Madison Bach Musicians fill theatre with joyful music

IRONWOOD — A small but enthusiastic crowd enjoyed a musical performance from the Madison Bach Musicians Saturday night at the Historic Ironwood Theatre.

The group is passionate about bringing the authentic sound of the Baroque musicians of the past in its fullness to the listening community. Before the concert, the group’s artistic director and harpsichordist, Trevor Stephenson, called the period of time when composers George Handel and J.S. Bach wrote, “a combination of the highest intellect and highest emotion,” and felt that contributed to the greatness of the compositions.

The group specializes in playing music from the Baroque period (1600-1750), pointing out that Handel and Bach were born in 1685 within 100 miles of each other. In addition, the group strives to produce a sound that would match the sounds of the period of time as well, for example, that the violin and cello would use gut strings, much like the strings of that time period.

Violinist Kangwon Kim is the concertmaster of the group, and came early to enjoy the scenery of the area, saying she enjoyed the drive up Friday — “a very beautiful drive” and checked out Gorge Falls near Black River Harbor earlier on Saturday. She said the group does smaller and larger concerts, from groups of four to 40 musicians.

Cellist James Waldo, on his first tour with the group, talked about the beautiful theater in Ironwood and how it is naturally set up for their performance. Waldo came to Madison last year and is enjoying the area as he studies for advance music degrees. He shared his belief in classical music as a community asset that is meant to be shared. “People can get excited about what others are passionate about.”

Waldo grew up in a family that supported his music and has parents have raised him in a family with a desire to play music in the way it was written, with instruments like those of the time period of the composers. He also wants to help cultivate a love for classical music among the next generation.

He pointed out that much of the foundation for contemporary music is based on classical music, whether it is the live orchestra scores for Bugs Bunny cartoons or the classical music backgrounds that George Martin engineered with the Beatles that made them exceptional.

He pointed out that the music of Bach and Handel was the culturally accessible music of the time, that would have been played in churches and concert halls. As a cello player, he appreciates the “great bass lines” of the music the group plays.

Joining the trio of instrumentalists was soprano soloist Hannah DePriest, who sang in the original languages from the selections. The crowd was also treated to an “afterglow” in the balcony, where they enjoyed treats and discussing the performance.