May 2, 2025
The Society for Historically Informed Performance announces its 2025 Concert Series.
Somerville, MA – The Society for Historically Informed Performance (SoHIP) presents eight weeks of live performances and video premieres beginning June 17. Now in its 39th season, SoHIP continues to promote public appreciation and understanding of historically informed performance of early music.
Concerts are at 7:30pm, June 17 to August 7.
Tuesdays at St. Anne’s in-the-Fields, 147 Concord Rd. Lincoln, MA
Wednesdays at The Chapel at West Parish, 210 Lowell St. Andover, MA
Thursdays at Lindsey Chapel at Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury St. Boston, MA
Videos will premiere Fridays at 7:30pm, July 5 to August 22 on YouTube. All are free to the public (donations encouraged) and remain available to watch. www.youtube.com/@SoHIPBoston
Contact: Karen Burciaga, General Manager, at administrator@sohipboston.org.
CONCERT SERIES – Tue/Wed/Thu at 7:30pm
June 17-19 “Equal the Stars in Number: On the Cusp of the 16th Century”
The Chigi Codex and the Eton Choirbook, both compiled in the waning years of the 15th century, display astonishing creativity, with many texts mixing imagery from ancient mythology with exhortations to Mary. Ampersand illuminates these stellar Flemish and English masterpieces.
Ampersand: Madeline Apple Healey, soprano & co-director, Timothy Parsons, countertenor & co-director, Hannah Baslee, contralto, Jacob Perry, tenor, Andrew Padgett, bass-baritone
June 24-26 “From Plimoth to Yorktown”
250 years after the “shot heard round the world,” Seven Times Salt traces a musical lineage from the Plimoth settlers to their descendants in the Revolution through homespun shape note hymns, 18th-c. dances, rants against tyranny and taxation, wartime laments, and odes to liberty and freedom.
Seven Times Salt: Julia Soojin Cavallaro, mezzo-soprano, Karen Burciaga, violin, guitar, alto, Dan Meyers, recorders, flute, percussion, baritone, Josh Schreiber, viola da gamba, cello, bass, Matthew Wright, lute, guitar, tenor
July 1-3 “Songs of Time: Music for the Muses”
Long & Away travels with the Muses from the 1400s to the present day, sharing music by Dufay and Binchois, 16th and 17th-c. consorts of Gibbons, Jenkins, and Purcell, dance tunes from 18th-c. Scotland, choral writing of 20th-c. France, and consort works by living New England composers.
Long & Away: Karen Burciaga, viol, vielle, Anne Legêne, viol, James Perretta, viol, vielle
July 8-10 “Sicilian Fables & Legends of the South”
Dive into the passionate music of Southern Italy, where rituals such as the tarantella can be traced back to the cults of antiquity. This voyage of discovery highlights seldom performed works for voice, strings, and continuo by Scarlatti, Coya, Caresana, Giulio de Ruvo, Provenzale, and others.
Silentwoods Collective: Carley DeFranco, soprano, Danilo Bonina & Nelli Herskovitz-Jabotinsky, violins, Andrew Koutroubas, cello, John McKean, harpsichord, Luce Burrell, theorbo
July 15-17 “Airs de Cour: Court Songs of 17th-century France”
Musica Maestrale performs the charming courtly songs of 17th-c. France. Dating from the reigns of Louis XIII and XIV, these tender, intimate pieces were primarily meant for private consumption by the nobility. They express sentiments of loss, longing, and heartbreak—still highly relatable subjects today.
Musica Maestrale: Barbara Allen Hill, soprano: Dan Meyers, recorders, Renaissance flute: Hideki Yamaya, Renaissance lute, theorbo
July 22-24 “Golden Rule: Songs of Corruption and Justice”
The quest for political power has changed little over the centuries. Meravelha explores Medieval music of nationalism, corruption, greed, propaganda, and justice, illustrated through songs of the troubadours, selections from the Roman de Fauvel, the Trinity Carol Roll, Carmina Burana, and more.
Meravelha: Teri Kowiak, artistic director, voice, Joy Grimes, vielle, rebec, Barbara Allen Hill, voice, percussion, Jaya Lakshminarayanan, voice, harp, Dan Meyers, voice, winds, percussion, Eric Miller, voice, Catherine Stein, voice, winds
July 29-31 “La Magnifique: Music at Versailles”
Enter the refined realm of court music at the Palace of Versailles, where France’s 18th-c. rulers promoted highly sophisticated chamber music. Ad Libitum Ensemble breathes new life into petite masterpieces by Couperin, Hotteterre, Marais, Clerambault, Rameau, and Dieupart.
Ad Libitum Ensemble: Na’ama Lion & Jesse Lepkoff, flutes, Carol Lewis, viola da gamba, Marina Minkin, harpsichord
August 5-7 “Reimaginings”
Musicians have long engaged with familiar music by reimagining it: ornamenting, genre-bending, reharmonizing, or re-orchestrating. This unique trio of recorder, viol, and harp guitar performs music by Sermisy, Ortiz, Bach, and multiple O’Briens that will spark your imagination.
The Aulos and the Kithara: Emily O’Brien, recorders, Michael O’Brien, guitar, harp guitar, Nathan Varga, double bass, viola da gamba
VIRTUAL SERIES – Fridays at 7:30pm
July 5 (SATURDAY) Ampersand “Equal the Stars in Number”
July 11 Seven Times Salt “From Plimoth to Yorktown”
July 18 Long & Away “Songs of Time: Music for the Muses”
July 25 Silentwoods Collective “Sicilian Fables & Legends of the South”
August 1 Musica Maestrale “Airs de Cour: Court Songs of 17th-c. France”
August 8 Meravelha “Golden Rule: Songs of Corruption and Justice”
August 15 Ad Libitum Ensemble “La Magnifique: Music at Versailles”
August 22 The Aulos and the Kithara “Reimaginings”
