The
Nordic and Baltic Regions
Saturday, October 5 through
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Schedule
of
Events
Red
highlights indicate Nordic/Baltic guest artists
Blue
highlights
indicate Nordic/Baltic repertoire and/or theme
Green
highlights
indicate Celebration presenter
Click event
dates for more information
Saturday,
October 5 at 4:15 PM and 8:00 PM
GOLD
AND GLITTER
"Northern
Lights"
- New York early music veterans Sang Joon Park, Daniel Lee, Martha
McGaughey, and Arthur Haas present baroque chamber music by
composers with ties to the Royal Courts of Denmark and the Baltics:
Dietrich Buxtehude, Georg Philipp Telemann, and Johann
Valentin Meder. Sonatas by J.S. and brother Johann Jacob Bach round out
the program.
Good Shepherd-Faith
Presbyterian Church, 152 West 66th Street off
Broadway
Saturday,
October 5 at 7:30 PM
HOUSE OF TIME
"Transcendent
Bach III" - House of Time continues its mission of re-creating Bach's
imaginary trio sonatas and expanding the repertoire of
chamber
music by the greatest of Baroque masters. This program includes new
versions of trios in G major and C minor, and the great
Chaconne,
the Everest of the baroque violin's repertoire.
Holy Trinity
Lutheran Church, 3 West 65th Street at Central Park West
Sunday, October 6 at 2:00 PM
RENAISSANCE
STREET SINGERS
Concerts of sacred music from the golden age of
polyphony, a cappella.
Christopher Street,
west of Bleeker Street, Greenwich Village
Sunday,
October 6 at 4:00 PM
Music Before
1800 presents
ACRONYM
"Cantica
Nova: Discoveries from Uppsala's Düben Manuscripts"
In
1732, Gustaf Düben, the last of his family to serve as hovkapellmästare
at the
Swedish Court, gave his collection to Uppsala
University. This trove contains 1,800 works by famous and
obscure composers. ACRONYM, ever
dedicated to finding repertory on the wild side, performs
sonatas and cantatas by
Capricornus, Schmelzer, Carissimi, and others. Founded in 2010, the
ensemble delights with its
vivacious, heartfelt style.
Corpus Christi
Church, 529 West 121st Street off Broadway
Thursday,
October 10 at 1:15 PM
Midtown
Concerts presents
COLLECTIO
MUSICORUM
"Music
of Robert Johnson--the Heretic Priest" - Robert Johnson was a
16th Scottish composer/priest who escaped execution for heresy by
escaping to England. His music and memory has been unearthed by the
musicologist Elaine Moohan from English and continental collections.
Collectio Musicorum has exclusive permission to perform from these
manuscripts.
The Chapel at St.
Bartholomew's Church, Park Avenue at 50th Street
Friday,
October 11 at 7:30 PM
Baruch
Performing Arts Center presents
SONNAMBULA
"Sound
Carving: Sacred and Profane Music of the Austrian Baroque" - Austrian
and German composers at the end of the seventeenth century developed a
highly original style, infused with mysticism - haunted by memories of
three Thirty Years' War and the Siege of Vienna. Exploratory and
robust, this sound is marked by extravagant harmonic experimentation
and fanciful instrumental virtuosity. Join Sonnambula for a journey
through this intricate and mesmerizing sound world.
Baruch Performing Arts Center,
55 Lexington Avenue
Friday,
October 11 at 7:30 PM
ABENDMUSIK
"Lachrimae, or Seaven
Teares Figured in Seaven Passionate Pavans" -
There is no doubt that one of the most popular melodies associated with
the Elizabethan period is John Dowland's setting of "Lachrimae" or
"Flow My Teares." Dowland
published his instrumental "Lachrimae"
collection around 1605 when he was in the service of the King of
Denmark, Christian IV. Join Abendmusik as it explores the music from
this collection, addresses the questions about its provenance and place
in music history, and Dowland's relationship with Denmark.
Church
of Sweden in New York,
5 East 48th Street off 5th Avenue
Saturday,
October
12 at 7:30 PM
(note time change from
printed schedule)
NEW AMSTERDAM CONSORT
"An
Early Quartet" - The New Amsterdam Consort performs four-part music
by Castello, Telemann, Handel, and others. Since their debut in 2018,
this group of young Juilliard graduates has earned a reputation for
their impeccable and lively one-on-a-part performances of repertoire
spanning the 16th through 18th centuries.
St. John's in the
Village, 218 West 11th Street off Waverly Place
Thursday,
October 17 at 1:15 PM
Midtown
Concerts presents
TALISMAN
MEDIEVAL
"Breathing
Life into Medieval Icons" - Join Talisman Medieval for a
diverse journey through medieval sound and place featuring harps,
citole, hurdy gurdy, medieval bagpipes, voices and more, from evocative
music of the 12th to 15th centuries, as well as medieval and
fantasy-inspired compositions by David Yardley.
The Chapel at St.
Bartholomew's Church, Park Avenue at 50th Street
Thursday,
October 17 at 7:30 PM
Early Music
Foundation presents
COPENHAGEN CAMERATA
"The Ancestry of Nordic Songs," - Sofia
Söderberg
directs the Copenhagen Camerata Chamber Choir from Denmark in
their
American
debut tour featuring early Scandinavian hymns and folk songs.
The CAMERATA is a diverse and highly-acclaimed Scandinavian
ensemble operating to professional standards. "Completely masterful,
technically measured, and yet expressive to the core." —
London International A Capella
Choral Competition.
First Church of
Christ, Scientist, Central Park West at 68th Street
Friday,
October 18 at 8:00 PM
COLLECTIO MUSICORUM
"Early Music
from Scotland" - The chamber ensemble
Collectio Musicorum
presents a concert of early music from Scotland. Much of the program is
dedicated to music from the 12th century, when the northern portions of
Scotland were under the control of Scandinavian kings.
Music by Mary,
Queen of Scots, and
her son, James VI, will also be heard, as well as newly discovered
music by the prolific composer and heretical priest Robert Johnson,
and pieces by Roderick Morison,
also called “The Blind Harper,” who lived at the turn of the eighteenth
century.
Christ and St.
Stephen's Church, 120 West 69th street between
Columbus and Broadway
Saturday,
October 19 at 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM
Metropolitan
Museum of Art
presents
HEINAVANKER
"Listening
to the six-member vocal ensemble Heinavanker, 'angelic' is not an
overstatement....you are awed that
only six voices can create so much musical power." —The Pulse;
This
stunning Estonian
a cappella
ensemble performs timeless compositions including runic songs
and folk hymns.
Presented in the intimate and magical Fuentidueña Chapel,
these unusual voices create a
sonic environment that is both ethereal and deeply human.
The Cloisters,
Fort Tryon Park, 99 Margaret Corbin Drive
Saturday,
October 19 at 6:00 PM
Early Music
Foundation presents
LYDIA
& ANDREA
The duo, Andrea Larson
and lydia
ievins, perform early Swedish folk music on fiddle and
nyckelharpa, a traditional Swedish bowed key harp related to the
hurdy-gurdy, in the intimate Swedish Church of Manhattan. Much
of their shared repertoire comes from central regions of Sweden,
with a smattering of Norwegian, Danish, and beyond, and their original
compositions.
Church
of Sweden in New York,
5 East 48th Street off 5th Avenue
Saturday,
October 19 at
8:00 PM
Miller
Theatre presents
VOX LUMINIS
"Stabat
Mater" - The
first piece Belgian ensemble Vox Luminis ever sang together was Stabat
Mater, Scarlatti’s masterpiece about the Virgin Mary that
pays homage to the great tradition of polyphony. This signature work
anchors a collection of powerfully moving compositions depicting the
suffering of the Mother of God at the foot of the cross, fittingly
performed in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin.
Church of St. Mary
the Virgin, 145 West 46th Street between 6th and 7th
Avenues
Sunday, October 20 at 2:00 PM
RENAISSANCE
STREET SINGERS
Concerts of sacred music from the golden age of
polyphony, a cappella.
Sheridan
Square, Greenwich
Village
Monday,
October 21 at 7:30 PM
MUSICA SACRA
"Music
for a Gothic Space" - Machaut’s
late medieval Messe de Nostre
Dame, hauntingly beautiful motets of
Josquin des Prez, and the meditative sounds of Gregorian Chant resound
ethereally in the world’s
largest Gothic cathedral.
Cathedral Church of
Saint John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue at
112th Street
Thursday,
October 24 at 1:15 PM
Midtown
Concerts presents
ARTIS
WODEHOUSE
"A
Grand 19th Century instrument: Mason & Hamlin's Liszt Organ"
- At the middle of the 19th Century, the Mason &
Hamlin Company developed a grand pump organ called the Liszt Organ.
Wodehouse will play selections specifically fashioned to
exploit the richness and complexity of this American-designed
instrument.
The Chapel at St.
Bartholomew's Church, Park Avenue at 50th Street
Thursday,
October 24 at 7:30 PM
Early Music
Foundation presents
BOLETTE ROED
Danish
recorder virtuoso Bolette Roed
performs
transcriptions of J.S. Bach violin sonatas, partitas, and
suites
for solo recorder. Bolette's repertoire ranges from medieval through
Renaissance
and baroque to contemporary music including world premieres. She tours
as soloist with the baroque orchestra Arte dei Suonatori and has
performed as a soloist with Concerto Copenhagen, the Danish National
Symphony Orchestra and the Royal
Danish Orchestra. Bolette teaches at the Royal Danish Academy of Music
and conducts masterclasses in Poland and the Czech Republic. "J.S.
Bach: Sonatas, Partitas, Suites" is her latest CD release.
First
Church of Christ, Scientist, Central Park West at 68th
Street
Thursday,
October 24 at 8:00 PM (note location change from
printed calendar)
CHOIR OF ST. LUKE
IN THE FIELDS
"William
Byrd - The Great Service" - William Byrd’s
monumental Great Service is often described as
the “crown jewel” of Anglican sacred music. It is one of his most
magnificent creations, awesome in scale and hugely demanding, with
intricate and complex ten-part polyphony. The program will also include
psalms, anthems and organ works by Byrd.
Church of the Ascension,
Fifth Avenue at West 10th Street
Saturday,
October 26 at 7:30 PM
Early
Music Foundation presents
EARLY
MUSIC NEW YORK - FREDERICK RENZ, DIRECTOR
"Nordic
Accord - 18th-century Scandinavia" - In the concluding
event of the seventh Citywide New York Early Music Celebration, Maestro
Renz leads Early Music New
York's Chamber Orchestra, joined by guest Danish recorder soloist
Bolette Roed and Norwegian cornetto soloist
Alexandra
Opsahl in
a vibrant
program of sinfonias and concertos by Scandinavian composers Johan
Helmich Roman, Johan Joachim Agrell, Johann Adolph
Scheibe, Johan Daniel Berlin and Joseph Martin Kraus.
First
Church of Christ, Scientist, Central Park West at 68th
Street
WORKSHOPS
& LECTURES
Saturday,
October 26 and
27 from 9:30 AM
Amherst Early
Music presents
CITY RECORDER!
Annual
weekend workshop - faculty will include Norwegian
recorder player Alexandra
Opsahl.
The Ella Baker
School, 317 E 67th Street between 2nd and 1st Avenues
Saturday,
October 26 at 6:30 PM LECTURE
CANCELED
EARLY
MUSIC NEW YORK
Pre-concert
talk by Dr.
Bertil Van Boer,
preeminent
scholar of 18th-century Scandinavian symphonies (gratis w/ concert
admission)
First
Church of Christ, Scientist,
Central Park West at 68th
Street
The
7th
NYEMC is a
service project of the EARLY MUSIC FOUNDATION. The primary partner for
this year's Celebration is the American-Scandinavian Foundation. This
project is made
possible in
part with support from the National Endowment for the
Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, and Celebration consulate and
foundation partners.
About
the New York Early Music Celebration
An
EMF Service-to-the-Field project, this festival is designed to showcase
New
York’s historically informed performance artists, ensembles and
presenters.
In
the
Celebration’s 2004 inaugural year,
EMF organized a city-wide early music celebration that spawned
sixty-plus
events. In 2007, the number of
participants grew to more than ninety. In 2010,
EMF together with the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Concerts &
Lectures and
Musical Instruments Departments combined resources to co-produce a
day-long Early
Music Festival.
In
2013,
the
festival concept was enhanced by introducing a national theme, Pro
Musica
Polonica, with select foreign guests. The 2015
festival’s national theme was titled El Nuevo Mundo,
showcasing music and ensembles from Latin America and Iberia; and the 2017 festival was titled The
Low
Countries, featuring music and guest artists from Flanders
and Holland.
This
forthcoming event, as in previous years, is open to all NYC
historical performance artists and presenters, and will include
participation by Nordic and Baltic guest artists selected and invited
by Mr. Renz.
All
New York-based historical performance artists, ensembles, and
presenters are invited to schedule events during this period. With
twenty-three events
presently scheduled, we
anticipate this seventh Celebration endeavor will be another noteworthy
event – an opportunity for the New York
Early Music
Community to reinforce its presence, qualitative and quantitative, on
the City’s
cultural scene.
The Nordic/Baltic sub-theme for this Celebration is
intended to tap and
expose a rich repertory resource not performed as frequently in New
York. Several New York early music artists have chosen to present
all-Nordic and/or Baltic-themed programs. However, programming of
Nordic and/or Baltic repertoire is not a proviso for Celebration
inclusion.
Nordic and
Baltic early
music is
not performed as frequently in New York than that from other parts of
Europe, and yet there is a rich and vibrant tradition for early music
making in this region. Many
composers either originated or worked there during a significant part
of their
careers, including Düben,
Roman,
Agrell and Kraus (Sweden); Berlin (Norway); and Pedersøn
and Buxtehude (Denmark).
The
Düben Collection (Uppsala Library) contains vocal and instrumental
works by
more than 300 composers from Germany, Italy, France, Poland, England,
the
Baltic countries and Sweden, besides a large number of anonymous works.
It is
most likely that the collection represents what remains of the music
library
from the Swedish Royal Court during the reign of Queen Christina
(1644-54),
Charles X Gustav (1654-60), Charles XI (1660/1672-97), and Charles XII
(1698-1718).
- Frederick Renz
New
York
Early
Music
Central
A Project
of the Early Music Foundation • Frederick Renz,
Founding Director
212-749-6600
*
“early music,” in the context of this Celebration, is defined as
repertoire from the first written music through the year 1800,
interpreted with
adherence to historically informed performance practices.
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