Karel Cuelenaere An Afternoon at Johnny Green (2021)

An Evening at the Theatre is a reconstruction of the musical part of a masque as it might have been performed in a London theatre around 1685. The English masque, inspired in part by the commedia dell'arte and French ballet, was a courtly entertainment combining instrumental music, dance, theatre, song and pantomime; it enjoyed its greatest popularity between 1560 and 1640, during the reigns of Elizabeth I and Charles I.

"An Evening at the Theatre" reconstitue la partie musicale d’un « masque » tel qu'il aurait pu être joué dans un théâtre de Londres vers 1680. Divertissement de cour alliant musique instrumentale, danse, théâtre, chant, pantomime, le masque florissait en Angleterre du début du XVIe jusqu’à la fin du XVIIe siècle. Musique savante anglaise, country dance de John Playford et musique folklorique écossaise y avaient leur place dans un même moment musical. The Theater of Music a voulu souligner au milieu du programme l’originalité de l’anti-masque, véritable intermède comique à l'intérieur même du masque. Il avait pour but de dérider, voire de parodier le roi ou une autre personne de rang élevé, par des bizarreries scéniques et instrumentales, avant de se remettre à un niveau plus courtois et de montrer ainsi la soumission des sujets à leur souverain.

STUNNING IN HOUSE SESSIONS FROM IAN ANDERSON WHILE ON THE DIVINITIES TOUR Best known, of course, for his work as lead vocalist, flautist, acoustic guitarist and leader of Jethro Tull, Ian Anderson is a multi-instrumentalist who, in addition to flute and acoustic guitar, plays keyboards, electric guitar, bass, bouzouki, balalaika, saxophone, harmonica and a variety of whistles. His solo work began with the 1983 album Walk into Light; since when he has released another five works, including the sequel to the Jethro Tull album Thick as a Brick (1972) in 2012, titled Thick as a Brick 2. Anderson was planning to start a solo career in 1980, while Jethro Tull was taking a break following the death of bassist John Glascock in 1979, and wrote the album A as a solo record.

Live at Pro Musica was recorded just over a year ago on March 1, 2020. While it seemed almost routine at the time to gather together in a small space for an intimate afternoon concert, this recording soon stood as an artifact of a very different time. Each one of the musicians involved has since remarked on how great a memory the show has become, and it has helped us all get through a troubling year to be able to look towards the future with hope for more experiences just like it on the horizon.

Afternoon in Paris is an album by American pianist and composer John Lewis and French guitarist Sacha Distel recorded for the Atlantic label.