CONCERT ARCHIVES
Renaissance & Baroque, Bringing Early Music to Pittsburgh, presents
authentic performances (on period instruments) of early music, which we generally consider to be
the period from the Medieval through the early Classical period (about 1800).
2010-2011 CONCERT SEASON
Newberry Consort
"The Loves of Queen Elizabeth"
FILM! MUSIC! INTRIGUE!
The mellifluous strings of Newberry Consort
with soprano Ellen Hargis perform music of the Elizabethan court,
illuminating the classic 1912 silent film The Loves of Queen Elizabeth, which stars the legendary
Sarah Bernhardt. This multi-media event is presented in association with the
University of Pitttsburgh Film Studies Department and
will be held at Bellefield Auditorium.
Saturday, September 18, 2010 8:00 pm Bellefield Auditorium
Stile Antico
The Golden Age: Music of Tudor & Jacobean England
From the courts of that Husband from Hell, King Henry VIII, across Queen Elizabeth I’s
golden reign, to King James I, musical masters including Tallis, Byrd and Gibbons produced
some wonderful songs. Our a cappella singers, the 2009 Gramophone Award-winning ensemble
Stile Antico, highlight that colorful and turbulent era. Presented at and in association with
Calvary Episcopal Church—315 Shady Avenue.
Saturday, October 9, 2010 8:00 pm Calvary Episcopal Church
Click Here for Program Notes and
a Biography of the group.
"Winners of the 2009 Early Music America Medieval/Renaissance Competition!"
The first concert from the Abigail McGuire Emerging Artist Fund!!
Plaine and Easie
Continental Connections: Musical Channel Crossing
A brisk international trade in music and musicians brought songs
and dances by Europe’s great composers to the courts, taverns
and theatres of 16th and 17th century London. Our selection for
the first Emerging Artist program are the winners of the Early
Music America Competition 2009, who bring you a program
ranging from bodaciously bawdy to serenely cerebral, lyrical to
danceable—a melange of English, Italian, French, Dutch, and
Spanish music.
Saturday, November 13, 2010 8:00 pm Synod Hall
Click Here
for the Program Listing and Program Notes
Baltimore Consort
Wassail, Wassail
Lift your spirits high with a special toast to the holiday season. Enjoy the musical libations of
Baltimore Consort as they fill our glasses to the brim with carols and dance
tunes from France, the British Isles and Appalachia.
Wassail all over the town!
Saturday, December 11, 2010 8:00 pm Synod Hall
Click Here
for the Program Listing, Notes, and Biographies
Voices of Music
An Evening with Bach
These acclaimed San Francisco area musicians use their large variety of instruments
to paint a warm musical spectrum, while soprano Laura Heimes brings her own
shining sound. The program highlights the genius of Bach’s lyrical musical invention,
including the beloved Air on a G String.
Saturday, February 19, 2011 8:00 pm Synod Hall
Click Here
for the Program Listing, Notes, and Biographies
Ensemble Caprice
Salsa Baroque
Winners of the PRIX DU PUBLIC (Audience Appreciation Prize) of the Conseil des arts de Montréal en tournée!
¡Muy Caliente!
Turn up the heat! The celebrated Canadian group returns
to bring us a fascinating blend of European polyphony
and Mexican and Bolivian traditional music. The New and
Old Worlds came together in the 16th and 17th centuries
when musical dialogue criss-crossing the Atlantic produced
extraordinary and beautiful results.
Saturday, March 19, 2011 8:00 pm Synod Hall
Click Here
for the Program Listing and Notes
Stephen Schultz, Chatham
Baroque and Andrew Appel
April in Paris
We stroll the Champ-Elysées with our dear friends,
flutist Stephen Schultz, Chatham Baroque, and
harpsichordist Andrew Appel. La soirée française will
include Telemann’s Paris Quartets, his tribute to France,
as well as some tasty French delights.
“Chatham Baroque is masterful... The ensemble plays with great tonal beauty and stands up to any ensemble
from across the Atlantic." -- Early Music America
Saturday, April 9, 2011 8:00 pm Synod Hall
Click Here
for the Program Listing and Notes
2009-2010 CONCERT SEASON
Aulos Ensemble
Handel's Aviary
On the wings of a dove! The Aulos Ensemble explores the amazing use of birdsong in Baroque music.
Soar to the banks of the river Seine with the lyric talents of Rameau’s Hebe…Hear Handel’s opera
arias all atwitter…Experience the force of nature in Bach’s sacred arias...Watch Rameau tame the
savage breast…
Saturday, September 26, 2009 8:00 pm Synod Hall
Click Here to read Program Notes
The Medieval Beasts, featuring Patrick Ball
The Flame of Love:
The Legend of Tristan & Iseult
The long, dark nights of Medieval Europe were rich with stories.But one legend was told and
beloved beyond all others, that of Tristan and Iseult. Filled with love, passion, magic, and death,
it captivated listeners because it was the mirror of their own hearts, minds and souls. This made
for evenings of brilliance and enchantment throughout the Dark Ages. The Flame of Love
brings this same enchantment into our own time and place.
Saturday, October 24, 2009 8:00 pm Synod Hall
Apollo's Fire
Mediterranean Nights:
Sultry Songs & Passionate Dances from Italy and Spain
Escape the winter doldrums in an evening of captivating Spanish and Italian love songs, driving
dances, castanets, and foot percussion. The intimate world of 17th-century tunes, ballads, and
dances will set sparks flying with daring instrumental improvisations. Our sojourn explores the
passionate chamber works of Castello, Marini, Uccellini, Merula and Hidalgo. Boccherini’s Fandango
Quintet brings the evening to a red hot finish.
Saturday, November 7, 2009 8:00 pm Synod Hall
Chris Norman & David Greenberg
In the Fields in Frost and Snow
A musical celebration of the winter season drawn from the roots of Canada’s Maritime musical
heritage interwoven with works by C.P.E. Bach, Telemann, and Tartini. Come explore these
musical traditions with a keen eye to their European sources and roots in 16th to 19th century
Scotland, England, Ireland, Wales, and France. Enthusiasm, imagination, and a palpable
sense of fun will be the hallmarks of our holiday cheer!
Saturday, December 5, 2009 8:00 pm Synod Hall
Newberry Consort
Arcadia Revisited:
A Garden of Earthly Delights
In the wake of fires, famine, war, and the beheading of their
King, 17th-century Londoners sought solace in the utopian pastoral
fantasy they called Arcadia. The beautiful music of Henry and
William Lawes, Nicholas Lanier, John Wilson, and Henry Purcell
spun stories of mythological drama and frolicking comedy that
entertained nobles and commoner alike.
Saturday, January 23, 2010 8:00 pm Synod Hall
Click Here for Program and Bios
Musica Pacifica
Dancing in the Isles
Something for everyone! With rousing Baroque folk and
dance music from Scotland, Ireland, and England, this
program includes arrangements of traditional Irish and
Scottish folk tunes, dance suites from the English theater,
Jacobean masque music, trio sonatas by Scots Oswald and
McGibbon, as well as works with a Scottish flavor by Matteis
and Veracini, and Purcell’s famous “Three Parts upon a
Ground” to boot! Come and kick up your heels!
Saturday, March 20, 2010 8:00 pm Synod Hall
Click Here for Program and Bios
Ensemble Masques
A Musical Fencing School
En garde! Touché! Plié! A rousing evening of dance and fight music! This vibrant Montreal-based
ensemble takes us on a tour of Europe. Our journey begins with familiar works by Purcell, Vivaldi,
and Rameau. Then it’s on to more exotic locales with unique gems like Schmelzer’s
“Fechtschule” (The Fencing School) which musically depicts a swordfight, and the Sinfonia in
D Minor of J. S. Bach’s ninth son, J. C. F. Bach whose works bridged the high
Baroque to the early Classical style.
Saturday, April 17, 2010 8:00 pm Synod Hall
Click Here for Program
2008-2009 CONCERT SEASON
Chris Norman Ensemble
with Concerto Caledonia,
and the CMU Drama Department
The Battle of Fort Duquesne
A multimedia celebration of the 250th anniversary of the
founding of Pittsburgh
R&B's first commissioned work. Leave your muskets at home!
Yinz
or Vous? For the answer, explore the complex dynamic of this moment in history as musicians,
dancers, and actors tell the story of the decisive "Battle at the Forks" at Pittsburgh's Point.
Follow the battle through the music of 18th century England and France, as well as traditional and
First Nations music. This spectacle comes to life with dance and with the words of John Forbes,
Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington.
Saturday, September 27, 2008 8:00 pm Synod Hall
Tallis Scholars voted numero uno by R&B audiences!
Tallis Scholars
The Spanish High Renaissance
The early music scene in Spain was not all castanets and roses. The crystal-clear voices of
the Tallis Scholars illuminate the rich musical heritage of late 16th-century Spain. Sacred
choral works of Victoria, Lobo, and Guerrero will inspire and transport you to new heights.
Saturday, October 18, 2008 8:00 pm Calvary Episcopal Church
Click Here to read concert and program notes
Richard Egarr
Bach's "Well-Tempered Clavier"
He's bach! This time playing elegant little pieces, preludes and
fuges in all the keys. Composed in 1722, the Well-Tempered Clavier went unpublished
for 51 years after Bach's death. This music was kept alive through the generations by his
students -- and music students ever since. In Egarr's hands, these Baroque pearls reveal
their luster.
Sunday, November 16, 2008 3:00 pm Synod Hall
Rebel
Pastorale: Christmas Concerti
Festive Music & Carols
Not getting enough sheep? Imagine yourself on the hills outside
Rome . . .Italian pastorales on pipes and strings. Lush 18th-century carols and rustic
music by Torelli, Vivaldi, and Telemon round out the herd.
Saturday, December 6, 2008 8:00 pm Synod Hall
A special gift for R&B's 40th anniversary!
King's Noyse
Olde, Newe, Borrowed, Blue
- Something old -- works by Byrd and Dowland, and ballads, including Barbara Allen.
- Something new -- English dance tunes in new arrangements.
- Something borrowed -- English lutes, songs by Purcell and others, reworked for violin band.
- Something blue -- jazz standards by Gershwin and Berstein.
We know you'll be saying "I do".
Saturday, January 31, 2009 8:00 pm Synod Hall
Performing on beer and wine bottles from their own cellars!
Flanders Recorder Quartet
Banchetto Musicale
A musical banquet of French hors d'oeuvres,
Italian antipasti, and a scrumptious array of Flemish desserts. Let the musicians of
Flanders tickle your palate in this program of music written for royal mealtimes. Sit back
and enjoy the house specialty -- dinner music par excellence.
Saturday, Febuary 21, 2009 8:00 pm Synod Hall
Pittsburgh Premiere!
Lucidarium
Radici musicali: Musical Roots of
Commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte,the Renaissance equivalent of
The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, was street theater and social commentary
rolled into one. Something familiar, something peculiar, something for everyone --
Commedia dell'arte tonight!
Saturday, March 21, 2008 8:00 pm Synod Hall
An R&B top-ten favorite!
Piffaro
London Waits: Music for a Renaissance Wind Band from
the time of Elizabeth I.
With 24 years and countless concerts under their collective belt,
the musicians of Piffaro bring to Pittsburgh music from Renaissance England fit for a queen.
Saturday, April 18, 2008 8:00 pm Synod Hall
2007-2008 CONCERT SEASON
Spiritus Collective
Italian Baroque Bananza
7 musicians: violins, natural trumpet, sackbuts, theorbo, organ
Witness the birth of the trumpet as Spiritus Collective presents Girolamo Fantini's 17th century
sonatas—some of the very first published music for trumpet—along with Gabrieli's masterful organ
solos and some rousing violin and trombone duets...Strings and organ and brass, oh my!!
Saturday, September 29, 2007 8:00 pm Synod Hall
Click Here to read concert program and program notes
Red Priest
Nightmare in Venice
4 musicians from England: recorder, violin, cello, harpsichord
Magical, mysterious, fantastical — a theatrical presentation of
some of the most extraordinary chamber music of the baroque era. Vivaldi's Nightmare
Concerto, Johnson's The Satyrs' Masque, Tartini's Devil's Trill Sonata and more.
Saturday, October 20, 2007 8:00 pm Synod Hall
Click Here to read concert program and program notes
El Mundo
¡Zarzuela y Opera!
9 musicians: soprano, violins, viola da gamba, guitar, lute, harpsichord
Picture Gilbert and Sullivan in Spain for zarzuela—a unique marriage of spoken word,
fiery melody and sensuous drama. El Mundo performs excerpts from Domenico Zipoli's rarely heard
opera San Ignacio and brings to life Sebastián Durón's comic zarzuela “Cupids' Final Folly.”
It's a Spanish soap opera set to music!!!Saturday, November 10, 2007 8:00 pm Synod Hall
Click Here to read concert program and program notes
2005-2006 CONCERT SEASON
The Baltimore Consort
Folk Fest 1492
Three cultures combine and clash in a program
of romances, villancicos (carols) & improvisations from tumultuous Spain in 1492.
Saturday, October 8, 2005 8:00pm Synod Hall
Click Here
to read concert program and program notesClick
Here to see Q&A with Mary Anne Ballard
Rebel with the Deutsche Naturhorn Solisten
Music of the Royal
Hunt
All the pagentry, color and excitement of the hunt - without the fox.
Saturday, November
11, 2005 8:00pm Synod Hall
Click Here to read concert
program and program notes
Click Here to
see Q&A with Rebel
Spiritus Collective
A 17th Century Christmastide
Celebrate
Christmas with a celestial selection of holiday “classics” from the likes of Gabrieli, Schütz, and
Praetorius.
Saturday, December 10, 2005 8:00pm Synod Hall
Click Here to read concert program and program
notes
Red Priest
Pirates of the Baroque
Stolen masterworks and
forgotten jewels of the baroque era performed with swashbuckling virtuosity by these British mates!
Saturday, January 21, 2006 8:00 Synod Hall
Click Here to read concert program and program notes
Click Here to see Q&A with cellist Angela East
Hesperus
The Robin Hood Project
Saturday, February 11, 2006
7:00 Byham Theatre
Hesperus provides the soundtrack to the 1922 silent film Robin Hood
with music from the court of Henry VIII.
Click
Here to read concert program and program notes
Richard Egarr
Goldberg Variations
Saturday, March 4, 2006
8 PM, Synod Hall
Richard Egarr—
harpsichord
Click Here to read concert program and program notes
TRIO MEDIÆVAL
Songs of Praise and Honor
Saturday, March 25, 2006
8 PM, Synod Hall
Click Here to read concert program and program notes
Doulce Mémoire
Paradis d'Amour
Click Here to read concert program and program notes
2004-2005 CONCERT SEASON
Ex Umbris with Nell Snaidas and Karen Hansen
Meloncholie or, Downe in the Dumpes in Elizabethan England
Voice, renaissance flute, recorders,
cittern, lute, guitar, violin, viola da gamba, tabor, bagpipe
Saturday, October 2, 2004 8:00pm Synod Hall
Before the blues, there was Melancholie. And like today's blues musicians, the Elizabethans
sang about its causes: poverty, mortality, and love. Aristocrats and commoners alike found solace in
sleep, drinking, witchcraft, and merry companions. You'll find solace in Ex Umbris' performance of
songs and dumpes (dances) that will bring you out of the shadows.
Click here to read concert program and program notes.
The Flanders Recorder Quartet
Saturday, November 13, 2004 8:00pm Synod Hall
The Flanders Recorder Quartet plays homage to women. The scandalous,
the virtuous, the smitten, and the pious. In masterworks by Obrecht, Josquin, Hildegard von Bingen,
and Susato, the ensemble plays with precision and rhythm, flawless intonation, and a startling range
of dynamics. The quartet performs on more than 100 recorders, from the ten-inch sopranino to the
eight-foot sub-bass. This is not your child's plastic recorder!
Click here to read concert program
and program notes.
American BaroqueL'Europe Galante
Flute, oboe,
violin, viola da gamba and harpsichord
Saturday, January 29, 2005 8:00pm Synod Hall
Baroque in full bloom…A whirlwind tour of the most fashionable musical centers of
Europe: Vivaldi’s Venice, Handel’s London, Couperin’s Paris, and Telemann’s Frankfurt and Berlin.
American Baroque’s adventurous program combines 18th-century music with a new work commissioned by
the group.
Click here to read concert program
and program notes.
LionheartEl Siglo d'Oro
Saturday, February 26, 2005 8:00 pm Synod Hall
Escape from wintry Pittsburgh
to bask in the blazing sun of Renaissance Spain! Join Lionheart in El Siglo d’Oro (The Century of
Gold)–sacred vocal works by 16th-century masters Victoria, Guerrero, and Cristobal Morales. Hear how
the pop music of this time found its way into mass settings, motets, and Gregorian chant, performed
by one of the premier vocal groups of our time. A golden opportunity, so agarre el día!
Click here to read concert program and program notes.
Mirie It IsFortune's Wheel
voices, vielles
(bowed strings), and harps
Saturday, March 19, 2005 8:00 pm Synod Hall
Fortune's Wheel brings a springtime garden of earthly–and heavenly–delights from medieval
England. The four virtuosic performers breathe life into the lyrical and reverent poetry of the
13th and 14th centuries. Simple songs of love and nature, despairing laments, and joyous celebrations
of the Virgin Mary create an unforgettable evening of "joye and blisse!"
Click here to read concert program notes.
Handel in RomeEllen Hargis with
Seattle Baroque
Ellen Hargis soprano, Ingrid Matthews & Janet Strauss violins, Margriet Tindemans
viola da gamba, Lucas Harris lute, Byron Schenkman harpsichord
Saturday, April 16, 2005 8:00 pm
Synod Hall
Hear how Handel conquered the Eternal City. This engaging program features
the radiant voice of soprano Ellen Hargis in Handel’s cantatas and motets. The principals of Seattle
Baroque perform instrumental pieces by famous friends, Romans, and countrymen: Corelli, Pasqualini,
and Stradella. Lend them your ears!
Click here to read concert program, program notes and
cast biographies.
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