End of era

Since 2012, Renaissance Warragul has brought a season of concerts to Wesley of Warragul each year. Sadly, Renaissance Warragul 2017 marked the end of this era.

Arranged by The Early Arts Guild of Victoria, the programs typically included a varied fare in three concerts and a Christmas Pageant, featuring music, song and dance of Elizabethan England, but encompassing the earlier mediaeval and later Baroque periods, and the musical arts of Western Europe, too.

Performers have included virtuoso solo, duo, and trio instrumentalists; vocalists, including an exponent of the revived art of gesture; the Early Music Consort of Melbourne; and the Rippon Lea Renaissance and Baroque Dancers. The Christmas Pageants gave us the full panoply of magnificent costuming, stately dancing, and music played on period instruments now otherwise mostly forgotten.

Unfortunately, the expenses of staging the Renaissance Warragul series at Wesley – an intimately and acoustically ideal venue for the performances – considerably exceeded returns from ticket sales, despite the loyal support of subscribers.

This year only two concerts were possible – a harpsichord and baroque violin duo, and a trio from Melbourne’s Bayside Chamber Players. Both were memorable for the quality and range of music played, but even a similarly modest program would not be viable next year.

Without the inspiration and energy of the principals of The Early Arts Guild of Victoria, Helga and Marcus Hill, Renaissance Warragul would not have been conceived and nurtured for six years.