HOPKINSON SMITH
Renaissance lute
The lute was the king of instruments in Renaissance Europe. Its royalty will be on display in the compositions of Francesco da Milano ("il divino"), the 16th century Italian who served three popes and numerous princely courts, and by John Dowland, the unquiet soul who was lutenist to King James I of England and to the King of Denmark. The program will include Mr. Smith's reconstructions of dance improvisations on themes from Francesco’s fantasias.
Friday, September 28, First Lutheran Church, Palo Alto, 8:00
Saturday, September 29, St. John's Presbyterian Church, Berkeley, 8:00
Sunday, September 30, St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church, 1661 15th Street near Misson, San Francisco, 3:00
THE NEW ESTERHAZY QUARTET
Kati Kyme and Lisa Weiss, violins; Anthony Martin, viola; William Skeen, cello
Franz Joseph Haydn was born within a few months of George Washington and died in the year of Abraham Lincoln's birth. Viewing Haydn's quartet œuvre against a backdrop of early American history illustrates the stunning breadth of these works, dating from the years of the French and Indian Wars through his last quartet, composed as the Louisiana Purchase was finalized. This "time capsule" of four quartets will link the events of the Old World with those of the New.
Friday, October 19, First Lutheran Church, Palo Alto, 8:00
Saturday, October 20, St. John's Presbyterian Church, Berkeley, 8:00
Sunday, October 21, St. Gregory's Episcopal Church, San Francisco, 3:30
LA MONICA
Phoebe Jevtovic, soprano; Tekla Cunningham and Susan Feldman, violins; Ondine Young, viola; William Skeen, viol and cello; Daniel Zuluaga, chitarrone and guitar; Avi Stein, harpsichord
The growth of opera in 17th century Italy brought new theatrical dimensions to vocal and instrumental music. Virtuosos such as Dario Castello, Biagio Marini, and Tarquinio Merula broke new compositional ground, creating music with poetry, melody, and harmony that were raw, fresh, and surprising. Quirky love songs, charming ground basses, and fiery sonatas capture the vivid emotional expression of the early Italian Baroque.
Friday, November 16, First Lutheran Church, Palo Alto, 8:00
Saturday, November 17, St. John's Presbyterian Church, Berkeley, 8:00
Sunday, November 18, St. Gregory's Episcopal Church, San Francisco, 3:30
SCHOLA CANTORUM SAN FRANCISCO
Paul Flight, Conductor
Tomás Luis de Victoria's sublime Missa O magnum mysterium, based on his setting of the Christmas responsory, is a pivotal masterpiece of the European Renaissance. The highly acclaimed fourteen-voice Schola Cantorum presents the mass, accompanied by music of Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, Jean Mouton, and Orlando di Lasso, illuminating the mystery of this glorious season.
Friday, December 14, First Lutheran Church, Palo Alto, 8:00
Saturday, December 15, First Congregational Church, Berkeley, 8:00
Sunday, December 16, St. Gregory's Episcopal Church, San Francisco, 3:30
LA RICHE & CO.
Monica Huggett, violin; Gonzalo X. Ruiz, oboe; Joanna Blendulf, cello; Katherine Shao, harpsichord
Sparks will fly when this all-star lineup delivers works by Giovanni Battista Sammartini and Thomas Vincent, along with a big helping of Handelian magic, including The Royal Fireworks Music. Written to celebrate the end of war, this iconic work finds renewed eloquence and dance in a chamber version published months after the original performance of 1749.
Friday, February 1, First Lutheran Church, Palo Alto, 8:00
Saturday, February 2, St. John's Presbyterian Church, Berkeley, 8:00
Sunday, February 3, St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church, 1661 15th Street near Misson, San Francisco, 3:00
FORTUNE'S WHEEL
Lydia Heather Knutson and Aaron Sheehan, voice; Shira Kammen and Robert Mealy, voice, vielle, and harp
Explore the rich legacy of the 15th century Burgundian court, featuring masterpieces by its greatest stars, Guillaume Dufay and Gilles Binchois. In 1440, they were celebrated in an epic poem, Le champion des dames: "For they have a new practice in making delightful consonances…whereby marvelous pleasure makes their song joyful and significant." Included are enchanting rondeaux and ballades by them, by de Lantins and Grenon, and, from the next generation, rarely-heard gems by Busnoys.
Please join us for a free extra concert by Fortune’s Wheel for families and children at 3:30 pm on Saturday, February 16, at St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Berkeley.
Friday, February 15, First Lutheran Church, Palo Alto, 8:00
Saturday, February 16, St. John's Presbyterian Church, Berkeley, 8:00
Sunday, February 17, St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church, 1661 15th Street near Misson, San Francisco, 3:00
HARMONIE UNIVERSELLE
Florian Deuter, violin and musical direction; Mónica Waisman, violin; David Glidden, violin and viola; Balázs Máté, cello; Philippe Grisvard, harpsichord
In its West Coast debut, Cologne-based Harmonie Universelle presents a bouquet of musical delights -- a program featuring the irresistibly sensual and complex harmonic language of the 17th century German masters Johann Rosenmüller, Samuel Scheidt, Johann Philipp Krieger, Johann Pachelbel, Andreas Uswaldt, and Johann Grabbe.
"[They] deploy a sonority that is simultaneously sensual and seductive, sensitive and interwoven." (Diapason)
Friday, March 28, First Lutheran Church, Palo Alto, 8:00
Saturday, March 29, St. John's Presbyterian Church, Berkeley, 8:00
Sunday, March 30, St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church, 1661 15th Street near Misson, San Francisco, 3:00
HALLIFAX & JEFFREY
with guest artist Jakob Lindberg
Peter Hallifax and Julie Jeffrey, viols; Jakob Lindberg, theorbo
The summit of the French high Baroque repertoire for the viol was the rich and distinctive music of Forqueray. Hallifax & Jeffrey, acclaimed for their performances of this music, will present two of Forqueray’s greatest suites. The program will also include music for theorbo solo by Robert de Visée and music for two viols and continuo by Marin Marais, among the greatest contemporaries of the enigmatic Forqueray.
Friday, April 25, First Lutheran Church, Palo Alto, 8:00
Saturday, April 26, St. John's Presbyterian Church, Berkeley, 8:00
Sunday, April 27, St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church, 1661 15th Street near Misson, San Francisco, 3:00