Sunday, October 17, 4 p.m.

PAUL O’DETTE, LUTE

Gli tre Orfei
Pieces for Lute
 
Paul O'Dette plays songs, fantasies, ricercars, and dances by the three great sixteenth-century lutenists, Marco dall'Aquila, Alberto Ripa and Francesco da Milano, who were often compared by contemporaries to the mythical lyre player, Orpheus. Each of them revolutionized lute music and technique, and Francesco da Milano was praised as "superior to Orpheus and to Apollo".

Sunday, November 7, 4 p.m.

DIABOLUS IN MUSICA

Antoine Guerber, Director, harp and percussion

Rose tres bele

Chansons et polyphonies des Dames trouvères (XIIIe siècle)

Three women from the French vocal ensemble Diabolus in Musica perform thirteenth-century chansons by the trouvères, accompanied by harp, flute, medieval fiddle, and percussion. What were medieval women like? Sensitive portraits emerge through love songs, dance songs and religious songs, even though the music was most likely written by men during this chivalric age.

Sunday, November 21, 4 p.m.

APOLLO’S FIRE

Jeannette Sorrell, Director and harpsichord

Sophie Daneman, Soprano

Fire and Folly

Myths of Love and Betrayal

The English soprano Sophie Daneman joins Apollo’s Fire, the accomplished American baroque orchestra from Cleveland, in a program of late Baroque vocal and instrumental music. Cantatas by Handel and Montéclair relate the tragic tales of Armide and Dido respectively; both women were jilted by uncaring lovers. Vivaldi’s La Folia, built on the famous ground, closes the concert. 

Sunday, December 19, 4 p.m.

BLUE HERON

Scott Metcalfe, Director, vielle and harp

Christmas at the Courts of 15th-Century France, Burgundy and Cyprus

Blue Heron, the Renaissance choir from Boston and three outstanding instrumentalists perform music for Advent, Christmas, and the New Year by the most admired fifteenth-century Northern European composers—Obrecht, Josquin Desprez, Du Fay, Mouton, and Brumel. Their music is framed by plainchant and an anonymous Christmas motet from a medieval Cypriot manuscript.

A wine and cheese reception follows the concert.

Sunday, January 16, 4 p.m.

CHOIR OF CORPUS CHRISTI CHURCH

Louise Basbas, Director

Vox dilecti mei

Music of Palestrina and Lassus

The Choir of Corpus Christi Church, Music Before 1800’s resident ensemble, offers a study in contrasts between the music of two great contemporaries, Palestrina and Lassus. Palestrina’s sensuous Song of Songs differs dramatically from the concise works of Lassus. However, the two composers’ Magnificats, hymns and motets share one thing in common: their sublime beauty.

Sunday, January 30, 4 p.m.

JUILLIARD BAROQUE

Monica Huggett, Director and violin

The French Connection

Paris and the Symphonies Concertantes

Back by popular demand, the nine international stars of Juilliard Baroque, the faculty of the Historical Performance Program, play alongside their gifted graduate students of Juilliard415. Variously sized ensembles of strings, winds, brass, harpsichord and timpani perform symphonies concertantes by Haydn, Mozart, and the dashing, multi-talented Chevalier Saint-Georges.

Sunday, February 13, 4 p.m.

POMERIUM

Alexander Blachly, Director

Musica Vaticana

Music for Renaissance Popes: 1431-1567

The New York vocal ensemble Pomerium returns to Music Before 1800 to perform music by the greatest Renaissance composers, commissioned by seven popes from Eugenius IV to Marcellus II. The stately masses and motets of Du Fay, Josquin Desprez, and Palestrina are placed beside colorful Mannerist works by Giaches de Wert and Gesualdo, written for non-papal patrons.

Sunday, March 6, 4 p.m.

CONSTANTINOPLE (American debut)

Kiya Tabassian, Director and setar

Françoise Atlan, Voice

Pierre-Yves Martel, Violas da gamba

Ziya Tabassian, Percussion

Ay!! Amor...

The members of Constantinople are joined by singer Françoise Atlan. Of Jewish origin, she specializes in music from the Mediterranean in occitan, ladino and Arabic languages. The ensemble performs an exotic collection of songs and dances from many different times and places—Persia, Armenia, Spain, and medieval France—as well as their own compositions. Women and Love are the themes that unite this strikingly original program.