WINDS DAYS! LECTURE: THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

BAROQUE DAY 

While the political balance of the Renaissance saw a form of equity between the different countries, the Baroque period evoked the hegemony of France. Indissociable from Versailles and the court of Louis XIV, Baroque music, with its eminently political function, was accompanied by a profound revival of wind instruments, in phase with the evolution of taste and musical language. This revival, paired with an image and a sound identity, spread to the furthest reaches of Europe. Today, we can still admire classical buildings, there are still many examples of gardens, costumes and objects of the 17th and 18th centuries, but what about sound? Let’s imagine a small aesthetic revolution brought about by new instruments from the French workshops, which even today continue to challenge and renew our perception of Baroque music.