Aniela Eddy, Toma Iliev and Cullen O'Neill are in Kalamazoo with six more ensemble members to rehearse, make a debut recording, and give two public performances of Baroque music as Relic, a period instrument ensemble formed at the Juilliard School. The three musicians met with Cara Lieurance to talk about their upcoming performances at 7:30 pm on Thursday, Sept 8 at the Dalton Center Recital Hall on WMU's campus, and at 7:30 pm on Saturday, Sept 10 at First Congregational Church of Kalamazoo. The concerts are free, but donations are welcome.
Works by Corelli, Handel, Purcell and others are on the program. Performing on historic instruments has been a serious field of study since the 1960s, says violinist Toma Iliev, and the field has grown in exciting ways in part because of strong connections between researchers and musicians. Members of Relic have studied with early music luminaries such as Jordi Savall and Stanley Ritchie. O'Neil and Eddy also play together in Quartet Salonnières, which performs 19th century repertoire on period instruments. Relic is big enough to perform concerti grossi, a form popularized in Italy by Arcangelo Corelli which balances solo sections with full-ensemble passages.