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![]() Photo: Allen Blustine |
What does an ensemble do when its repertoire stopped
expanding 250 years ago? The AULOS Ensemble, like other early music groups,
faces this dilemma, and has faced it longer than most. AULOS'
answer has been to constantly re-invent itself—not by changing personnel, as
its elite membership has remained intact for the last 15 years—but by
constantly exploring new projects, embracing an ever-widening group of guest
artists, and forging new recording alliances.
Handel's serenata Acis and Galatea received the AULOS treatment in the 2006-7 season, unconducted with 8 instrumentalists and 5 singers, in a performance that the New York Times called "an utter delight". His Water Music in a version using 17 to 25 players has become a favorite with presenters and audiences alike. Where appropriate, AULOS has created residencies in which the group and its guests teach and coach young professionals and then join them in these concerts. 15 years after recording its Christmas hit CD, A Baroque Christmas from the Metropolitan Museum of Art with Julianne Baird, AULOS and Ms. Baird have collaborated on In Dulci Jubilo for Centaur Records, released to critical acclaim in 2006. It is the first in a series of new recordings for Centaur—next comes another AULOS specialty, suites from Rameau's operas Les Indes Galantes and Fêtes d'Hébé, scheduled for release in 2008. These interpretations, the first recorded versions for chamber ensemble, stem from AULOS' constant exploration of the literature and the freedom and confidence that comes from many years of experience in arranging and adapting 18th-century sources to create 21st-century renditions. |
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Email: Management: Melvin Kaplan, Inc. Home | History | Artist Profiles | Discography | Excerpts from the Press Aulos in the 21st Century | Sound Clips | Sample Programs Special Presentations: A Baroque Christmas | Acis and Galatea | Handel's Water Music |