EarlyMusicNews.Org

“By means of our tenacious endeavour studying, researching and performing the lute- song repertoire and the development of our singular approach to it, we strive to do justice to its great historical and artistic significance. …

Location: Cité des Congrès, 5, rue de Valmy 44000 Nantes, FR

The European Festival of  the“PRINTEMPS DES ARTS de Nantes et du Grand Ouest” announces the concert of June 20th 2012 “The Swirl of Emotions in XIIth Century Italy" featuring Philippe Jaroussky, contratenor; Marie-Nicole Lemieux, contralto; Artaserse Ensemble.
     

Available in FLAC 24, FLAC16 and MP3 for purchase download. This brand New Release is sold at the same price for FLAC 24 as FLAC 16 and MP3 during a limited time. 

“In March 1783, the readers of Cramer’s Magazin der Musik could read about a certain ‘Louis van Betthoven’, a ‘boy … of most promising talent’, whose first published work was being advertised as 'nine variations for the pianoforte, written by him on a march, engraved at Mannheim.’ The piece in question was the Dressler Variations, WoO 63, and it marked not only the beginning of an illustrious career, but also the start of Ludwig van Beethoven's lifelong involvement with variation form, culminating almost forty years later in the monumental Diabelli Variations for solo piano, and – in another field – the third movement of his Ninth symphony. …
     

Location: Christ the King Lutheran Church, 2353 Rice Boulevard at Greenbriar, Houston TX, US

“The Bach Society presents Bach Vespers this Sunday, the final event of its 30th Anniverary Season, featuring the Bach Choir and Mercury Baroque under the direction of Artistic Director Albert LeDoux. The centerpiece of the program is the cantata O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 20. This opening work of Bach's first complete annual cycle of cantatas for Leipzig is particularly colorful and dramatic. Also on the program are motets by Johann Ludwig Krebs, one of Bach's students, and Thomas Stoltzer. The season ends as it began, with the Geistliche Chormusik of Heinrich Schütz, whose sublime motet So fahr ich hin zu Jesus Christ is the perfect response to Bach's fiery cantata. Soloists are Rebecca Henderson, alto; Patrick Perez, tenor; and Carlton Ford, bass. The guest organist is Hyun Jyung Seoh.   …
    

“If you are not yet familiar with the marvelous French label Naïve, what a wonderful opportunity awaits you today, as bundles of some of their early music (and other) treasures are now available in jaw-dropping 4-for-the-price-of-1 packages. We also have a series of Naïve single-disc reissues for just $9.99 each. It all adds up to some irresistible opportunities at ArkivMusic to acquaint yourself with the exceptional sound worlds of Naïve.”
    

From the latest Tudor Choir newsletter (19 apr 2012)

“THE TUDOR CHOIR CELEBRATES ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY with a five-concert subscription series of four concerts at historic Blessed Sacrament Church in Seattle's University District, where the choir is a resident ensemble, and a Thanksgiving weekend concert at Town Hall. Concert programming will include Tallis' 40-part Spem in alium and Allegri's legendary Miserere, as well as the choir's annual Christmas concert, this year with brass quintet, at the end of December. The season also will see the release of a new Tudor Choir CD--disc of Tudor polyphony that will be previewed in the season opening concert. …

“Music Director Jeffrey Thomas and the American Bach Soloists are proud to announce their 2012-13 Season of some of the Baroque’s finest masterworks by Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Corelli, and Charpentier.“ …
      

For those of you interested in acquiring early music manuscripts, books, or collecting autographs, you may be interested in visiting the LIM Antiqua website. 

Here are some background notes regarding LIM Antiqua: …

The Couperin family is in many ways synonymous with French baroque music. For nearly 200 years, Couperins were the main musicians at the French court and occupied the organ console at St. Gervais in Paris.
            

(From the latest Dunedin Consort & Players newsletter)

Locations:
Concert Hall, Perth UK (04 may 2012)
Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh UK (06 may 2012)

Dunedin's final season concerts complete the Brandenburgs set with the impossibly virtuosic Brandenburg concerto number 2 for Trumpet, Violin, Oboe and Recorder. Bach's Cantata BWV 174 is one of those gems that show how Bach re-invented his own music, in this occasion his Brandenburg concerto no 3.
    

Location: Dortmund, Germany

“In 1692, Henry Purcell's semi-opera "The Fairy Queen" was premiered. Henry Purcell used Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream as a template for the Baroque opera. Philippa Waite has choreographed several songs from the "Fairy Queen" into dances that are taught in this workshop.

Experience in Baroque dance is required for this course.”

(From a recent Unquiet Thoughts blog post)

“… This morning, we dip into the writings presumably authored by Giovanni de' Bardi, Count of Vernio (1534 – 1612), from his correspondence with Giulio Caccini  (1551 – 1618). Bardi is credited by posterity as a cheerleader for the simpler, more dramatic and expressive monody that led to what we have come to know as Baroque music, in opposition to the headier polyphony that  characterized much music from the 16th century. …”
    

Location: Picture Ray Studios, 245 West 18th Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues) Manhattan, New York NY, US

Parthenia, New York’s premiere viol consort, will present Musica Universalis - Musical Invention in the Age of Discovery, on Saturday, May 5 at 8:00 PM at Picture Ray Studio, 245 West 18th Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues) in Manhattan. Special guest will be renowned viol virtuoso Sarah Cunningham.

Repertoire will be selections from the late 15th and 16th centuries by Thomas Stolzter, Heinrich Isaac, Vincenzo Ruffo, William Cornish, Christopher Tye, Robert Parsons and William Byrd.
    

“Dutch harpsichordist,  fortepianist and conductor Jacques Ogg visited Bloomington, Indiana in January and joined me [Wendy Gillespie] for a conversation about his role as artistic director for Lyra Baroque Orchestra (Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN) and his experience of being a student of the late Gustav Leonhardt.

Jacques also shares his thoughts about early keyboards and points out some of his more “interesting” recordings. …“

A reminder that you may want to browse the pages on the Libreria Musicale Italiana (LIM) website as there have been many new early music titles added to their online catalogue.

Here are a few of the new titles found on their site: …
    

From a recent ArkivMusic newsletter, we are reminded to check the new additions on their pages. Some of the early music titles may be of interest to some of our readers.
     

(From the latest Accordone newsletter, the concert listings for the month of May and June 2012)

Background notes of Accordone: “Guido Morini and Marco Beasley founded Accordone in 1984, motivated by a great passion for the music before Bach, for original instruments and for a new musicological approach to problems of interpretation. At the heart of their work is Italian music for voice and basso continuo from the 16th and 17th centuries. The voice of Marco Beasley, immediately recognizable for its beautiful timbre, in perfect stylistic balance with the instruments which accompany him, is the ideal companion for the profound knowledge of instrumental, improvisational and compositional questions cultivated by Guido Morini, and make Accordone a unique ensemble on the European scene.”

The following are the next May, June 2012 concerts: …
     

“Kick off the summer with a weekend of small and large ensembles on an idyllic retreat center campus in rural Connecticut. The Amherst Early Music Weekend Workshops are smaller, more relaxed versions of the summer festival. Take classes in a variety of subjects for most of the day -- repertory, notation, technique, and ensembles -- and in the evenings enjoy all-workshop group sessions (kind of like Collegium at the Festival) and a Sunday night faculty concert. There's also English country dancing and the companionship of your fellow musicians.”
                       

Locations:
Temple des Carmes - Montauban (82) (1 may 2012)
Cathédrale St Etienne - Toulouse (31) (2 may 2012)
Abbatiale Saint Robert de La Chaise-Dieu (43) (26 aug 2012)

Les Passions - Chœur de chambre Les éléments
Solistes: Anne Magouët, Vincent Lièvre-Picard, Jean-François Novelli et Alain Buet
Direction Jean-Marc Andrieu

“Continuing the exploration and restitution of works of the choirmaster of the Cathedral of Toulouse –  Jean Gilles, Les Passions offer the third and final part of this great enterprise of critical acclaim.
       

“The Tudor Choir joins forces with Seattle Baroque Orchestra and a stellar lineup of soloists to celebrate the music of Antonio Vivaldi. This festive program includes sinfonias and concertos for diverse instruments as well as the ever popular Gloria in D, scored for trumpet, oboe, strings, and voices. Soloists include oboist Debra Nagy, sopranos Linda Tsatsanis and Catherine Webster, and contralto Kirsten Sollek.

From the latest newsletter from Gotham Early Music Scene (GEMS)

“GEMS has been working with Juilliard's Historical Performance Program since its inception to help broaden its reach by connecting in valuable ways with New York's professional early music community.  Among our projects are listing the graduation recitals offered by students about to leave the program and join our community as working musicians, and extending invitations to working professionals to attend special events at Juilliard, including their master classes, at no charge.  …