EarlyMusicNews.Org

(As the year end grows closer, we are reminded to consider giving our support to local early music performing groups and associations. Please do consider helping out locally. -- Editor)

“As the end of the year quickly approaches - newsletter by newsletter - all of us at San Francisco Classical Voice would like to take a few moments to thank you for making SFCV part of your life every week!

Like you, all of us were drawn to Classical Voice by two passions - a love a great music and a desire to have the latest  on the Bay Area music scene at our fingertips!  We work tirelessly to filter, create, and deliver the best of the best for you every week of the year.

“The knighthood, the vast discography stretching from Monteverdi to Brahms, and the acclaim that has come with it are all tangible evidence that Sir John Eliot Gardiner, 68, is a pervasive presence throughout the European and American classical music world. 

EarlyMusicNews.Org just wanted to remind readers of the GEMS “La Salle Adams Fund $20,000 Challenge Grant” Challenge. 

“  … the $20,000 challenge grant awarded GEMS by the La Salle Adams Fund is quite serious.  The Fund has given us until December 31, 2011 to raise the matching $20,000, providing GEMS with much-needed funding for our coming season. …”  and also …
  

“While this blog is mainly directed towards those with at least a general appreciation of early music, there are bound to be occasional visitors who are not intimately familiar with the lute and its important place in historical music. 
  

News from Oxford University Press (OUP) that their “ 2011 Holiday Sale is underway with savings of up to 65% on our bestselling titles—how can you not take a look? Check one more person off your list and get your holiday shopping done early. “

OUP has recently revamped their online catalogue to give us a more interactive feeling … but for those who prefer the traditional view, you may still access the catalogue this way.
  

“Could the gentle Bard have been a thug? A scholar's discovery in the British Archives adds a different stroke to the portrait of one of the most admired but least-known men in English letters”. The article also points to the status of entertainment theaters of the day. (ed.)
  

For those of you who are interested in recorder programmes, the Blok Amsterdam Facebook site has been updated with a new fresh set of photos. You may also see previous sets of photos that may also be of interest.
   

A picture is worth a thousand words and more. The Festes de Thalie website has added a selection of photos now available on their webpages. Soon to come, some sound clips from the Agrémens concert of October 22 and 23, 2011. You may either let the photos scroll at their own pace or click through with your mouse button at your own pace. A well-worth visit.
  

From the “British Library - Document Supply News, November 2011 Newsletter” which may be of interest to early music research.

“52,000 full text theses now available for immediate download

At the start of 2011 EThOS moved to become a shared service delivered by the British Library on behalf of Higher Education. A new Governing Board was set up, and a new business model developed to bring improvements and enhancements to the current service.
  

(Although not directly related to early music, perhaps of interest of early music research.)

“Examine this fundamental question with four free articles selected by the Archaeological Dialogues Editors.

“The recent release of the film Anonymous prompted heated discussion about who wrote Shakespeare's plays. James Shapiro tackled this question in his book Contested Will, which definitively portrays "the man from Stratford" as the official playwright. In an interview with Shapiro, Folger Education Director Bob Young asked why this controversy still sticks, and gets tips for talking with (classroom) students about who wrote Shakespeare's plays.“ …
   

The latest GEMS newsletter is out, and, of note on these pages, you will find the results of the GEMS new board of directors and listing of events in the New York area. The newsletter is published twice monthly and shows the vibrancy of the early music community in New York.
   

“‘Erotic oratorio’ is the odd-sounding definition devised by modern scholars, such as Howard E. Smither, for those pious music dramas employing sex-laden plots from the Bible, the Apocrypha or the lives of Saints in order to give the audience moral instruction in a quasi-operatic, if generally unstaged, form. …“
  

Tuesday 8 November, 10-6pm

Handel House opens its doors on its anniversary day. Join us on this special occasion, free of charge, to visit the house, see our exhibitions, and listen to music which will be performed throughout the day.
    

(Originally broadcast on November 6th 2011, *** this podcast will remain available on the BBC site for only for the next 6 days. ***) 

“As part of Radio 3's month long celebration of Symphony, the Early Music Show traces the early history. Catherine Bott reflects on the trail-blazing work of the pioneering symphonists of the 18th century such as …”
  

From the most recent blog on the “Unquiet Thoughts” blog by Ron Andrico and Donna Stewart: 

“ Gioseffo Zarlino ( 1517 – 1590) was a composer and music theorist who wrote with clarity about lofty subjects like minutely different divisions of the scale that results in intonation unlike the equal temperament to which we are accustomed today.  …
  

Chalice Consort Named Artist in Residence at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption

SAN FRANCISCO – Chalice Consort has just been named Artist in Residence at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption. The residency reflects a shared goal of the choir and the cathedral: bringing centuries-old traditions to life in a modern setting.

“The Smithsonian celebrates American Indian Heritage Month throughout November with a series of performances, lectures, exhibitions, family activities and tours at various museums. All programs are free unless otherwise indicated. …”
  

(A new twist on fundraising. -- ed.)

TAFELMUSIK LOTTERY: A CHANCE TO WIN A HARLEY!

A 2012 Harley-Davidson Softail Deluxe and Gear package valued at $24,669.04.
PLUS, BONUS $1,000 EARLY BIRD CASH PRIZES!
  

You may be interested in visiting La Petite Bande’s Facebook site as the ensemble has been busy adding photos to its photo section. Always a delight to see photos of performances and rehearsals. Do have a peek at their photos and perhaps drop in to one of the scheduled concerts. 

“We’ll hear musical laments that pass beyond the veil from the Codex Las Huelgas, as well as a musical homage by Josquin des Prez, and death’s depiction in the keyboard music of Johann Jakob Froberger.  Plus, we’ll follow Percival on his quest for the Holy Grail, travel along Celtic crossroads, and hear a thirteenth-century service for St. Martin of Tours. …“
  

“Edmund (E.H.) Fellowes (1870–1951) … was made a Companion of Honour in 1944. Always a meticulous man, he compiled an annotated alphabetical list of all the 220 letters of congratulations he received. It includes almost every well-known contemporary British musician and composer, along with many famous names from other fields, which demonstrates his reputation at the time.“
  

“To keep pace with the expansion of GEMS's activities, we have "spun off" four new websites. … We will maintain pages with summary information for each of these GEMS projects on our own website, with links to the full sites for each.
  

“Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar Corp., has responded to the August 24 raid of Gibson facilities in Nashville and Memphis by the Federal Government. …“
   

Visit the Oxford Journals website to view the table of contents as well as its abstracts. You will need a subscription to read Early Music online.