CzechMate – Meeting at the Crossroads

Baroque without borders.

Before the likes of Vivaldi and Bach set the benchmark, baroque music was wild, temperamental, and emotionally charged. This program from CzechMate plunges into the rarely heard instrumental music of the 1600s, where composers like Castello, Fontana, and Schmelzer were inventing the language of Western music in real time.

Performing works without baroque’s formal architecture, the ensemble invites audiences into a conversation that evolves through continuous, unpredictable journeys. Here, short bursts pivot from melancholy to exuberance in a heartbeat, and virtuosic passages erupt without warning.

Australian dulcian specialist Jane Gower – performing on the bassoon’s expressive Renaissance ancestor – joins Czech violinist Helena Zemanová, Australian violinist Julia Fredersdorff, and Danish harpsichord maestro Lars Ulrik Mortensen. Together, they share baroque music from before it was told how to behave.

Friday 15 May 2026 – 6:00pm

Duration: 1 hour (no interval). Please note, running times are approximate and subject to change.

Tickets: Standard $55 ($45 Concession)

Jane Gower dulcian; Helena Zemanová violin; Julia Fredersdorff violin; Lars Ulrik Mortensen harpsichord

Dario Castello  Sonata 9

Giovanni Battista Fontana  Violin Sonata II

Michelangelo Rossi  Toccata VII

Diego Oritz  2 Ricercares

Francesco Turini  Sonata 19

Dario Castello  Sonata 10

Johann Balthasar Erben Sonata ut-re-mi

Philipp Friedrich Buchner  Sonata 8

Johann Heinrich Schmelzer Polnische Sackpfeifen