EarlyMusicNews.Org

Orchestre LES PASSIONS
Isabelle Poulenard, soprano. Guillemette Laurens, alto.
Vincent Lièvre-Picard, tenor (Evangelist). Arnaud Richard, bass (Pilate).
Jean-François Rouchon, bass (Jesus). Antonio Guirao, bass (Peter,Judas)
chorus : ARCHIPELS (Joël Suhubiette) - A CONTRETEMPS (Guy Zanesi)
ARPEGE (J. Charpentier) – Maîtrise du CONSERVATOIRE de Toulouse (M. Opstad)
Musical Direction Jean-Marc Andrieu

Halle-aux-Grains, Toulouse (2011, March 23; April 3)
Palais des Sports, Bordeaux (2011, April 2)

American Bach Soloists Music Director, Jeffrey Thomas, speaks about their annual performances of Handel's Messiah, one of the greatest oratorios of all time, in San Francisco's Grace Cathedral. Baritone Jesse Blumberg and the American Bach Choir are featured in performance clips.

Author: Oesterley, W O E
Published: 1923, 2010

This work surveys a wide spread of old rites, practised during initiations, puberty, marriages, burials, and other major events of life. Relying on ornamental artwork on pottery and on ancient inscriptions and literature, the author examines, among other topics, Old Testament terms for 'dancing,' and forms of musical accompaniment in the time of the Hebrews; the sacred processional dance, performed by Hittites, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and other peoples; the ritual dance around sacred objects; and sacred dances performed during harvests and other festivals.

This is the third annual podcast to focus on some of the most interesting early music heard throughout the year. The list, whittled down from hundreds of choices, is meant to cover recordings that have been heard either on the weekly podcast or program, yet there is at least one gem that will be new to Harmonia’s loyal followers.

(Although not directly music related, this article may be of interest to some -- ed.)

The job of a renaissance court portraitist was to produce likenesses of his sovereigns to display at the palace and give to foreign dignitaries or prospective brides.

Église du Bouclier – Strasbourg

With Italian influence and in defense of the French style, these three composers entertained contrasting rapports with the Court at Versailles. The delicacy and richness of music by Charpentier regularly attracted Louis XIV in Paris, while Marin Marais, Lully's successor, enjoyed the grace of the King in the splendor of the Court. Couperin, meanwhile, sailed incessantly from Paris to Versailles and was able to skillfully combine French and Italian styles by the subtle and learned style of his writing.

Johann Adolph Hasse (1699-1783) was arguably the most successful opera composer of the 18th century. Together with his favourite librettist, Pietro Metastasio, Hasse defined the genre of opera seria for an entire generation.

Almost exactly a year ago, the New York soprano Jolle Greenleaf, the Boston violinist Scott Metcalfe and a couple of dozen close associates from around the country presented the fruit of what they called the Green Mountain Project: a performance of Monteverdi’s grand and glorious Vespers of 1610, mounted in observance of the work’s 400th anniversary.

Come to a gala showcase featuring 7 of the finest world-class early music ensembles, produced by GEMS Live! and Nancy Carlin Associates.

Once a preserve of opulent traditional productions, the summer Salzburg Festival has become a destination for viewing more cutting edge stagings. 

In a series of five lectures Manuel Minguillon will explore the main features of Baroque Operas, focusing on Handel's in particular.

We are thrilled that 2011 sees the tenth anniversary of the Handel House Museum and to celebrate the history of the house, the main exhibition in 2011 will focus on the building itself, its occupants and the developments it has seen over the centuries.

Dear Customers, Colleagues, & Friends,

As many of you know, I've been in indifferent health for the last couple of years, and my doctors are now insisting that I must take life more easily. So, with enormous regret, I am closing the retail part of Dance Books and in future shall run the company solely as publishers. I have tried to find a buyer for the retail part of the company, but so far without success, so if there are any eccentric millionaires out there who've always dreamt of running an online dance bookselling company, do feel free to get in touch.

A new kind of songbook emerged in the later fifteenth century: personalized, portable, and lavishly decorated. Five closely related chansonniers, copied in the Loire Valley region of central France c. 1465-c. 1475, are the earliest surviving examples of this new genre.

The international workshop in Thoiry, France (2010 February 19-26) is directed to all instrumentalists of the “Baroque” orchestra, beginner and experienced musicians, as well as modern instrumentalists wishing to learn about the practice and interpretation of Renaissance music and pre-classical Baroque. It is also directed to singers interested in the same repertoire.

Change can be good. It certainly was for David Daniels. After studying at Cincinnati College's Cincinnati Conservatory of Music as a tenor, he switched to the highly unlikely vocal category of countertenor as a graduate student at the University of Michigan.

“With its tricky ‘orientalist’ connotations, Singspiel-originating spoken dialogue, not to mention the problem of finding five outstanding singers who can cope with the considerable demands of the solo roles (and the commercial challenge presented by the need to pay a chorus who sing barely a few bars of music), Mozart’s Die Entführung aus den Serail does not receive as many stagings as it deserves.

The discovery of a previously unknown score of a flute concerto by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) in the National Archives of Scotland has been announced. Andrew Woolley, Research Fellow at the University of Southampton, has identified the score of 'Il Gran Mogol' as a lost part of series of four ‘national’ concertos by Vivaldi. The manuscript score (GD40/15/54/2) is in the hand of a copyist, and is among the family papers of the Marquesses of Lothian, an important collection that was purchased by the National Archives of Scotland in 1991.

Easy Dances for Renaissance Lute,  selected from sources in the  Leipzig music library.

35 easy dance pieces for Renaissance Lute. Music for lute does often come in form of complete lute books from the period, but sometimes music is found bound together with totally different books. From these  appendices we have made this edition: from an appendix of Leipzig Ms II.66. and Leipzig II.5.32b. Expect enjoyable dance pieces that are not difficult to play. French tablature / Renaissance tuning (Euro  20.-)

Restoration Theater (in brief)

In 1660, Charles II was crowned King of England. The country had been in a political and parliamentary dictatorship for many years, and had now been restored. Hence, a new chapter in English history called the Restoration. It wasn’t just the restoration of the monarchy, however, but the return of a culture that had been shut down during the dictatorship, such as public theaters.

In sports they say, “Winning isn’t the most important thing—it’s the only thing.” In the theater, getting the show on the boards out front is the key.

All else is, if not irrelevant, subservient: the look, the style, the star, the archival accuracy. You can pull any strings you like; just get out there and dance. Or sing.