Archives for category: Concert Series
2013/2014 SEASON ANNOUNCEMENT
Palo Alto, Berkeley, San Francisco
THE NEW MUSIC:
Glorious, Impassioned, Outrageous!
“. . . such a convincing presentation of ‘old music as new music’. . . terrific” —Early Music (Oxford)
Ostraka
Josh Lee, viola da gamba; John Lenti, lute; David Walker, baroque guitar
LEAVING PARNASSUS
The rise and fall of the outrageous and refined French baroque style and its struggle against the fashionable forces of italianisme, as traced through the works of Lully, de Visée, Hervelois, Boismortier and Forqueray. A tour de force of virtuosic solo and ensemble music for bass viola da gamba, theorbo, and baroque guitar.
October 11–13, 2013
Archetti,
Carla Moore & John Dornenburg, Co-Directors
Carla Moore, Cynthia Freivogel, David Wilson & Alicia Yang, violin; Anthony Martin, viola; Tanya Tomkins, cello; John Dornenburg, violone; and Davitt Moroney, harpsichord
THE ITALIAN CONCERTO IN 18TH-CENTURY ENGLAND
The impassioned international concert scene of 18th-century London comes to life through the brilliant concerti grossi of Corelli, Handel, Hellendaal, Avison, and Geminiani. Renowned organist Davitt Moroney is featured in one of Handel’s pioneering concertos.
November 1–3, 2013
Magnificat,
Warren Stewart, Director
Clara Rottsolk, Jennifer Paulino, Andrew Rader, Clifton Massey, Dan Hutchings, Christopher LeCluyse, Hugh Davies & Peter Becker, voices; with The Whole Noyse Renaissance Wind Band
A VENETIAN CHRISTMAS MASS
The glorious polychoral style the Gabrielis developed at San Marco formed a link from Lassus and the High Renaissance to Schütz and the early baroque. Magnificat together with The Whole Noyse perform Andrea’s Mass (1587), motets and canzoni by Giovanni (1597, 1615), and appropriate chant for the feast day.
December 20–22, 2013
Galax Quartet
with Contralto Karen Clark
David Wilson & Elizabeth Blumenstock, violin; David Morris, ‘cello; Roy Whelden, viola da gamba; with Karen Clark, contralto
CHROMATIC CLUSTERS
Avant-garde from the 16th century and early music from today. Sinuous motets and madrigals by Lassus and Gesualdo pair with music written for Galax by Joseph Schwantner and David Jaffe, including the premiere of Jaffe’s Eight O’s in Wooloomooloo, co-commissioned by Galax and SFEMS.
January 31, February 1–2, 2014
Quicksilver,
Robert Mealy & Julie Andrijeski, Directors
Robert Mealy & Julie Andrijeski, violin; Greg Ingles, trombone; David Morris, viola da gamba & cello; Dominic Teresi, dulcian; Avi Stein, harpsichord & organ; Charles Weaver, theorbo & baroque guitar
THE EARLY MODERNS: 17TH-CENTURY ITALY AND GERMANY
The sonata was a revolutionary gift: a pure instrumental work with no agenda but the imagination of the composer and the passionate interplay of conversation. Virtuosic, experimental, unexpected, and deeply moving, the “new music” of Castello, Fontana, Merula, and Weckmann is closest we come to wordless rhetoric.
February 28, March 1–2, 2014
Farallon Recorder Quartet
Annette Bauer, Letitia Berlin, Francis Blaker & Louise Carslake, recorders; with Jennifer Paulino, soprano; and John Lenti, lute
AMARYLLIS—LOVE SONGS AND CONSORTS FROM THE COURTS AND COUNTRYSIDE OF RENAISSANCE EUROPE
Farallon Quartet with guest artists Paulino and Lenti perform haunting love songs by Dowland, Vásquez, and Arcadelt, lively pastoral tales, and virtuoso divisions by Ortiz and Cabezón. Farallon’s warm, rich sound evokes images of a caramel fountain or honey turned into wood.
March 14–16, 2014
If you are a 2012/’13 season subscriber and wish to renew for the 2013/’14 season or a new subscriber, you can download the subscription form or call 510-528-1725, Monday through Thursday, 9am to 11:30am.
Download the season brochure >
| OSTRAKA | ARCHETTI | MAGNIFICAT | GALAX | QUICKSILVER | FARALLON |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Program 1 | Program 2 | Program 3 | Program 4 | Program 5 | Program 6 |
For over twenty years Magnificat has explored the emotionally charged music of the 17th century, each season bringing together an assembly of internationally recognized musicians to present unique and innovative programs that engage the senses and inspire the imagination. Magnificat has offered audiences the chance to hear many significant works by well-known figures of the 17th century while also uncovering forgotten masterpieces, including many modern premieres. With dramatic flair and sensitivity to historical perspective context, Magnificat imbues each concert with an infectious joy and a delight in musical make-believe. Over the past decade Magnificat has taken a special interest in promoting the works of women composers, undertaking a project to record the complete works of Chiara Margarita Cozzolani, devoting entire programs to the music of Barbara Strozzi and Isabella Leonarda and hosting a conference on Women and Music in Seventeenth Century Italy.
¡Viva las Diferencias!
The Uncommon Grounds and Sonatas of the Italian and Spanish Baroque
Ensemble Mirable performs the fiery and passionate music of the Spanish and Italian baroque, a Mediterranean feast of sunny sonatas and dazzling dances. From the deftly graceful improvisations of Diego Ortiz through the explosion of instrumental virtuosity during the time of Biagio Marini to the late refinements and elaborations in the era of Antonio Vivaldi, ¡Viva las diferencias! celebrates works by more than a dozen composers, written between about 1550 and early 18th century. This was an era in which close cultural and political connections existed between Spain and southern Italy, both parts of the Habsburg Empire. Composers, musical ideas, and instrumental designs, moved freely between these regions.
Mirable’s program will feature several brilliant examples of first-generation Italian sonatas by Biagio Marini (1587–1663), Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi Mealli (c. 1630–c. 1669), and Francesco Turini (c. 1595–1656).
Much of the concert, however, will focus on works drawn from popular Spanish dances of the day. The music for many of these—the pasacalle, folia, chacona, canarios—existed originally as nothing more than guitar chord sequences to be repeated over and over. Guitarists and players of accompanying melody instruments such as violin or flute would improvise various figures and melodies over these chord changes, giving rise to the name diferencias for sets of variations on a melody or chord sequence. The concert will include traditional dances in their pure (solo instrumental) form and explore the elaborate compositions with written-out improvisations for accompanying instruments.
These sets of variations are hypnotic and joyous, the embellished melodies filled with syncopations and cross-rhythms. Mirable’s exciting exploration of folias written by four different composers over a 90-year period, from 1615 to 1705 is not to be missed! >>View Program
ENSEMBLE MIRABLE
Joanna Blendulf, viola da gamba; Elizabeth Blumenstock, violin; Kevin Cooper, guitar; JungHae Kim, harpsichord; Katherine Kyme, violin
DATES AND TIMES
Friday, Apr. 19, 2013 | Palo Alto
8pm @ First Lutheran Church
600 Homer Avenue
Saturday, Apr. 20, 2013 | Berkeley
7:30pm @ St. John’s Presbyterian Church
2727 College Avenue
Sunday, Apr. 21, 2013 | San Francisco
4pm @ St. Mark’s Lutheran Church
1111 O’Farrell
Ensemble Mirable (Mirable—Old French,meaning astonishing, strong, powerful) is a San Francisco Bay Area based period instrument ensemble that originated 
in 1996 at Indiana University’s Early Music Institute where Joanna Blendulf and JungHae Kim were then studying. Since its inception, the group’s focus has been on exploring the many variations in continuo performance across different baroque styles and on bringing the music of lesser known composers to the public’s attention. Mirable has built an impressive reputation over the ensuing years, earning awards from Early Music America and critical acclaim for performances to enthusiastic audiences in San Francisco and throughout the United States. Over the past decade, in addition to live performances, Mirable has been engaged in producing a series of high quality compact disc recordings that now includes Triemer Six Cello Sonatas, The Virginalists, Conversations Galantes, Jean Henri D’Anglebert; Pieces de clavecin, 1689 Paris, and Influenza Italiana.
Harpsichordist JungHae Kim’s playing has been described as inspired, fluid, emotionally exquisite, warm, a
nd inviting. Her unique style blends a sparkling virtuoso technique with a gentle and lyrical sensibility. JungHae holds a Bachelors Degree in Harpsichord Performance from the Peabody Conservatory, and a Masters Degree in Historical performance in Harpsichord from the Oberlin Conservatory. She completed her studies with Gustav Leonhardt in Amsterdam on a Haskell Scholarship, and holds an Advanced Degree in Harpsichord Performance from Amsterdam’s Sweelinck Conservatorium. JungHae has performed in concert throughout United States, Europe and in Asia as a soloist and with numerous fine historical instrument ensembles including American Baroque, Brandywine Baroque, Musica Angelica, Music’s ReCreation, Agave Baroque, and Ensemble Mirable. She has also soloed with some of California’s premier modern ensembles including the San Francisco Symphony and the New Century Chamber Orchestra. During her summers, JungHae has performed on a number of music festival series including the Britt Festival (Oregon), the Assisi Music Festival (Italy), Music In The Vineyards (Napa, CA), the Bloomington Early Music Festival (Indiana), and at the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival. For additional information including information regarding upcoming concerts, please visit JungHae’s website: http://www.junghaekim.com. Recordings may be purchased online at iTunes, through Magnatune at http://www.magnatune.com, or by contacting Ms. Kim.
Viola da Gambist Joanna Blendulf has performed as soloist and continuo player in leading period instrument ensembles throughout the United States. Ms. 
Blendulf holds performance degrees with honors from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Indiana University School of Music. In 1998, she was awarded the prestigious Performer’s Certificate for her accomplishments in early music from Indiana University. Joanna is currently performing with the Portland Baroque Orchestra, Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra, Bach Collegium San Diego and Pacific Musicworks in Seattle and has been a guest artist of Early Music Vancouver in British Colombia. Ms. Blendulf is also an active chamber musician, performing and touring internationally with the Cascade Consort, Catacoustic Consort, Ensemble Electra, Ensemble Mirable, Nota Bene Viol Consort (Boston) and Wildcat Viols. Joanna’s summer engagements have included performances at the Bloomington, Boston and Berkeley Early Music Festivals, the Aspen and Ojai Music Festivals as well as the Carmel and Oregon Bach Festivals. Ms. Blendulf is sought-after as a teacher and chamber music coach and regularly serves on faculties of viola da gamba workshops across the country.
Violinist Elizabeth Blumenstock is widely admired as a performer of interpretive eloquence and technical sparkle.A frequent soloist, concertmaster, and 
leader with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the American Bach Soloists, and the Italian ensemble Il Complesso Barocco, she is also the music director of the new Los Angeles-based Baroque ensemble, Les Surprise Baroques.She has pursued her love of chamber music as a founding member of several of California’s finest period-instrument ensembles, including Musica Pacifica, Live Oak Baroque Orchestra, the Arcadian Academy, Ensemble Mirable, Trio Galanterie, and the Galax Quartet.She has taught at the University of Southern California and the International Baroque Institute at the Longy, Oberlin’s Baroque Performance Institute, and the Austrian Baroque Academy.Elizabeth has recorded for Harmonia Mundi, Deutsche Grammophon, Virgin Classics, Dorian, BMG, and Koch International, among others.
Violinist Kati Kyme has been a member and frequent concertmaster of both Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and American Bach 
Soloists for many years. Recordings of Kati playing Vivaldi Concerti with PBO can be found on Harmonia Mundi, and Corelli Concerti Grossi (with violinist Libby Wallfisch) can be heard on Koch. In addition to her work with Bay Area chamber orchestras, she is a passionate chamber musician. She has played in the prizewinning Artaria and Sierra Quartets, with Nic McGegan’s Arcadian Academy, and in the Streicher Trio. Currently she plays with the String Circle, which is in the middle of a complete Beethoven Quartet Cycle, and the New Esterhazy Quartet which is the first quartet in North America to perform all 68 Haydn Quartets on period instruments. She is also devoted to teaching and has held positions at University of Puget Sound, the Cornish Institute and at Sonoma State University. Currently, she conducts 180 young string players in three orchestras of the California Youth Symphony
Kevin Cooper is a classical and baroque guitarist from central California with an affinity for the extremes of modern and early music. 
Kevin performs as a soloist and as a member of the Coprario Consort, Agave Baroque, and Ensemble Mirable. He publishes and records for Lifescapes, Lorenz Corporation, and Doberman Editions. Some of his titles include Night of Four Moons, a recording of new music for voice and guitar; Cold Genius, a recording of baroque music by Henry Purcell; Purloined Pearls, a collection of arrangements for guitar ensemble; and Snakes, Snails, and C Major Scales, a book of folk and children’s songs. In 2006 Kevin was honored as the Outstanding Doctoral Graduate in music from the University of Southern California where he studied with William Kanengiser and James Tyler. Currently he leads the guitar program at Fresno City College.
CHOREOMANIA: Music for the Dancing Plagues of the Middle Ages and Renaissance
From fiery tarantellas to penitential prayers, music to appease divine wrath, or just the ultimate Dance Fever! View Program >
Cançonièr, an ensemble devoted to music from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, will perform a fascinating program featuring instrumental and vocal dance music, flagellant songs, penitential prayers, tarantellas, and more.
Acclaimed multi-instrumentalist and Cançonièr co-founder Tim Rayborn explains the context for a program of music devoted to the so-called “dancing plague”: “During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, certain areas experienced brief outbreaks of manic, ‘contagious’ dancing that often afflicted dozens, or even hundreds. Otherwise ordinary people would succumb to a compulsion to dance furiously for days or weeks on end, some to their deaths. Many feared that they had been cursed by saints, and perhaps gave in to mass hysteria; the true causes are still debated. Music was offered for the dancers in the hope that it would ease their suffering, or appease divine wrath.”
MEET CANÇONIÈR
Phoebe Jevtovic: voice; Shira Kammen: vielle, voice; Tim Rayborn: frame drum, hylsung, tabor, voice, citole, psaltery; Priscilla Smith: recorders, dulcian, bagpipe, voice; Tom Zajac: pipe and tabor, bagpipe, sackbut, recorder, dulce melos, jaw harp, castanets, voice
Friday, March 8, 2013 | Palo Alto
8pm @ First Lutheran Church
600 Homer Avenue
Saturday, March 9, 2013 | Berkeley
7:30pm @ St. John’s Presbyterian Church
2727 College Avenue
Sunday, March 10, 2013 | San Francisco
7:30pm @ St. Mark’s Lutheran Church
1111 O’Farrell
Their work described as “mesmerizing” (Fanfare) and “exquisite” (Early Music America), Cançonièr is a Bay Area-based early music group devoted to medieval repertoire from the 12th to the 15th centuries, and some traditional music from related regions (Scandinavia, the Balkans, and the Middle East).
Created by acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Tim Rayborn and recorder virtuoso Annette Bauer in the summer of 2008, the group has quickly gained the attention of the early music community, and received acclaim for its musicianship, unusual and exciting concert programs, and its two recordings. Utilizing voices and instruments, Cançonièr brings to life the vibrant musical cultures of medieval Europe, through a combination of scholarly research, improvisational techniques, and impeccable musicianship.
Cançonièr is an Occitan word (medieval southern French), meaning “songbook.” Its equivalent in northern France was the chansonnier. These books were medieval collections of songs, with both secular and sacred works being included. Cançonièr seeks to inform as well as entertain, and the group’s concerts are spiced with fascinating historical anecdotes, and their signature humor!
The ensemble’s recording, The Black Dragon – Music from the Time of Vlad Dracula, is described as “beautifully performed” by Harmonia National Radio, and “highly recommended” by Fanfare magazine.
With a voice reviewed as “arresting, haunting, expressive, clear-toned, and sweet,” soprano Phoebe Jevtovic performs chamber music, early opera, and experimental music in the United States and abroad. She has appeared as a soloist with the Waverly Consort, American Bach Soloists, Musica Angelica, Magnificat, and North Holland Opera. Roles performed include Despina in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Amphitrite in Locke’s Tempest, Cupid in Purcell’s Timon of Athens, and the title role in Rossi’s Orfeo.
Among Phoebe’s varied collaborations are the baroque ensemble La Monica; art song with celebrated pianist Robert Thies; and early music and dance with Italy’s visionary Art Monastery Project. She has also toured the US and Indonesia with Gamelan X (Balinese-inspired hybrid world music ensemble); and sung Balkan folk music with Kitka and VOCO. Phoebe has recorded for Dorian, Nonesuch, and Sony Records. Phoebe completed her Master of Arts degree in Early Music Performance at the University of Southern California, and has edited a book of 17th-century solo songs by Tarquinio Merula that has been published by A&R Editions. http://www.phoebej.com
Shira Kammen has spent well over half her life exploring the worlds of early, traditional, and many other styles of music. A member for many years of Ensembles Alcatraz, Project Ars Nova, and Medieval Strings, she has also worked with Sequentia, Hesperion XX, the Boston Camerata, the Folger and Newberry Consorts, The King’s Noyse, Piffaro, Tapestry, the Balkan group Kitka, and is the founder of Class V Music, an ensemble dedicated to performance on river rafting trips.
She has performed and taught in the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Israel, Morocco, Latvia, Russia, and Japan, and on the Colorado and Rogue Rivers. Shira happily collaborated with singer/storyteller John Fleagle for fifteen years, and performs now with several groups: the medieval ensembles, Fortune’s Wheel and Cançonier; a contemporary music group, Ephemeros; an eclectic ethnic band, Panacea; as well as collaborations with performers such as storyteller Patrick Ball, medieval music expert Margriet Tindemans, and in many theater productions. Some of her original music can be heard in a documentary film about the fans of J.R.R. Tolkien. She has played on a number of movie and television soundtracks, when weird medieval instruments are needed. http://www.shirakammen.com
Tim Rayborn, an acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, plays dozens of musical instruments from medieval Europe, the Middle East, and the Balkans, including: lutes, plucked strings, flutes, and percussion. He has recorded to date on more than 35 CDs for a number of labels, including Gaudeamus, Wild Boar, EMP, Magnatune, and Harmonia Mundi.
Tim lived in the UK for seven years, taking his Ph.D. in medieval studies at the University of Leeds, and working as a musician. He has toured the U.S. and Europe extensively (from Ireland to Turkey), performing concerts at both the York and Beverley Early Music Festivals, Alden Biesen Castle in Belgium, Bunyloa in Majorca, and the Spitalfields Festival in London. He has given a number of performances for BBC in the UK and Channel Islands, toured in Canada and Australia, and worked with folk musicians in Marrakech and Istanbul. He has taught at the SFEMS Medieval/Renaissance summer workshop, and Pinewoods Early Music Week in MA, and has appeared with many early music performers, including Ensemble Alcatraz, Anne Azema, Mary Springfels, Susan Rode Morris, Sinfonye, and members of the Harp Consort. In addition to his solo programs, he currently co-directs Cançonièr with Annette Bauer, performs with Patrick Ball, and collaborates regularly with Shira Kammen. His new book on the early crusades and related topics will be published by McFarland Publishers this year. http://www.timrayborn.com
Priscilla Smith has performed with Philharmonia Baroque, Portland Baroque, Musica Angelica, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, The Handel & Haydn Society, Juilliard Baroque and Orchester Wiener Akademie. A renaissance wind specialist, she is a member of Piffaro and has appeared with Ex Umbris, Hesperus, The Waverly Consort, and Early Music New York. Her performances have been called “spirited” by the New York Times and “particularly fine” by the Washington Post. Smith is a graduate of Temple University, where she was a modern oboe student of Louis Rosenblatt, and The Juilliard School, where she was a baroque oboe student of Gonzalo Ruiz. She now directs the Early Music Ensemble at Temple University.
Multi-instrumentalist Tom Zajac is a member of the well-known Renaissance wind band Piffaro and is a frequent guest with the Folger Consort, Newberry Consort, Hesperus, Boston Camerata, and others. He has toured extensively, having appeared in concert series and festivals in Hong Kong, Guam, Australia, Israel, Colombia, Bolivia, Mexico, and throughout Europe and the United States. He can be heard on over 40 recordings of everything from medieval dances to 21st-century chamber music. With his group Ex Umbris, he performed 14th-century music at the 5th Millennium Council event in the East Room of the Clinton White House and 18th-century music for the score of the Ric Burn’s documentary on the history of New York. He has played hurdy gurdy for the American Ballet Theater, bagpipe for an internationally broadcast Gatorade commercial, and serpent in a PDQ Bach piece live on Prairie Home Companion. He also performs on santur and zurna with the Boston-based Turkish ensemble, Dünya. In August, he was invited by the Polish government to take part in a research visit to hear and meet Polish early music ensembles. Tom teaches at recorder and early music workshops throughout the US, and directs the Medieval & Renaissance week of the SFEMS workshops, as well as the early music ensembles at Wellesley College near his home in Boston.
SFEMS PRESENTS
Cançonièr
Phoebe Jevtovic, voice; Shira Kammen, vielle, voice; Tim Rayborn, frame drum, hylsung, tabor, voice, citole, psaltery; Priscilla Smith; recorders, dulcian, bagpipe, voice; Tom Zajac: pipe and tabor, bagpipe, sackbut, recorder, dulce melos, jaw harp, castanets, voice
Choreomania: Music for the Dancing Plagues of Medieval and Renaissance Europe
Nu Tret Herzuo, 14th-c. German Flagellant Song
Saxony, 1017-18
Equitabat Bobo, text: Saxony, ca. 1017, music: contrafact of Carmina Burana #23, arr. Tim Rayborn
Wales, 1188
Luto carens, anon. 12th-c. Notre Dame conductus
In Domino confidite, anon. 12th-c. Notre Dame conductus
Passionis emuli, anon. 12th-c. Notre Dame conductus
Estampie Passionis, arr. Tim Rayborn
Erfurt, 1247
Tanz: Bonum est confidere, based on Carmina Burana #27, arr. Tim Rayborn, Tom Zajac, and Annette Bauer
Ut queant laxis, Hymn for St. John the Baptist, attributed to Paul the Deacon (ca. 720-99)
Maastricht, 1278
In Seculum Viellatoris, Bamberg Codex, ca. 1260-90
Veni virgo/Veni Sancte Spiritus/Neuma, Montpellier Codex, ca. 1300
Nota Neuma, arr. Tim Rayborn and Cançonièr
Aachen, Ghent, Metz, and Northern France, 1374-75
Des merveilles, text: Eustache Deschamps (1346–1406), melody: arr. Tom Zajac after an anonymous trouvère melody
Maria unser frowe, 14th-c. German Flagellant Song
** INTERMISSION **
Italy
Saltarello, Italy, ca.1400, British Library Lo, Add. 29987
Cori Miu, trad. Italian tarantella
Pizicca Taranta, trad. Italian tarantella, arr. Annette Bauer and Cançonièr
Strasbourg, 1588
Quene Note, Frankes, Digby MS 167 (15th c.), arr. Tom Zajac
Files à marier, anon, Seville Chansonnier, ca. 1500
Responsorium in Nativitate S. Johannes, Apel Codex, ca. 1500
Ut queant laxis (a 3), anon., Apel Codex
Ut queant laxis (a 4), Adam v. Fulda, ca. 1445-1505
La Spagna, Heinrich Isaac, ca. 1445-1517
Hopptanz, Johannes Weck, ca.1492-1536,arr. Annette Bauer, based on the Amerbach Organ Tabulature
In Gottes Namen fahren wir, 15th-c. German Pilgrimage Song, arr. Annette Bauer
