Delving Deeper Series – Three Saturdays at 7:30pm
Jan. 30: The Teenage Violin: Growth Spurts in the Seventeenth Century by Sarah Darling
Feb. 13: Unaccompanied Cello Repertoire: Origins through J. S. Bach by Daniel Ryan
Feb. 27: Journey of the Transverse Flute by Suzanne Stumpf
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Delving Deeper Series Explores
Artistic Development of Period Instruments
New this season, Musicians of the Old Post Road offers its Delving Deeper series which explores the artistic evolution of some of the ensemble’s period instruments through three one-hour presentation-performances by its core members. These intimate concert-talks afford audiences the opportunity to be introduced to beautiful, rediscovered repertoire as well as to learn more about the history and characteristics of historical instruments. Each event takes place on a Saturday at 7:30pm, with live Zoom reception Q & A sessions to follow.
Violinist Sarah Darling opens the series on January 30 with a performance and discussion of ambitious early works that she calls The Teenage Violin: Growth Spurts of the Violin in the 17th century. Pulling it away from its roots as a “dance band” instrument, daring composers from Italy to Germany to England demanded virtuosity from players, transforming the violin into a flashy solo instrument. Featured composers include Monteverdi, Castello, Bertali, Leonarda, Biber, and Corelli.
On February 13, Daniel Ryan explores some of the earliest known works for solo cello, revealing variety in construction and tuning of early cellos that contribute in different ways to its rich sonority. Entitled Unaccompanied Cello Repertoire: Origins through J. S. Bach, works to be performed include little-known gems by Gabrielli and Degli Antonii, along with J. S. Bach’s beloved Suite No. 5 in C Minor.
For the final presentation of this series on February 27, Suzanne Stumpf takes viewers on the Journey of the Transverse Flute through three centuries to experience its development from one-keyed Baroque flutes to a wide variety of old system multi-keyed flutes to the present-day modern flute. Colorful, contrasting qualities in the instruments will be showcased in works by Hotteterre, Telemann, Quantz, Tromlitz, Kuhlau, Debussy, and others.
Darling, Ryan, and Stumpf are three of the core members of the acclaimed period instrument ensemble which has numerous awards and seven CD recordings to its credit. In this Delving Deeper series, audiences will have the opportunity to become acquainted with the musicians on a more personal level in addition to experiencing the featured repertoire and instruments.
Tickets prices range from $10 student tickets to $50 for families. All Delving Deeper series concerts are free for premiere subscription subscribers. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.oldpostroad.org, or call 781.466.6694.
The program is supported, in part, by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
ABOUT MUSICIANS OF THE OLD POST ROAD
Musicians of the Old Post Road takes its name from its acclaimed concert series that brings period instrument performances of music of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries to beautiful historic buildings along New England’s fabled Old Post Road, the first thoroughfare to connect Boston and New York City in the late 17th century.
Winner of the 1998 Noah Greenberg Award from the American Musicological Society, Musicians of the Old Post Road has also received programming awards from Chamber Music America and the US-Mexico Fund for Culture. The ensemble has toured in Germany, Austria, and Mexico, and has appeared at festivals and on concert series in the US, including the Indianapolis Early Music Festival, the Boston Early Music Festival Concert Series, the Castle Hill Festival, the Artists Series at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, and the Connecticut Early Music Festival. The ensemble has held a residency at Dartmouth College and was featured on WCVB television’s “Chronicle” program and 99.5 All Classical radio’s “Live from Fraser” program.
The ensemble’s discography includes seven recordings that have each been praised in the US and abroad. They include: The Virtuoso Double Bass (Titanic, 1994), Trios and Scottish Song Settings of J. N. Hummel (Meridian, 1999), Galant with an Attitude: Music of Juan and José Pla (Meridian, 2000), Quartets of Telemann and Bodinus (Meridian, 2004), Feliz Navidad: Christmas from Spain and New Spain (Meridian, 2008), and Roman Handel (Centaur, 2013). The ensemble’s 7th CD, Earthly Baroque, was released by Centaur in 2017.
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Press Contact:
Meghan Donahue, General Administrator
Musicians of the Old Post Road
781.466.6694
