STA, 12 August 2022 - Brežice Seviqc, an internationally renowned festival of early music, will get under way at the Devil's Tower near spa town Dolenjske Toplice on Friday with a concert by Serbian lutenist Andrej Jovanić. The festival will take place at picturesque venues in Dolenjske Toplice, Brežice, Šmartno pri Litiji, and Loška Dolina.
The long-running festival will also feature the Slovenian trio OperArija, consisting of soprano Petra Vrh Vrezec, baritone Al Vrezec and organist Gregor Klančič. They will perform in the church of St Lovrenc in Brežice in the east of the country.
Another concert will be given at Bogenšperk Castle in Šmartno pri Litiji, east of Ljubljana, featuring Italian cellist Federico Toffano.
The festival will then move to Brežice Castle for a solo soncert by Spanish violinist Jorge Jimenez. Other artists to perform there will be mezzo-soprano Jana Janku, violinist Martin Flašar, flautist Lucie Lukašova, harpsichordist Kamila Dubska and Katerina Stavkova on viola da gamba, who is form the Czech quintet Musica Poetica.
The last evening of the festival will take place on 20 August at Snežnik Castle in southern Slovenia, where the Slovenian three-member ensemble Messa di Voce will perform along with Colombian cellist Johanna Lopez Valencia on viola da gamba.
The trio consists of Urška Cvetko - recorder, Mojca Jerman - violin, and Izidor Erazem Grafenauer - baroque guitar and theorbo. The concert is already sold out.
One hour before each concert, talks with the musicians will be organised.
The festival was established in 1982. In 1997 it was moved from Radovljica in the north-west to Brežice, a year later it spread to neighbouring municipalities, and later to a number of venues across the country.
The name Seviqc is a contraction of the Latin "semper vita quam creata", which translates roughly as "always live as created", as the music performed at the festival remains faithful to the era when it was created.
