EUSKAL HERRIKO ORKESTRA BARROKOA

The launch project of the Euskal Herriko Orkestra Barrokoa (EHOB), under the musical direction of Enrike Solinís, is built around a central musical theme that reigned throughout Baroque Europe: the Masquerade. The most prominent humanists, poets and artists of the time devoted their creative talents to producing these festive spectacles. The *mascarade* or *masqué* was a form of courtly entertainment that flourished in the 16th and early 17th centuries in England and France, although it originated earlier in Italy, influenced by colourful and feather-adorned American masks. A masquerade typically included music, dance and singing.

On the other hand, the rural masquerade—such as the *mascarade suletine* from the French Basque Country—is one of the most important surviving musical legacies of French Baroque traditions and still preserves genuine music and dances from that period.

In this concert, the EHOB, together with a dance ensemble and a singer, structures its programme around the work *Le carnaval mascarade*, LWV 52 by composer Jean-Baptiste Lully. Through four musical scenes, the programme offers a journey through the different soundscapes of the Baroque masquerades across Europe: from England, with authentic *masque* music by Henry Purcell and John Adson; to Italy, with arias by Vivaldi premiered during Venice’s famous carnival; and to France, with dances by Lully, Marais and Philidor. Blending elements of both traditional masquerades and high court music, this premiere becomes a true Baroque celebration to inaugurate the ensemble’s debut.