The Relic Ensemble, an internationally acclaimed Baroque music group with ties to Kalamazoo, returns to Western Michigan University's Dalton Center Recital Hall on Thursday, Jan 15 at 7:30 p.m. with a brand-new 60 minute program inspired by Homer's Odyssey.
Cellist Cullen O'Neill, a Kalamazoo native and founding member of the ensemble, joins Cara Lieurance to discuss the storyful program. The 11-member group, which formed in 2022 while its core members studied early music at Juilliard, has made it a tradition to return to Kalamazoo, where they performed their very first concert.
The new program takes audiences through eight of Odysseus's adventures, including encounters with the Cyclops, the Lotus Eaters, the sorceress Circe, and the Sirens. The ensemble creates a cohesive narrative divided into chapters, with music flowing seamlessly from one piece to the next during the episodes. Choosing the right pieces involves hundreds of hours of research and listening, according to O’Neil. The final result can be astonishing in its variety of sources.
"We get comments a lot like, 'I didn't even know I liked Baroque music until I heard this,'" O'Neill says. She has also composed music to support readings from Robert Fagles's translation of The Odyssey, creating what she describes as "spoken text with chords underneath in a Handel style."
Relic Ensemble includes five violinists, cello, harpsichord, theorbo, viola, bassoon, and bass. In Kalamazoo, the members have spent full days rehearsing the new program, which premieres Thursday.
Following the Kalamazoo premiere, the ensemble tours to Ann Arbor, Cleveland, Washington D.C., and their first-ever Southern tour through Texas and Louisiana. Tickets are available at relicensemble.org and at the door. Fontana Chamber Arts is partnering with the presentation, offering complimentary tickets to subscription members.
The interview was summarized by Claude AI and edited by the author.
