[Gatesedge] Artful Thursday Lecture at MFAH

[Hillary Greenslade]

Sorry for the late notice (it's tonight), forwarding post, 
A bit post period, but still maybe of interest to some.
Hillary
 
http://www.mfah.org/calendar/artful-thursday-baroque-gestures/5894/
 
Baroque Gestures
Thursday, June 7, 6:30 p.m.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Brown Auditorium Theater
1001 Bissonnet
Artful Thursdays are free and open to the public.

At the dawn of the 17th century, when virtually all European arts aspired toward greater expressivity and emotional impact, the most lavish performances combined harmonious instrumental and sung music, theatrical dance steps and gestures, elegant costumes, vivid scenery, and special effects.

Gestures were of particular importance, involving the whole body—arms, hands, and fingers; legs and feet; head and eyes; and torso. Each gesture, movement, or pause had a meaning according to a set code that the royal and aristocratic audiences understood.

At the June Artful Thursday, Matthew Dirst, associate professor of music at the Moores School of Music, University of Houston, and artistic director of Ars Lyrica Houston, and special guest Catherine Turocy, artistic director, New York Baroque Dance Company, present a lecture/demonstration that explores Baroque gestures through excerpts from Claudio Monteverdi´s Madrigals of Love and War, demonstrations of dance steps, and references to select works from the MFAH collections.