31 Oct Preview: Winds of Change

From “Les Delices transforms virtual ‘Winds of Change’ into live program with expansive message” by Zachary Lewis for Cleveland.com

“CLEVELAND, Ohio – Clevelanders who join Les Delices for its “Wind of Change” program Oct. 21-23 may never hear French Baroque music the same way again. They may also regard current events through a different lens.

After “Winds of Change,” the live version of a previously digital program and arguably the group’s boldest program to date, notions surrounding the French Baroque will have to expand to include Haiti. At the same time, listeners also will have little choice but to see the upheaval of past and present on a single continuum.

“Making this kind of connection across history is really important,” said oboist Debra Nagy, founder of Les Delices, a chamber ensemble that specializes in the music of 18th-century France. “If we’re going to diversify our offerings, then this is one really important way to highlight and elevate other traditions.”

There’s a great deal contained within that “this.” Not only does “Winds of Change” highlight the work of Joseph Bologne Chevalier de Saint-Georges, one of the earliest known Black composers. It also features music by Sydney Guillaume linking the French and Haitian Revolutions to similar, ongoing struggles for peace and freedom around the world.”