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).
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
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
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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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