Musica Angelica
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Musica Angelica is an internationally performing Baroque orchestra based in Long Beach, California and led by music director
Martin Haselböck Martin Haselböck (born 23 November 1954, Vienna, Austria) is the Austrian musical director of Musica Angelica in Long Beach, California, United States, and the musical director and founder of the Orchester Wiener Akademie. He is also a professor ...
, an Austrian organist, professor, and conductor. Currently oboist and guitarist Gonzalo X. Ruiz functions as the associate director of the ensemble and is set to take over in a year. Musica Angelica is dedicated to the historically informed performance of Baroque and early Classical music on period instruments. Its programs include a mixture of known masterworks by composers such as Bach, Handel and Vivaldi, along with rarely heard compositions spanning two centuries by lesser-known composers.


History and Musicians

Musica Angelica was founded in 1992 by lutenist Michael Eagan and gambist Mark Chatfield. Since its inception, Musica Angelica has produced an annual subscription season of orchestral and chamber concerts in venues throughout greater Los Angeles. In addition, the orchestra performs and collaborates with institutions both in The United States and abroad, including the Long Beach Opera, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Pacific Chorale,
Los Angeles Opera The Los Angeles Opera, originally called the Los Angeles Music Center Opera, is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler P ...
, Orange County Philharmonic Society, Mark Morris Dance Group, Orchëster Wiener Akademie, Tölzer Boys Choir, the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Norton Simon Museum. Musica Angelica has also collaborated with artists such as Marion Verbruggen, Suzie LeBlanc, Vittorio Ghielmi, Rachel Podger, Elizabeth Wallfisch, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Giovanni Antonini and Harry Bicket. Musica Angelica's first international tour, which sold-out performances and was the subject of critical-acclaim , took place in March 2007 in a joint venture with Haselböck's Orchester Wiener Akademie. The ensemble presented 13 performances of Bach's St. Matthew Passion in the U.S., Mexico and Europe. In September and October 2010, the orchestra completed a successful four-country tour of South America as well, with performances taking place in concert halls throughout the continent. In May 2011 the orchestra made its Vienna debut of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. Musica Angelica has also toured three times throughout South America and most recently presented three opera performances at the Palacio Bellas Artes in Mexico City. Martin Haselböck would often bring new twists to performances by combining traditional Baroque music with avant-garde multimedia. One of his creations, “The Infernal Comedy,” starring
John Malkovich John Gavin Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and ...
, was premiered by Musica Angelica in Santa Monica and enjoyed 50 repeat performances throughout Europe. In fall of 2011, Musica Angelica toured the Americas with The Infernal Comedy, performing 16 concerts in ten cities to sold-out audiences totaling over 23,000. In 2007, Musica Angelica raised its profile with a contract for four recordings on the Germany-based New Classical Adventure (NCA) label. The first, released in 2007, is Handel's “Acis and Galatea,” the second, released in 2008, includes the concertos of Telemann featuring the principal players of the orchestra as soloists, the third in the series is composed of Bach cantatas, released in 2009, and the fourth CD in 2010 features principal oboist Gonzalo Ruiz in works for oboe, organ and soprano by Telemann and Hertel.


Repertoire and Performances

The orchestra performs both the well-known pieces and lesser known gems of the
baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
and classical eras. In addition to established repertory, Musica Angelica has premiered over ten works in the new-music genre. The group's 2004 premiere of a 1737 oratorio by
Nicola Porpora Nicola (or Niccolò) Antonio Giacinto Porpora (17 August 16863 March 1768) was an Italian composer and teacher of singing of the Baroque era, whose most famous singing students were the castrati Farinelli and Caffarelli. Other students include ...
, ''Il Gedeone'', received positive reviews. Most recently, in March 2009, Musica Angelica performed the
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
n premiere of
Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...
's
opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
, Motezuma. Notable performances have included a collaboration with actor
John Malkovich John Gavin Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and ...
, in a
one man show A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show, one-woman show, or one-person show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieti ...
portraying
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
n
serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...
Jack Unterweger Johann "Jack" Unterweger (16 August 1950  – 29 June 1994) was an Austrian serial killer who committed at least twelve murders in Austria, West Germany, Czechoslovakia and the United States. Initially convicted in 1976 of a single murde ...
. In 2015 Musica Angelica performed with
Mark Morris Dance Group Mark William Morris (born August 29, 1956) is an American dancer, choreographer and director whose work is acclaimed for its craftsmanship, ingenuity, humor, and at times eclectic musical accompaniments. Morris is popular among dance aficionados, ...
in a dance interpretation of Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas."


Recordings

The group have released several recordings on the German
New Classical Adventure New Classical Adventure (NCA) is a classical music record label based in Hamburg, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and ...
label, including works by
Telemann Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is one of the most prolific composers in history, at least in terms of surviving works. Telemann was considered by his contemporaries to be ...
,
Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...
, and
Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...
.


References


External links


Musica Angelica Homepage
{{authority control Musical groups established in 1993 Early music groups Early music orchestras 1993 establishments in California Orchestras based in California