ARCADIA PLAYERS Andrus Madsen, Artistic Director
Contact: Jon Solins (jon_solins@comcast.net)
Arcadia Players presents “Lusitano and His Circle” Sacred vocal music of a re-discovered 16th-century master
Saturday, November 15th, 2pm in the Music Room, Wistariahurst Museum, Holyoke Pre-concert talk by Artistic Director Andrus Madsen at 1pm
Vicente Lusitano, a 16th-century Portuguese cleric, is considered the first classical composer of African ancestry ever to be published. His beautiful vocal music was greatly admired in his day but it has only recently become known, an obscurity due perhaps in part to vindictive subterfuge by one of Lusitano’s rivals. This concert is an opportunity for area music-lovers to discover and enjoy works few will have heard before. In addition to Lusitano’s own compositions, this program offers music by three of the most influential composers of the day, masters whose music Lusitano certainly knew: Nicholas Gombert, Adrian Willaert, and Cristóbal de Morales.
The sacred polyphony from this era is extraordinarily rich and expressive, requiring highly skilled singers to deliver its many rewards to an audience. Six of our region’s finest male vocalists will bring their extraordinary talents to the task: Timothy Parsons, countertenor, Jason Connell, Jason McStoots and Corey Dalton Hart, tenors, and baritones Sumner Thompson and Rozime Lindsey.
The Music Room at the Wistariahurst Museum is one of the region’s finest concert venues, ideally suited for this repertoire. Seating is limited and advance ticket purchases are advised. Tickets are $40 at the door or online at arcadiaplayers.org. We participate in Mass Cultural Council’s Card to Culture program by making our concerts accessible to those for whom cost is a barrier. Student and low-income tickets are $10.
This concert is presented in partnership with Newton Baroque.
Arcadia Players’ 2025-2026 concert season is made possible through the support of our patrons and donors, by our media sponsor New England Public Media, and by the Amherst and South Hadley Cultural Councils, local agencies supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
About Arcadia Players
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Founded in 1989, Arcadia Players is a professional ensemble of musicians specializing in historical performance practice and dedicated to presenting music of the past in a fresh light for audiences old and new. We offer a series of concerts each year in communities around western Massachusetts, bringing together artists and audiences from throughout the region to engage listeners and showcase the work of area performers. Arcadia Players is Ensemble-in-Residence at the Arthur F. Kinney Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. |
