A restless collective of medieval experimentalists, the Flatbush-based band Alkemie recently gained recognition beyond Brooklyn with their soundtrack for the video game Pentiment (directed by Obsidian studios and published by Xbox). Locally and nationally, they have been presented by the Amherst Early Music Festival, Arizona Early Music Society, Brooklyn Public Library, Cambridge Society for Early Music, Capitol Early Music Series, Five Boroughs Music Festival, Johns Hopkins Program in Arts, Humanities & Health, Music Before 1800, and the Berkeley Early Music Festival.
With WONDROUS BEASTS, Alkemie joins forces with composer Elliot Cole to craft new arrangements of stunning music from 14th-century Italy and 21st-century repertoire inspired by real and imaginary animals from the Tuscan bestiary. Said to be the most widely-distributed book in Europe after the Bible, the medieval bestiary, or “book of beasts,” established paths of meaning for animal references in Europe over the ensuing millennia.
Vielles, harp, recorders, percussion and voices evoke soaring birds, slithering reptiles, and creatures like the unicorn and basilisk. Serving as both mythology and Christian allegory, these fantastic visions of the animal kingdom continue to provoke the modern as well as the medieval imagination.
With Tracy Cowart (voice, harps), Madeline Apple Healey (voice, percussion), Ben Matus (voice, bagpipes, recorders, douçaines), David McCormick (vielle), Sian Ricketts (voice, recorders, douçaines), and Niccolo Seligmann (vielle, percussion).
The program will be performed live in NYC on June 6, 2025 at All Saints Episcopal in Manhattan at 7:30 p.m.; and on June 7, 2025 at Holy Apostles Episcopal Church in Brooklyn at 7:30 p.m. Both concerts will be followed by receptions with the artists. Tickets are $15-$50. For tickets and more information, please visit alkemie.org/wondrous-beasts.
