Programme:
Marais, Rameau, Couperin, Royer, Forqueray

Once a beloved fixture of Montmartre’s street cafés and dance halls during the World Wars, the accordion has evolved into Paris’s defining musical signature. Alongside baguettes, the cancan, and a tilted beret, the instrument remains a delightful symbol of French culture, popularized globally by Édith Piaf’s chansons and the soundtrack to the film “Amélie”. Strolling some three centuries back in time, history enthusiasts will encounter the Sun King, Louis XIV, noted for his passion for court ballet and music. During his reign, the viola da gamba and the harpsichord reigned supreme as the favorite instruments of the royal court.

Romance was discussed with equal tenderness in those days, yet the composers’ quills also captured diverse musical portraits on parchment, ranging from esteemed colleagues to clucking hens.

Focusing on early French masterpieces, this program serves as a prelude to an evening of fine red wine and aromatic cheese, which is highly recommended as a post-concert continuation.

The performance brings together accordion virtuoso Momir Novakovic, an Estonia-based artist currently completing his doctoral thesis on Baroque music arrangements for the accordion, and the core members of Floridante—Villu Vihermäe and Saale Fischer—who represent the leading edge of early music performance in Estonia.

Duration: appr. 1 h (no intermission)