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PREVIEW | Brilliant Baroque: Tafelmusik Celebrates Korean New Year

By Anya Wassenberg on January 17, 2025

Violinist and Tafelmusik Principal Guest Director Rachel Podger (Photo: Broadway Studios)
Violinist and Tafelmusik Principal Guest Director Rachel Podger (Photo: Broadway Studios)

Principal Guest Director Rachel Podger and Tafelmusik recently went on a tour of South Korea with a program they dubbed Bach and Baroque Brilliance. They’ll be performing some of that music along with a new arrangement of the beloved South Korean folk song Arirang by Junghyun Kim in Toronto later this month.

Directed by Rachel Podger, the concerts will feature soloist Jihyun Back, Traditional Korean drum dancer, with performances from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2.

“In November of 2024, Tafelmusik performed the Brilliant Baroque program for incredibly attentive and enthusiastic audiences in six packed houses across South Korea,” says Cristina Zacharias, Artistic Co-Director in a statement. “It’s especially meaningful to bring the success of the tour home to our Toronto audience. We are also excited to welcome Jihyun Back to our stage to share mesmerizing traditional Korean drum dance.”

Korean-born Jihyun Back performed as a child in the Little Angels Dance Company. She studied dance at the Korean Seonhwa School of Arts, followed by the Korean Seonhwa High School of Arts. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Dance from Sangmyung University, and went on to perform in a professional company for five years.

Based now in Toronto, she works as an independent dancer/choreographer, and dance educator.

The Music

The Brilliant Baroque program opens with music from Rachel Podger’s native England, including pieces by Handel, Purcell, and Charles Avison.

Tafelmusik will also perform an orchestral suite by the Bohemian composer Antonín Reichenauer (1696 – 1730), a piece that’s new to the ensemble’s repertoire.

Podger will be the soloist for J.S. Bach’s Violin Concerto in A Minor.

The finale comes in the form of a musical gift arising from its South Korean tour. Arirang is a Korean folk song, one with about 3,600 variations and more than 600 years of history. It’s included on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list twice. It has come to be considered as Korea’s unofficial anthem.

Tafelmusik will premiere a new arrangement of the song by young Korean composer Junghyun Kim. Junghyun Kim earned a BMus at the Yeung nam University, Conservatory of Music in his native Daegu, South Korea, followed by a MMus at the State University of New York, Purchase College. He is known for his chamber and orchestral works, along with compositions for film.

The arrangement, titled Maeari-Rang, was created specifically for Tafelmusik’s tour, and garnered a heartfelt response from audiences in Korea.

“It is a story of people who go through tunnels of emotions — with messiness, sadness, and a little excitement and humour — to reach the light at the end,” says Kim.

  • Tafelmusik will perform Brilliant Baroque Jan. 31, Feb 1, and Feb 2; details [HERE].

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