Music of the Baroque performs Handel’s Water Music with Music Director Jane Glover on the Chicago River. Photo by Elliott Mandel.
In Wednesday’s (9/25) Musical America, Hannah Edgar writes, “Music of the Baroque grew its audience … on September 18, thanks to a gambit as showy as it was daring: performing Handel’s Water Music suites and other Baroque showstoppers on a boat motoring down the Chicago River. The stunt was, of course, a nod to the suites’ 1717 premiere on the Thames, atop King George I’s royal barge…. In this 21st century twist, the musicians—playing on more weather-resistant modern instruments, and swapping harpsichord for an electric keyboard—were amplified for all to hear. Music that once accompanied a selective and ostentatious display of royal might became … an everyman’s anthem…. Music of the Baroque repeated the program three times: once while in motion, once anchored in front of the Merchandise Mart, and once in front of a large wall of amphitheater-style seats at Clark and LaSalle streets…. The chorus was a special treasure … Embedded among its ranks were Chicago public high school musicians in Music of the Baroque’s Strong Voices program. Top choral students from each of the seven partner schools stood together dressed in … colorful T-shirts representing their respective schools…. Many passersby [expressed] feelings of civic pride.”
