Close Encounters: Songs of Love and War - Monteverdi

In a nutshell:
Divine and inspirational music / Period instruments in a contemporary setting

Three intimate performances at three beautiful Auckland locations, Close Encounters allows you to engage with some of New Zealand's finest musicians, composers, vocalists and dancers.

Featuring the renaissance sounds of early music ensemble Age of Discovery at Leigh Sawmill Cafe, the earthy-rich melodies of composer Jonathan Besser and singer Mere Boynton at the new Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery in Titirangi, and the ghostly PAH at the stately Pah Homestead, Close Encounters is an exclusive and unique suite of performances that will enrich, enchant and inspire.

Songs of Love and War is emotional intensity at its most vivid. In this performance of Monteverdi's passionate madrigal collection from 1638, specialist early-music ensemble Age of Discovery show just how dramatic and moving baroque music can be, played on instruments of the time, with rich voices and strings, Songs of Love and War depicts the tragedy of love lost and the battle to conquer the god of love's fatal arrows.

Image: Venus, Mars and Cupid c. 1490. Piero Di Cosimo

www.ageofdiscovery.co.nz