TIRANA, July 19 – The fifth edition of the International Festival of Baroque Music ‘Vox Baroque’ returned to Albania during the first and second weeks of June, bringing Europe’s best instrumentalists and sopranos in the capital thanks to the devotion of festival founder Jusuf Beshiri.
For the organizers, Vox Baroque “represents a one-of-its-kind activity in Albania.”
Aiming to blend together the spread of antique repertoire which is performed in compliance with interpretation guidance treaties with alternative ways of promoting these artifacts now belonging to the cultural heritage of countries, the festival has brought to the Albanian public artists like Monteverdi, Bach, Rebel, Telemann, Marais, Boismortier, Vivaldi, etc..
At its fifth edition, the festival has now established a tradition of presenting up and coming artists along with traditional ones and bringing Italian, French and German baroque sounds to the audience.
As this year marked the celebration of Albania’s National Hero Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg, the festival’s organizers brought two aries appropriated to celebrating his figure – one composed by Italian Antonio Vivaldi and the other by French Jean-Fery Rebel.
The music events spread throughout Albania last week, from Tirana, to Korca, Vlora and Berat.
It has been deemed indeed difficult to organize a festival of this kind in Albania, if only due to the typology of the music, which was born at the end of the 16th century in Europe and corresponded with the birth of important European philosophies, such as the Enlightenment.
The blend of these art fields brought about a music style that is unique aesthetically, but also deep and spiritual.
For the last five years, Vox Baroque has tried to interpret these music values for the Albanian public in the form of a musical journey in some of the most important Albanian cities, also significant for their cultural values and musical inheritance.
After five years, besides the established musical professionalism, the festival has also become an important oasis in the promotion of Albania itself in Western countries, by stepping over borders, dissolving thoughts and perceptions of making art in Albania, but also by becoming the only international festival to rebuild baroque music across Europe.
In this context, the 2018 edition of Vox Baroque involved all audience with its majestic character, conveying a sense of monumentality to the public, with contrasting sounds and rhythms that brought about strong emotions of an era.
