KING’S NOYSE CELEBRATES RENAISSANCE & BAROQUE ANNIVERSARY

Pittsburgh, PA. (January 21, 2009) Renaissance & Baroque presents King’s Noyse, founded and directed by David Douglass, performing a program entitled “Olde, Newe, Borrow’d, Blue” on Saturday, January 31st at 8:00 p.m. in Synod Hall, Oakland. King’s Noyse offers a one time only birthday performance in honor of the 40th anniversary of Renaissance & Baroque. This unusual programming for the Noyse presents some of the oldest of their repertory, a kind of “greatest hits” of King’s Noyse, including selections from their first recording The King’s Delight. The “olde” repertory includes the ballad of Barbara Allen, familiar and timeless, together with English and German pieces that enable the violin band to make their own parts through interpretations. The result is the wonderful combination of spontaneity and cohesion for which the Noyse has become known.

Describing the program, Douglass writes about their present: “I know that the idea of something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue, is more appropriate for a wedding than an anniversary, but the rare combination of a dedicated board, an appreciative and supportive audience, and the loving gift of music given by the hundreds of musicians who have performed in the warm acoustics of Synod Hall, makes the Society appear to be a marriage made in heaven.”

The “newe” section of the program features creations of Douglass, including ballads familiar to Elizabethan theatergoers, an Irish jigg and a country dance. “Borrow’d” music contains works originally written for different forces, rearranged and decorated to become fodder for the machinery of the inventive violin band.

Most unusual for R&B audiences is the “blue” set, in which the Noyse lets loose with the harmonies of Summertime, ‘round Midnight and jazz with a bluesy bent--proof that violin band improvisation and creativity span the centuries. Though King's Noyse plays in a manner almost certainly followed by Renaissance fiddlers, playing from memory or improvising on standardized bass lines, the style resembles the jamming of today's jazz or country groups playing upon the bass, rhythm, and harmonic changes of a standard tune, without a page of sheet music to be seen. A centuries old connection comes to life!

Douglass notes that other stringed instruments of the period such as the lute and the various viols are the subjects of treatises and teaching books dating from the Renaissance, but little of this applies to the violin family. Because the violin was considered so difficult to play that it was reserved for professionals only, technique was passed down from teacher to pupil or from master to apprentice. Violin ensembles, therefore, were too expensive for any but the very wealthy, the higher nobility, and royalty to afford, and were employed to entertain at their courts.

King’s Noyse is known for bringing into the 21st century the spirited repertory primarily based on dance books that began appearing in print after 1600, of which the publications issued under the title John Playford's Dancing Master is one of the best known titles. The unusal program presented to R&B features David Douglass (director and violin), Ellen Hargis (soprano) and Paul O’Dette (lute) with four Renaissance strings.

Hargis is one of America's premier early music singers, specializing in repertoire ranging from ballads to opera and oratorio. She has worked with many of the foremost period music conductors of the world and graced the stages of early music festivals and performers the world over. Though best known for his recitals and recordings of virtuoso solo lute music, Paul O'Dette maintains an active career as an ensemble musician as well, performing with such artists as Jordi Savall, Gustav Leonhardt, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, William Christie, Christopher Hogwood, Andrew Parrott, Nicholas McGegan, and Tafelmusik. To date, Paul has made more than 100 recordings, many of which have been nominated for Gramophone’s Record of the Year Award.

The King's Noyse is among the elite, the most celebrated in the early music field. Recording extensively for the harmonia mundi usa label, the group is at the top of their field on stage and on CD. According to the Boston Globe, “the audience was stomping and cheering for more."

Renaissance and Baroque of Pittsburgh has been the city’s leading presenter of early music performances for the past 40 years. Visit www.rbsp.org for more information on its upcoming performances.

This concert is the fifth in the 40th anniversary season of Renaissance & Baroque, a season in which audience members were polled for their favorites. Tickets can be purchased on line at www.rbsp.org, by phone at (412) 361-2048>, or at the door. Prices are $30, $25, $15, and $10 for full-time students. A pre-concert talk will be held at 7:00 p.m. in Synod Hall, followed by the performance at 8:00 p.m. There will be a question-and-answer session with the musicians following their performance.