual event was held at Quinn’s Hot Springs Resort, on the edge of the Lolo National Forest in Paradise and was put on by the Sanders County Arts Council.

The recently concluded Baroque Festival was very successful, with the number of guests in attendance exceeding previous marks, according to Jean Morrison, the executive director of the Sanders County Arts Council.

“Originally, we never dreamed it would be this big,” Morrison said.

Morrison said there were around 250 guests in attendance for the first night of the three-day musical event.

The music festival, which ran from July 29 through July 31, featured renowned musicians from across the United States and several performers from other nations.

“All the musicians are unmatched in their perfection,” Morrison said

Matthias Maute, who has achieved international acclaim as a recorder and flute musician, hails from the city of Montreal in the Canadian province of Quebec.

Daniel Zuluaga, a continuo player who performed on the guitar during the multi night baroque concertos, hails from the South American country of Colombia.  

In addition to those performers who traveled thousands of miles for the event there were also some Montana musicians on display during the state Baroque Festival.

Carrie Krause, a native of Bozeman performed on an Amati brothers violin from 1621 during the festival. The Makris Foundation and New Trinity Baroque loaned the violin to the festival.

The 17th century instrument was a long way from home, the Po River, where it was produced in the Italian region of Lombardy centuries ago, to the banks of the Clark Fork River for last week’s Baroque performance.

Krause explained an integral part of Baroque music revolves around its featuring of period instruments, such as the violin she was performing on.

The use of the older style musical instruments provides some distinct advantages for the musicians and the crowd.

“The music is colorful and the sound more intimate,” Krause said.

According to Krause the variety of instruments used by Baroque musicians creates a unique musical environment.

Musicians employ their period musical pieces to bring centuries old concertos and sonatas to life.

The eclectic sounds of the older instruments aide the musicians as they perform their high energy sets.

“Baroque music has a lot of variety in sound. It can make the music really dance,” Krause said.

Throughout the final performance, the sounds echoing from the musicians’ instruments backed up Krause’s words.

The musicians, creating a lively background of music with sharp ebbs and flows, which was pleasantly ground by the accompanying guitars and cellos, masterfully manipulated the violins and violas.

On the final night of the music festival the musicians performed four concertos and two sonatas.

The evening started with a piece by German composer G.P. Telemann, followed by two pieces originally done by the Venetian composer, Antonio Vivaldi, before the musicians broke for an intermission.

During the intermission a variety of items were auctioned off and the musicians mingled with guests under the large pavilion.

Both parties seemed to enjoy the opportunity to communicate with one another and it was clear how the crowd’s appreciation positively affected the performing musicians.

The second half of the closing performance of the musicians performing at the Montana Baroque Music Festival brought numerous applause as the crowd showed their appreciation for the ensemble of skilled musicians.

“I can’t think of anyone who was displeased with the festival,” Morrison said.