After two pandemic years, the Viola da Gamba Society of America returned to an in-person Conclave, and almost 200 viol enthusiasts attended. One satisfied gambist filed an one-the-scene report.
The music of Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla, perhaps the most prolific and important composer in Spanish Colonial America, has been remarkably well preserved. He’s our best source on the role of the vernacular ‘villancicos’ in New Spain’s Christmas celebrations.
Timothy Olmsted found his voice as a fifer and bandsman in the Revolutionary War, and he would go on to pioneer musical freelancing in the young Republic.
With this new publication of François Couperin’s celebrated ‘Pièces de clavecin’ (Book III) together with his ‘Concerts royaux,’ we now have a chance to compare the keyboard composer with the chamber musician in a single volume. The introduction alone is invaluable scholarship on this period of the composer’s life and world.
Massachusetts is full of lovingly preserved homes from the 17th century. But what did life in these homes sound like? The latest essay in ‘Early Music: the Americas’ explores the world of a Puritan reverend who left us tantalizing clues.
The turbulent life of John Antes, an American of pluck and imagination, is part of global histories on colonialism, revolution, nationalism and religion, and international trade. It reads like an early-music adventure novel.
Sallynee Amawat, raised in two distinct cultures, is eager to take artistic risks and hungry to link continents and ideas. Her latest projects with Infusion Baroque cover topics as varied as gender, courtly dance, and ‘exoticized’ repertoire.
To shed light on the fascinating characters who populated the early Americas’ broad musical landscapes, EMA’s Emerging Professional Leadership Council is pleased to announce the launch of a new digital-essay series, Early Music: the Americas.
Early Music America’s Young Performers Festival and the Emerging Artists Showcase presents some of the most talented and inspiring musicians in North America, this year June 8 – 10, as part of the Berkeley Festival & Exhibition (BFX), which runs a full week starting June 5. The festivities begin with Virtual Showcase on June 1 & 3 via YouTube.
Fairy tales may seem like an unlikely source for a tragédie lyrique. But Cleveland-based Les Délices, in a newly created production of ‘The White Cat,’ combines the two genres with arresting results. Based on a 1698 fairy tale by the pioneering Madame d’Aulnoy, the English-language opera weaves a story about the virtues of friendship, loyalty, and love through puppets and a pastiche of French Baroque favorites by Lully, Couperin, and other composers.