"Debra Nagy, who has tamed the Baroque oboe to the point where it bends to her every wish and nuance, played with extraordinary feeling...After the COVID-19 cloud passes, any bar or club that’s looking for a classy band should get in touch with this crew." - ClevelandClassical.com
On Saturday evening, March 7 at Lakewood Congregational Church, soprano Hél├¿ne Brunet joined Debra Nagy (oboe), Mélisande Corriveau (viola da gamba), and Eric Milnes (harpsichord) in new pairings of French Baroque arias with 20th-century love laments.
This is a radical idea that can work superbly, since the theme of unrequited love is universal and knows no temporal boundaries. But you need musicians who can flip the stylistic switch and immediately segue from Jean-Baptiste de Bousset to Edith Piaf — or more strikingly, from Michel Lambert to Jerome Kern. Happily, these musicians can make those transitions seamlessly. – Dan Hathaway