Red Dot Baroque records the first educational video of their series “Once upon a Time”

Lianhe Zaobao 联合早报, 16 May 2020 | (Link to original article)

(Translation)

The legendary French Baroque composer Jean-Baptiste Lully is generally acknowledged as the father of the french operatic tradition. Once, while playing the lead role in French playwright Molière’s Le bourgeois gentilhomme, Lully got carried away and leapt into the orchestral pit, breaking a harpsichord; on a later occasion, while directing his orchestra with a conducting staff, he accidentally pierced his foot, resulting in his imminent death due to gangrene infection.

Lully’s legendary story is perhaps not so well known, but during this stay-home period, Red Dot Baroque members decided to create a video series “Once Upon A Time” to bring the lesser-known stories of Lully and others to life.

Red Dot Baroque founder Alan Choo says that using a narrative method to create educational music videos is an interesting concept in itself. In addition to its core ensemble members, this video also includes guest musicians from the Netherlands, Taiwan and Singapore, and uses the technique of multiple screens to narrate, demonstrate and perform.

The COVID pandemic has caused Red Dot Baroque to lose many valuable performance opportunities, including their concert tour of the USA in June 2020. This coming August 10-11, they have a programme entitled “Bach Beats Corona” (contingent on how the pandemic situation pans out), featuring instrumental chamber works by Bach to provide healing amidst the virus.

In November, the ensemble also has plans to collaborate with famous French ensemble Les Arts Florissants. Les Arts Florissants was formed in 1979, and consists of a period orchestra and choir which has since received global acclaim for their performance of baroque works. The chance  to perform on the same stage as them is indeed a rare opportunity. (More details and updates on this will be released later in the year.) 

“For Red Dot Baroque, this was originally going to be a really exciting year for us. But we now have to re-evaluate our role in society in order to face future uncertainties.” Alan Choo reveals, musicians have been busy acquiring new skills such as videography and online music-making during this period of time. Through “Once Upon A Time,” he hopes to bring the ensemble’s work to audiences in different ways.

Red Dot Baroque’s educational video series “Once Upon A Time” is available on their Facebook page www.facebook.com/reddotbaroque.

English translation by Alan Choo & Chen Zhangyi