ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & VIOLINIST
Madeleine Easton is an internationally recognised Australian violinist, director and authority on Baroque performance practice. As founder and Artistic Director of Bach Akademie Australia, she leads one of Australia’s most exciting ensembles in historically informed Baroque music, performing, directing and recording the instrumental and vocal music of Bach and his contemporaries. She has appeared worldwide as soloist, concertmaster and director with leading ensembles including the English Baroque Soloists, The Hanover Band, the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and has forged a longstanding artistic relationship with the Royal Academy of Music in London. Madeleine studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the Royal College of Music, graduating with distinction. Her discography includes award-winning recordings, notably Bach’s B-minor Mass. She performs on a 1682 Giovanni Grancino violin.

Neal Peres Da Costa, Harpsichord
Daniel Yeadon, Cello
John Ma, Violin and Viola
Alicia Crossley, Recorder
Susannah Lawergren, Soprano
Timothy Reynolds, Tenor 

Arrive in Sydney on suggested flights. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including extra nights’ accommodation before the tour.

At 10:00am, meet festival host Damien and fellow travellers at the rear entrance of the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney. Depart for the Southern Highlands, stopping en route for lunch.

After arriving and checking into the hotel, gather in the early evening for welcome drinks and canapés. Then, be introduced to the festival’s artistic director and musicians at the first concert of the festival.

CONCERT I (BACH – BIRTH AND DESTINY) – PROGRAM:
J. S. Bach – Cantata Himmelskönig, sei willkommen, BWV 182
Tomás Luis de Victoria – O Magnum Mysterium
Vincenzo Galilei – Excerpts from The Well-Tempered Lute

After the performance, enjoy a special welcome dinner at the hotel’s restaurant.

(LD)

After a leisurely breakfast, attend a morning concert where Neal Peres da Costa presents selected preludes and fugues from Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier. Daniel Yeadon performs a selection from the Cello Suites, while Madeleine performs solo works by J. S. Bach.

CONCERT II (A UNIVERSE OF ONE) – PROGRAM:
J.S. Bach
Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV 846
Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007
Partita No. 3 in E major for Solo Violin, BWV 1006
Prelude and Fugue in C minor, BWV 847
Cello Suite No. 2 in C minor, BWV 1008
Goldberg Variations: Aria and Variations 1–3, BWV 988
Partita No. 2 in D minor for Solo Violin, BWV 1004
Obbligato Sonata No. 6 in G major, BWV 1019

After the concert, enjoy lunch followed by an in-conversation session between Damien, Neal, Daniel and Madeleine.

Enjoy some time at leisure before an early-evening performance of Vivaldi’s enduring The Four Seasons, which greatly influenced Bach.

CONCERT III (LE QUATTRO STAGIONI) – PROGRAM:
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto No. 1 in E major, Op. 8, RV 269, Spring
Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 8, RV 315, Summer
Concerto No. 3 in F major, Op. 8, RV 293, Autumn
Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 8, RV 297, Winter

A gourmet dinner will be served after the concert.

(BLD)

This morning, enjoy a concert that explores the composers who shaped J. S. Bach’s musical world, from Buxtehude to Telemann, Pachelbel, as well as Bach’s cousin, Johann Christoph Bach.

CONCERT IV (IN BACH’S ORBIT) – PROGRAM:
J. S. Bach – Concerto for two violins in D minor, BWV 1043
Telemann – Concerto for four violins in G major, TWV 40:201

After lunch, discover the hotel’s heritage gardens before enjoying the rest of the afternoon at leisure.

In the early evening, join fellow festival-goers for a drinks reception before the final concert of the festival, featuring a program tracing the musical lineage from Monteverdi through Vivaldi to J. S. Bach, whose genius shaped the course of Western music for generations to come.

CONCERT V (BACH AND BEYOND) – PROGRAM:
J. S. Bach – Parts of Trio sonata from Das Musikalische Opfer
J. S. Bach – Cantata Non sa che sia dolore, BWV 209
Monteverdi – Aria “Dal mio permesso amato” from L’Orfeo
Mozart – Recitative and Aria “Dove sono” from The Marriage of Figaro

Afterwards, celebrate the conclusion of three days and nights of sumptuous music with a special farewell dinner with Damien and musicians.

(BLD)

After breakfast, check out of the hotel and return by coach to Sydney.

Tour arrangements conclude upon arrival in the early afternoon at the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney for flights departing from 15:00. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including airport transfers, travel insurance and additional nights’ accommodation either before or after the tour.

(B)