Between Christmas and New Year I was invited to play with the Corelli Baroque Orchestra. The program consisted of music by Marc Antoine Charpentier: the famous Te Deum, Messe de Minuit pour Noel and a Concerto for strings.

The concerts took place in the St John’s of Tartu and Tallinn. Both freshly renovated and beautiful churches. The concert in Tallinn (the capital) was broadcasted live and recorded by radio.

Now, a year after taking up the theorbo I have played a bunch of different programs with smaller and bigger ensembles, duos, and solo. Based on the initial experiences I can bring out some benefits of being a theorbist as opposed to being a classical guitarist: First, theorbo is an established instrument that has a place in various types of ensembles. Secondly, it gives me a possibility to play all the great repertoire and to work together with professional musicians (one may ask, why cannot a classical guitarist hang out with real musicians? Well, look around and see what and with whom they actually play!). Lastly, I like the instrument’s sound, touch and era.

So, this year is going to be almost entirely a theorbo year. I know it already if I look at my calendar and see what is coming up.

Some photos from a rehearsal by Kris Moor: