Montreal Baroque Festival

Scéne extérieure du Festival

At the dawn of Montreal’s festival season, Montreal Baroque invites the public to enjoy four joyous days of 17th and 18th century music, dance and theatre. Renowned artists, inspired by their period instruments, gather from around the world to celebrate their passion with a thriving hoard of Montreal musicians. Performed in historic or unconventional venues, the grand productions, intimate concerts, world music, improvisations, parade, musical café, street shows, instrument fair and conferences, peppered with culinary delicacies, make for an eclectic, eccentric and colourful event!

The annual festival theme always inspires out-of-the-box programming and encourages the musicians to push their performances to the limits of their art to the delight of audiences!

2023 edition

The OBJECT of this Art is a Sound. The END; to delight, and move various Affections in us.” –
René Descartes, Compendium Musicae, 1618 (published 1650, translated 1653)

Music wields a special power over our hearts and minds—provoking fiery passions and deep sadness as easily as it brings fleeting joys, enchanting dreams and sweet nostalgia. Our 2023 season, CHAOS AND CONFETTI, celebrates light after darkness with a festival of musical contrasts! This year is all about extremes, so revel in festive folk music from Quebec and Scandinavia, Baroque music from tragic to ecstatic, the twists and turns and highs and lows of love, apocalyptic works for both music and dance, theatrical chaos, worldly pleasures and more.

The Finnish Baroque Orchestra or FiBo, an ensemble known for selecting fresh and daring repertoire, as well as Norway’s Barokkanerne, armed with traditional Norwegian instruments, will join top Canadian talent on the Festival’s stages. With Mark Edwards on harpsichord, Guillaume Villeneuve on violin, sopranos Myriam Leblanc, Janelle Lucyk and Catherine Saint-Arnaud, dancers Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière, Sébastien Provencher and Anne-Rose Cupidon, and the new team of artistic directors, Vincent Lauzer and Matthias Maute, a whole host of artists will be playing with contrast.

The Montreal Baroque Festival will be in Old Montreal again this year, and it’s bringing back one of its most beloved traditions—the Montreal Baroque Parade on rue Saint-Paul. In addition to an unforgettable concert series, this season boasts a kids’ concert, a musical brunch, experimental performances, a Nightclub soirée, and much more!

from June 15th to June 18th