Monteverdi - Early Music Society of the Islands

30 T H SEASON
Monteverdi
Songs of Love and War
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Pacific MusicWorks
Saturday, 8 November 2014 at 8pm
Alix Goolden Hall, Victoria Conservatory of Music
2014-15 OPERATING GRANTS
2014–15 Concert Season
8 pm Saturday 29 November 2014
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Alix Goolden Hall
8 pm Saturday 28 March 2015
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Alix Goolden Hall
Jeffrey Thompson tenor La Rêveuse France
Henry Lawes: Songs of an English Cavalier
Accademia Hermans Italy
Vivaldi and his Imitators
In the eighteenth century, Antonio’s Vivaldi’s works
were consistently fresh, wildly popular—and widely
imitated. Sometimes it is unclear when a work is by
the Venetian master or one of his admirers. You be the
judge. Vivaldi’s followers included the great J.S. Bach
and the ever popular anonymous.
Henry Lawes lived through the troubled times of
17th-century England. He was acknowledged in his
day as one of the finest composers for the voice. With
his extended vocal ranges, expressive melodies, vibrant
dissonances and the high poetic quality of his texts,
Lawes is a subtle painter of the melancholy of his age.
8 pm Saturday 7 March 2015
8 pm Saturday 25 April 2015
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Oak Bay United Church
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Alix Goolden Hall
Kristian Bezuidenhout fortepiano
Mozart Piano Sonatas South Africa/UK
VocaMe Germany
Hildegard of Bingen: Songs and Visions
Bezuidenhout’s interpretation of Mozart has
caused a sensation at the world’s major early music
festivals. Come and find out why. The reigning
superstar of the fortepiano brings to the keyboard
masterpieces of Mozart an unprecedented flair
and freedom.
Mystic, poet, saint, visionary, Doctor of the Church:
Hildegard was many things, but perhaps above all she
was a composer of inspired music. This internationally
acclaimed ensemble transports audiences back to
the 12th century and makes it possible to share
Hildegard’s ecstasy.
SPECIAL EVENTS The Northwest Baroque Masterworks Project
8 pm Saturday 20 DECEMBER 2014
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Alix Goolden Hall
An exciting new collaboration with the EMSI,
Early Music Vancouver, Pacific MusicWorks and
the Portland Baroque Orchestra
Pacific MusicWorks
Portland Baroque Orchestra
Stephen Stubbs music director SEATTLE
Bach: Christmas Oratorio
Celebrate the holiday season with a collection of North
America’s most celebrated period instrumentalists and
soloists in this festive performance of three of Bach’s
six Christmas Oratorio Cantatas performed as they
would have been in Leipzig in 1734.
3 pm Sunday 15 FEBRUARY 2015
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Alix Goolden Hall
Pacific Baroque Orchestra
Vancouver Cantata Singers
Alexander Weimann music director VANCOUVER
Handel: Theodora
A collaboration with the EMSI, Early Music
Vancouver and the Seattle Early Music Guild
Featuring some of Handel’s most glorious music,
Theodora depicts the self-sacrificial love between a
Christian virgin and a Roman imperial bodyguard.
It serves as a timeless parable of spiritual resistance
to tyranny and an indictment of persecution.
Performed by 28 instrumentalists, 40 singers, and
five international soloists.
Monteverdi
Songs of Love and War
Catherine Webster, Soprano
Danielle Reutter-Harrah, Mezzo Soprano
Reginald Mobley, Countertenor
Aaron Sheehan, Tenor
Ross Hauck, Tenor
Douglas Williams, Bass
Tekla Cunningham, Linda Melsted, Violins
Elisabeth Reed, Baroque cello
Maxine Eilander, Baroque harp and harpsichord
Stephen Stubbs, Chitarrone and direction
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Hor che’l ciel e la terra e’l vento tace . . . . . . . . . . . Monteverdi, Madrigali guerrieri, et amorosi (Venice, 1638)
Chiomo d’oro bel tesoro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monteverdi, Concerto. Settimo libro de madrigali (Venice, 1619)
Gira il nemico insidioso Amore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monteverdi, Madrigali guerrieri, et amorosi
Ego flos campi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monteverdi, Seconda raccolta de sacri canti (Calvi, Venice, 1624)
Sonata terza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dario Castello, Sonate Concertate in Stil Moderno, Libro II (Venice, 1629)
Et e pur dunque vero. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monteverdi, Scherzi musicali (Venice, 1632)
Augellin che la voce al canto spieghi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monteverdi, Concerto. Settimo libro de madrigali
INTERMISSION
Lamento della Ninfa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monteverdi, Madrigali guerrieri, et amorosi
Sonata Undecima. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dario Castello, Sonate Concertate in Stil Moderno, Libro II
Ogni amante è guerrier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monteverdi, Madrigali guerrieri, et amorosi
L’Eroica à 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrea Falconieri, Il libro primo (Naples, 1650)
Altri Canti di Marte. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monteverdi, Madrigali guerrieri, et amorosi
Texts and Translations
Hor che’l ciel, e la terra
Hor che’ l ciel, e la terra e’ l vento tace
E le fere e gli augelli il sonno affrena,
Notte il carro stellato in giro mena,
E nel suo letto il mar senz’onda giace.
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Now that heaven, earth, and wind are silent
And slumber enthralls the beasts and birds,
Night leads her starry chariot about
And in her bed, the sea lies waveless.
Veglio, penso, ardo, piango, e chi mi sface
Sempre m’ è innanzi, per mia dolce pena.
Guerra è il mio stato, d’ ira e di duol piena;
E sol di lei pensando ho qualche pace.
I wake, I think, I burn, I weep, for her whose face
Is ever before me, to my sweet pain.
War is my condition, full of both anger and grief,
And only by thinking of her do I find some peace.
Così suol d’una chiara fonte viva
Move’ l dolce e l’amaro, ond’ io mi pasco
Una man sola mi risana e punge,
E perchè’ l mio morir non giunga a riva,
Mille volte il dì moro, e mille nasco,
Tanto dalla salute mia son lunge.
Thus, from a single clear living spring
Come both the sweet and bitter on which I feed,
A single hand both heals and wounds me,
And since my torment has no end,
A thousand times a day I die, a thousand times
I am reborn, so far am I from my salvation!
Francesco Petrarca (Rime, CLXIV)
Chiome d’oro
Chiome d’oro
Bel tesoro,
Tu mi leghi in mille modi
Se t’annodi,
Se ti snodi.
Tresses of gold
Beautiful treasure
You bind me in a thousand ways
Whether you are knotted
Or loosened.
Candidette
Perle elette,
Se le rose che coprite
Discoprite,
Mi ferite.
Whitest
Most perfect pearls (teeth)
If the roses which cover you,
Reveal you,
I am wounded.
Vive stelle
Che sì belle
E sì vaghe risplendete,
Se ridete
M’ancidete.
Bright stars (eyes)
Which so beautifully
And so gracefully shine
If you laugh,
You kill me.
Preziose,
Amorose,
Coralline labbra amate,
Se parlate
Mi beate.
Precious,
Amorous,
Beloved lips of coral,
If you speak,
You bless me.
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O bel nodo
Per cui godo!
O soave uscir di vita!
O gradita
Mia ferita!
O beautiful knots
Which delight me!
O sweet exit from this life!
O how I enjoy
My wounds!
Gira il nemico
Gira il nemico insidioso Amore
La rocca del mio core.
Su presto, ch’egli qui poco lontano,
Armi alla mano!
The enemy, insidious Love, encircles
The fortress of my heart.
Quickly, act, for he is not far from here,
Take up arms!
Nol lasciamo accostar, ch’egli non saglia
Sulla fiacca muraglia,
Ma facciam fuor una sortita bella;
Butta la sella!
Don’t allow him to approach, nor leap
Onto the weak rampart,
But rather let us sally forth boldly,
Saddle the horses!
Armi false non son, ch’ei s’avvicina
Col grosso la Cortina.
Su presto, ch’egli qui poco discosto,
Tutti al suo posto!
Those are not fake weapons, he is nearing
The gate with his forces.
Quickly, act, for he is not distant,
Everyone to his post!
Vuol degl’occhi attaccar il baloardo,
Con impeto gagliardo.
Su presto, ch’egli qui senz’alcun fallo,
Tutti a cavallo!
He wants to attack the bastion of my eyes
With an impetuous charge.
Quickly, act, for he is here and no mistake,
Everyone to his horse!
Non è più tempo, ohimè, ch’egli ad un tratto,
Del cor padron s’ è fatto.
A gambe, a salvo chi si può salvare
All’andare!
There is no more time, alas, for at a stroke
He has become the master of my heart.
To foot, save yourselves if you can,
Fly!
Cor mio, non val fuggir, sei morto e servo
D’un tiranno protervo,
Che’ l vincitor, che già dentro alla piazza,
Grida: “Foco, ammazza!”
My heart, you cannot flee, you are dead
And the servant of an arrogant tyrant,
For the conqueror, already inside the court,
Cries: “Fire, slaughter!”
Giulio Strozzi
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5
Ego flos campi
Ego flos campi
et lilium convallium.
Sicut lilium inter spinas,
sic amica mea inter filias.
Sicut malus inter ligna silvarum,
sic dilectus meus inter filios.
Sub umbra illius que desideraveram sedi
et fructus eius dulcis gutturi meo.
I am the rose of Sharon,
and the lily of the valleys.
As the lily among thorns,
so is my love among the daughters.
As the apple tree among the trees of the wood,
so is my beloved among the sons.
I sat down under his shadow with great delight,
and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
Song of Songs 2:1-3
Translation: King James Version
Et è pur dunque vero
Et è pur dunque vero,
Dishumanato cor, anima cruda,
Che cangiando pensiero
E di fede e d'amor tu resti ignuda.
D' haver tradito me datti pur vanto,
Che la cetera mia rivolgo in pianto.
Is it then really true
Dehumanized heart, cruel soul,
That you have changed your thoughts
And of loyalty and love you are denuded?
That to have betrayed me you boast?
So that my lyre dissolves in tears?
È questo il guiderdone
De l'amorose mie tante fatiche?
Così mi fa ragione,
Il vostro reo destin, stelle nemiche.
Ma se' l tuo cor è d'ogni fe' ribelle,
Lidia, la colpa è tua non delle stelle.
Is this the reward
For all my amorous efforts?
Is this the result
Of a cruel destiny, enemy stars?
But if your heart now rebels against all faith,
Lidia, the fault is yours and not the stars!
Beverò, sfortunato,
Gl'assassinati miei torbidi pianti,
E sempre addolorato
A tutti gl'altri abbandonati amanti,
E scolpirò sul marmo alla mia fede:
Sciocco è quel cor
ch' in bella donna crede.
I will drink, wretch,
To my own assassination with a torrent of tears,
And always lamenting,
Will toast all the other abandoned lovers
And I will carve into marble my conviction:
Blind is that heart
Which believes in a beautiful woman!
Povero di conforto,
Mendico di speranza, andrò ramingo;
E senza salma o porto,
Fra tempeste vivrò mesto e solingo.
Né havrò la morte di precipitii a schivo
Perchè non può morir chi non è vivo.
Impoverished of comfort,
Beggared of hope, I will roam:
And without body or port
Amidst the tempests I will live sad and alone.
Nor having any fear for death,
Because he cannot die who does not live!
Il numero de gli anni
Ch'al sol di tue bellezze io fui di neve,
Il colmo degl'affanni
Che non mi diero mai,
The number of years during which,
Under the sun of your beauty, I was the snow,
The sum of suffering
Which never gives me
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mai riposo breve:
Insegneranno a mormorar i venti
Le tue perfidie o cruda
e i miei tormenti.
Even a moment of repose;
Will teach the winds to murmur
Your perfidies, o cruel one,
And my torments.
Vivi, vivi col cor di giaccio,
E l' inconstanza tua l'aure diffidi;
Stringi, stringi il tuo ben in braccio
E del mio mal con lui trionfa e ridi;
Ed ambi in union dolce gradita
Fabricate il sepolcro alla mia vita.
Live, live then with a heart of ice,
And let your waywardness compete with the breezes;
tightly embrace your lover in your arms
And with him laugh and triumph at my suffering;
And, as you enjoy the sweetness of your union,
Know that you also build my tomb.
Abissi, abissi, udite, udite
Di mia disperation gli ultimi accenti,
Da poi che son fornite
Le mie gioie e gl'amor e i miei contenti.
Tanto è' l mio mal che nominar io voglio
Emulo del inferno il mio cordoglio.
Abysses, listen!
To the final sounds of my desperation,
For they are all finished now:
My joys and love and contentment.
Such is my suffering that I would call
Hell itself an imitation of my pain.
Augellin
Augellin che la voce
Al canto spieghi,
Per pietà del mio duolo
Deh, spargi l’ali a volo
Little bird who raises your voice
In song,
For pity of my sorrow,
Ah! Spread your wings to fly!
Indi vanne a Madonna,
Anzi al mi sole,
E con dogliosi accenti
Dille queste parole:
Thus fly to my lady,
Or should I say, my sun,
And with doleful accents
Speak these words to her:
O soave cagion d’aspri tormenti,
Soffrirete voi sempre
Ch’ in pianto chi v’adora
Si distempre?
O sweet cause of my bitter torments,
Will you continue to allow
That he who adores you
Must dissolve in his own tears?
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7
Lamento della Ninfa
Non havea Febo ancora
Recato al mondo il dì
Ch’una donzella fuora
Del proprio albergo uscì.
Sul palidetto volto
Scorgease il suo dolor,
Spesso gli venia sciolto
Un gran sospir dal cor.
Si calpestando fiori
Errava hor qua hor là,
I suoi perduti amori
Così piangendo va:
Phoebus had not yet
Given daylight back to the world
When a maiden emerged
From her house.
On her pale face
Her sorrow could be seen,
Often she unleashed
A great sigh from her heart.
Crushing the flowers underfoot
She strayed now here, now there,
Her lost love
Thus she bewailed:
“Amor” dicea: il ciel
Mirando, il piè fermò.
“Amor, dov’ è la fè
Che’ l traditor giurò?
Fa che ritorni il mio
Amor com’ei pur fu,
O tu m’ancidi ch’ io
Non mi tormenti più.”
(Miserella! Ah più no, no,
Tanto gel soffrir non può.)
“Non vo’ più ch’ei sospiri
Se non lontan da me;
No, no ch’ei martiri
Più non dirammi affè.
Perchè di lui mi struggo
Tutt’orgoglioso sta,
Che sì, che sì, se’ l fuggo
Ancor mi pregherà.
Se ciglio ha più sereno
Colei che’ l mio non è,
Già non rinchiude in seno,
Amor, sì bella fè.
Nè mai sì dolci baci, mai,
Da quella bocca havrai,
Nè più soave—ah, taci,
Taci, che troppo il sa.”
“Amor” she said: looking
Into the heavens, standing still.
“Amor, where is the faithfulness
That the traitor swore?
Make my love return to me
As he once was,
Or kill me, that I may
No longer torment myself.”
(Ah poor girl! No more, no more,
She cannot bear such scorn.)
“I don’t want him to sigh any more
Unless he be far from me;
No, nor his sufferings
Be recounted to me, I swear.
Because I torture myself for his sake
He is filled with pride,
But yes, yes, if I would flee him
He would come begging me again.
If she has a visage more beautiful
Than mine, She! She!
Yet enclosed in her heart is not
Such a beautiful faithfulness as mine, Amor.
Never again such sweet kisses, never,
From that mouth shall you have,
Nor ever the sweeter—ah, be silent
Be silent, for you know it only too well.”
Si tra sdegnosi pianti
Spargea le voci al ciel,
Così ne’ cori amanti
Mesce amor fiamma e gel.
And so, amongst indignant tears,
She sent her words to the heavens,
Thus it is in lover’s hearts,
Love mingles fire and ice.
Ottavio Rinuccini
8
Ogni amante è guerrier
Ogni amante è guerrier: nel suo gran regno
Ha ben Amor la sua milizia anch’egli.
Quella fiorita età che’ l duro pondo
Può sostener de l’elmo e de lo scudo
Negli assalti d’amor fa prove eccelse,
Nè men scontio è veder tremula mano
Per troppo età vibrar la spade e l’ hasta
Che sentir sospirar canuto amante.
Every lover is a warrior; in his great empire
Love too has his militia.
The flourishing age (youth), which can bear
The heavy weight of helmet and shield
Amidst the assaults of love, will prove its mettle.
Nor is it less displeasing to see a hand, tremulous,
Shaking a sword or lance,
Than it is to hear the sighs of a gray-haired lover.
Ambo le notti gelide e serene
E l’amante e’ l guerrier traggon veggiando,
Questi a salvar del capitan le tende,
Questi a guardar l’amanti mura intento.
Non mai di faticar cessa il soldato,
Nè ripose già mai verace amante.
Ambo sormonteran de’monti alpestri
Le dure cime, ambo torrenti e fiumi
Tra piogge e nembi varcheran sicuri.
Non del vasto ocean l’onde spumanti,
Non d’Euro o d’Aquilon l’orribil fiato
Frenar potrà l’ impetuosi cori
Se di solcar il mar desio gli sprona.
Chi, se non quei che l’amorosa insegna
Segue o di Marte, al ciel notturno e fosco
Può la poggia soffrir, le nevi e’ l vento?
Taccia pur dunque omai, lingua mendace,
Di più chiamar otio e lascivia amore,
Ch’amor affetto è sol di guerrier core.
Warrior and lover both spend the quiet cold nights
Without sleep,
This one protects the captain’s tents,
The other intently guards the beloved’s walls,
The warrior never ceases his labors
And the true lover never rests.
Both scale the arduous summits
Of rugged peaks, both cross torrents and rivers
With firm steps amidst rain and storms.
Neither the foaming waves of the vast ocean,
Nor the terrible blasts of the east or north winds
Can restrain their impetuous hearts
If the desire to cross the sea spurs them on.
Who but they who follow the banner of Love
Or of War, in the dark and gloomy night
Could endure the rain, the snow, and the wind?
Let lying tongues be still
And never again call love lazy and wanton,
For love is a passion of the warrior heart alone.
Io che nell’otio nacqui è d’otio vissi,
che, vago sol di riposata quiete,
trappassava non pur l’ hore notturne
ma’ i giorni intieri ancor tra molli piume,
è tra grat’ombre, d’ogni cura scarco,
il fresco mi godea d’un’aura lieve
col roco mormorar d’un picciol rivo
che fea tenor degli augelletti al canto—
io stesso, poi che generosa cura
di bellissimo Amor mi punse il core
all’ hor che’ l guardo volsi al divin lume
che sfavillar vid’ io da quei belli occhi
e’ l suono udì che da rubini e perle
mi giunse al cor d’Angelica favella,
sprezzando gli agi di tranquilla vita,
non pur chiuggo a i gran dì tra il sonno i lumi,
ma ben sovente ancor e stelle e sera
cangiar vigile amante in Sol e in alba.
I, who was born in idleness and lived in idleness,
Who desired nothing but restful ease,
Spent not merely my nights
But also entire days as well on my soft feather bed,
And midst pleasing shades, free of all cares,
Enjoyed the refreshment of gentle breezes
With the gentle murmur of a little stream
That played the tenor to the soprano of the birds’ song—yet I, once the noble cares
Of most beauteous love pierced my heart,
At the moment when I turned my gaze toward the divine light sparkling in those beautiful eyes,
And heard the sound from rubies and pearls of that angelic voice which pierced my heart,
I now despise the comforts of the tranquil life
And no longer close my eyes to sleep in daylight, But
now, often, this wakeful lover sees the stars and the
night change into the sun and the dawn.
9
Spesso carco di ferro all’ombra oscura
M’en vo sicur ove il desio mi spinge,
E tante soffro ogni hor dure fatiche,
Amoroso guerrier, ch’assai m’en greve
Misura in un col valoroso Hispano
Tentar pugnando l’ostinato Belga,
O pur la dove innunda i larghi campi
L’Istro Real, cinto di ferro il busto,
Seguir tra l’armi il chiaro e nobil sangue
Di quel Gran Re ch’or su la Sacra Testa
Posa il splendor del Diadema Augusto;
Di quel Gran Re ch’alle Corone, ai Lauri,
Alle spoglie, ai trionfi il ciel destina.
O sempre glorioso, o sempre invitto,
Segui felice e fortunato a pieno
L’alte vittorie e gloriose imprese,
Che forse un dì questa mia roca cetra
Ritornerà non vil nei tuoi gran pregi
All’ hor ch’al suon de l’armi
Canterò le tue palme e i chiari allori.
Quando l’ hostil furor depresso è domo
Dal tuo invitto valor, dal tuo gran senno,
Udrà pien di spavento e di terrore
L’Oriente sonar belliche squille,
E sovra gran destrier di ferro adorno
Di stupor muti i faretrati Sciti
Tra mille e mille cavaglier’ e duci
Carco di spoglie, O gran Fernando Ernesto,
S’ inchineranno alla tua invitta spada,
Vinti cedendo le Corone e i Regni.
Often, armed in iron, at dead of night
I go with sure step wherever my desire drives me.
And such hard labors do I constantly endure
As a warrior of love, that it would be less a burden
To contest at once with the valorous Spaniard
While attempting to battle the obstinate Belgian,
Or, where the regal Danube floods the broad fields,
My breast girded in iron,
To follow in arms the famous, noble scion
Of that great king who now upon his sacred head
Wears the splendor of the imperial diadem;
Of that great king for whom crowns, laurels,
Spoils, and triumphs, are predestined by Heaven.
O, ever glorious, ever unconquered one,
May you pursue, full of happiness and good fortune.
Your exalted victories and glorious enterprises.
Perhaps one day my poor lyre
Will be found not unworthy to sing your great praises
When, to the sounds of battle,
I shall sing of your victories and proud laurels.
When the enemy’s rage has been vanquished
By your invincible valor, by your great wisdom,
The Orient, full of fear and terror, shall hear
The shrill sounds of war,
And, on a great steed adorned with chain mail,
The quiver-bearing Scythians, struck dumb in awe,
Will see you midst thousands of knights and captains,
Laden with spoils, O mighty Fernando Ernesto,
And will bow down before your invincible sword,
And yield their crowns and empires to you.
Ma per qual ampio Egeo spieghi le vele
sì dal porto lontano, ardito amante!
Riedi, che meco il mio cortese amico
Veggio ch’a si gran corso, a sì gran volo,
Di pallido timor dipinge il viso.
But on the wide Aegean sea you hoist your sails
so far from port, bold lover!
Return with me, for my noble friend
I see, at so great a journey, so great a flight,
Your face becomes pale with fear.
Riedi, ch’al nostr’ardir, ch’al nostro canto,
ch’ora d’armi e d’amor confuso suona,
scorger ben puote omai ch’Amor e Marte
è quasi in cor gentil cortese affetto.
Return, so that our courage, our song,
in which the sounds of love and war are intermingled,
may clearly show that Love and Mars
are both courtly sentiments in a noble heart.
Ottavio Rinuccini
EMSI SEASON SPONSORS
10
Altri canti di Marte
Altri canti di Marte e di sua schiera
Gli arditi assalti e l’ honorate imprese,
Le sanguigne vittorie e le contese,
I trionfi di Morte horrida e fera.
Let others speak of Mars and his brigade:
The bold assaults and glorious deeds,
The bloody victories and the contests,
The triumphs of horrid, cruel death.
Io canto, Amor, di questa tua guerriera:
eeee mortali offese,
Com’un guardo mi vinse, un crin mi prese.
Historia miserabile ma vera.
I sing, Love, of your (female) warrior,
How many mortal wounds I had to endure,
How a glance conquered me, a tress ensnared me.
A sad story, but true.
Due belli occhi fur l’armi onde traffitta
Giacque, e di sangue invece amaro pianto
Sparse lunga stagion l’anima afflitta.
Two beautiful eyes were the arms that pierced,
And in the place of bitter tears, drew blood,
Pouring forth for so long from my afflicted soul.
Tu per lo cui valor la palma e’ l vanto
Hebbe di me la mia nemica invitta,
Se desti morte al cor, dà vita al canto.
You, through whose valor the honor and glory
Taken from me are given my invincible enemy,
If you give death to my heart, give life to my song!
Gian Battista Marino
S
All translations by Stephen Stubbs except as noted
JOE COFFEY : Tableau Vivant
NATHAN BIRCH: New Landscapes
December 2 - 20, 2014 at Oak Bay
Shown (detail): paintings by Joe Coffey
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Programme Notes
Monteverdi’s Songs of Love and War
S
our minds, and that this is the purpose which
all good music should have—for this reason
I have applied myself with no small diligence
and toil to rediscover this genus.
“My development of this warlike genus
has given me occasion to write certain
madrigals that I have called guerrieri. And
since the music played before great princes
at their courts to please their delicate taste
is of three kinds according to the method of
performance, I have indicated these in my
present work with the titles guerriera,
amorosa, and rappresentativo.”
In Claudio Monteverdi’s extraordinarily long
composing career he led the way for the entire musical
world from the Renaissance to the Baroque, from the
a cappella madrigal to the fully realized “madrigali
concertanti” replete with continuo accompaniment
and obbligato strings, and from the early court
opera to the world’s first public operas in Venice. He
published his eighth book of “madrigals” (Madrigali
guerrieri, et amorosi… libro ottavo,) in Venice in 1638,
when he was 71 years old, 19 years after the seventh
book of madrigals was printed. Book Eight holds a
place of highest significance both for its contents and
for its extensive preface. This preface serves as a kind
of manifesto not only of his personal philosophy of
composition, but for the aesthetic goals of modern
music in his time.
Monteverdi’s explicit aim was for music to express
the entire range of man’s passions. He came to
believe that there was a particular element theretofore
missing from the expressive range of music, and
he determined to supply it. Earlier composers, he
believed, had realized only two of man’s three major
passions: the soft and the moderate. A third passion,
agitation, was too important to be overlooked, and he
now intended to rectify the omission:
The phrase “contrasts which greatly move our
minds” explains not only the title of the book, but
also the organization of the collection and nearly each
work within it. For this collection, Monteverdi chose
poems with highly contrasted or conflicting emotions,
often depicting the lover as warrior, or the internal
state of war in the lover’s heart. The two contrasting
emotions of the title—warlike and amorous—
become the subheadings for the two halves of the
book: Canti Guerrieri for the first and Canti Amorosi
for the second. The two large works that open and
close our programme are emblematic of each half in
turn. Hor che’ l ciel, the quintessential canto guerriero,
sets a magnificent sonnet by Petrarch which presents
the opportunity for vivid musical contrasts: the
night is serene with all of nature at peace, yet in the
lover’s heart, war rages. The introduction to the Canti
Amorosi is the setting of Marino’s poem Altri canti di
Marte, in which the first line announces the poetic
agenda: “Let others sing of War, I sing of Love”.
“I have reflected that the principal passions or
affections of our mind are three, namely, anger,
moderation and humility or supplication; so
the best philosophers declare, and the very
nature of our voice indicates this in having
high, low and middle registers. The art of
music also points clearly to these three in
its terms “agitated,” “soft,” and “moderate”
(concitato, molle, and temperato). In all the
works of earlier composers I have indeed found
examples of the “soft” and the “moderate” but
not of the “agitated,” a genus described by Plato
in these words: “Take that harmony that would
fittingly imitate the utterances of a brave man
who is engaged in warfare”. And since I was
aware that it is contrasts which greatly move
Hor che’l ciel e la terra. With this deeply
expressive setting of Petrarch’s sonnet, Monteverdi
simultaneously declares his aesthetic allegiance to the
venerated 14th-century poet and also to the newest
musical credo of limpid declamation. The piece
begins with a hushed, almost motionless, depiction of
the stillness of night… then erupts with the full force
of Monteverdi’s new invention of musical warfare to
depict the inner life of the harried lover.
12
Chiome d’oro. One of Monteverdi’s most
perennially popular pieces, this charming duet for a
pair of sopranos, set against a pair of violins, dances
along above a jaunty walking bass until the two
moments depicting the lovers death (in this genre,
likely to be the “little death” of sexual climax), which
are given an expansive and sensuous treatment.
Gira il nemico. Although this piece is in
Monteverdi’s concitato (warlike) style, similar to that
of Hor che’ l ciel and Ogni amante è guerrier, it is here
used in a jocular context that harkens back to the
16th-century Neapolitan canzone villanesca, which
was a musical emanation of the large phenomenon of
street theatre known as commedia dell’arte.
Ego flos campi. This lovely setting of a text from
the Song of Songs belongs to the same lineage as Nigra
sum and Pulchra es from Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers.
Sonata terza. Dario Castello, whose biography is
almost a perfect blank, was known to have worked at
San Marco during Monteverdi’s regime as maestro di
cappella there. His plastic and expressive music is the
closest instrumental idiom we have to Monteverdi’s
exclusively vocal output.
Et e pur dunque vero. This piece is unique in
its form, not only within Monteverdi’s works, but
altogether. There are many pieces for solo voice with
continuo which partake of the formal device here of
strophic variation, where each succeeding strophe uses
a given harmonic ground on which to build various
melodic structures, but these are usually divided by
a recurring ‘ritornello’, either for the continuo alone
or with violins. The departure here is to vary the
interludes for solo violin as much as the vocal strophes
themselves—in a sense, the violin takes on its own
narrative. It seems that Monteverdi’s thought was to
have the violin assume the emotional state at the end
of each strophe, and lead the way to the emotional
state at the beginning of the next.
Augellin. Like Chiome d’oro, Augellin begins with
the foundation of an energetic walking bass line to
support the delightful figurations for the two tenors
and bass that together paint a picture of the delicate
bird; then, to express the first-person message of the
tortured lover, the music changes abruptly to an
adagio outpouring of emotion.
Lamento della Ninfa. Amongst the various
“staged” and “unstaged” compositions of Book Eight,
the Lamento della Ninfa occupies a unique position.
Although Monteverdi places it explicitly in the
category of “genera rappresentativa,” its poetic origin
is a modest canzonetta by Rinuccini, which had
previously been set by other composers as a simple
strophic song. Monteverdi, however, saw the potential
to create a voice of the narrator for three men’s
voices, and to organize the scena as a scene-setting
prologue for the narrator, followed by the nymph’s
hyper-expressive (one could easily say operatic) lament
of lost love and abandonment, and ending with a
summation from the trio.
Sonata Undecima. Just as in Monteverdi’s duets
for two sopranos or two tenors, Castello’s sonatas
featuring two violins use the gamut of techniques
from playful counterpoint to homophonic rhetoric
to solo flights of fancy. Here, as in Monteverdi’s trios
for two tenors and bass which feature so prominently
in this programme, there is the addition of a third
independent part for the bowed bass instrument.
Ogni amante è guerrier. The title “Every Lover
is a Warrior” expresses succinctly the atmosphere
not only of this piece, but of the whole collection.
Beginning with a tenor duet like those that had
dominated the seventh book in 1619, the centerpiece
of this work is an extended monologue for bass. It
is during this section that Monteverdi pays explicit
homage to the dedicatee of Book Eight—the new
Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand III.
L’Eroica à 3. Born in Naples, Falconieri received
his musical training in Parma and worked at the
courts of Mantua (where he may have known
Monteverdi) and Florence. After travels in Spain and
France he ended up in Genoa, until he was censured
for “distracting the nuns with music”. He eventually
returned to his home town, where he became maestro
di cappella. His L’Eroica, from his one published
volume of instrumental music, includes a wonderfully
wayward ciaccona as its middle section.
Altri canti di Marte. This large-scale piece,
designed by Monteverdi to introduce his Canti
Amorosi, will serve for us as the farewell to this rich
repertoire of striking contrasts, sensuous beauties,
and stirring emotions. Next to the final operas,
L’ incoronazione di Poppea and Il ritorno d’Ulisse in
patria, this is Monteverdi’s final musical will and
testament.
Joan Conlon and Stephen Stubbs
S
13
The Artists
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Musical Director and lutenist Stephen Stubbs
was born in Seattle, Washington, where he studied
composition, piano and harpsichord at the University
of Washington. In 1974 he moved to England
to study lute with Robert Spencer and then to
Amsterdam for further study with Toyohiko Satoh,
and he soon became a mainstay of the burgeoning
early music movement there, working with Alan
Curtis on Italian opera in Italy, William Christie
on French opera in France and various ensembles
in England and Germany particularly the
Hilliard Ensemble.
After a 30-year career in Europe, he returned
to Seattle with the long-term goal of establishing a
company devoted to the study and production of
baroque opera. His first venture in this direction was
the creation of the Accademia d’Amore, an annual
summer institute for the training of pre-professional
singers and musicians in baroque style and stagecraft,
now housed at the Cornish College of the Arts.
In 2008 he established Pacific MusicWorks.
The company’s inaugural presentation was a
revival of South African artist William Kentridge’s
acclaimed multimedia marionette staging of Claudio
Monteverdi’s penultimate opera The Return of
Ulysses in a co-production with the San Francisco
Museum of Modern Art. After a warmly received
2010 presentation of Monteverdi’s monumental
1610 Vespers at Seattle’s St. James Cathedral,
PMW presented a full subscription season, opening
with a programme based on the Song of Songs
and ending with two triumphantly successful
performances of Handel’s early masterpiece, The
Triumph of Time (1707).
Stephen is Senior Artist in Residence and member
of the faculty of the School of Music at the University
of Washington. He has a busy calendar as a guest
conductor, specializing in baroque opera and oratorio,
and was recently awarded the Mayor's Arts Award for
'Raising the Bar' in Seattle.
with Tafelmusik, Tragicomedia, Theatre of Voices,
Netherlands Bach Society, Apollo’s Fire, American
Baroque Orchestra, Magnificat, Musica Angelica, El
Mundo, Four Nations Ensemble, Studio de Musique
Ancienne de Montréal, Ensemble Masques, Les
Voix Baroques, Early Music Vancouver, and at the
Vancouver, Berkeley, Montreal and Boston Early
Music Festivals.
Active also in contemporary music, she has
appeared with The Kronos Quartet in Terry Riley’s
Sun Rings and with Theatre of Voices and the Los
Angeles Philharmonic in John Adam’s Grand
Pianola Music. She is a frequent collaborator with
baroque opera directors Stephen Stubbs and Paul
O’Dette, appearing under their direction in Early
Music Vancouver’s production for the 2013 Festival
Vancouver of Monteverdi’s l’Incoronazione di Poppea
and the premiere of Mattheson’s Boris Goudenov for
the Boston Early Music Festival. She has recorded for
Harmonia Mundi, Naxos, Musica Omnia, Analekta
and Atma.
Catherine holds a Master in Music degree from
the Early Music Institute at Indiana University and
has been a guest faculty member and artist for The San
Francisco Early Music Society’s summer workshops
and the Madison Early Music Festival.
Soprano Danielle Reutter-Harrah is a versatile
performer with a particular enthusiasm for historically
informed performance practice. She has been lauded
for her “lovely” solo (San Francisco Classical Voice)
in her recent debut as a soloist with the San Francisco
Symphony Chorus in Mason Bates’ Mass Transmission.
She appears frequently with the American Bach
Soloists, most recently singing with “beauty and
passion” (San Francisco Classical Voice) in a rarely
performed early version of Bach’s St Matthew Passion.
While she frequently interprets Handel, Bach,
and Purcell, her repertoire also includes Brahms,
Saint-Saëns, Stravinsky, Britten and Corigliano. She
has appeared with the Baroque Chamber Orchestra
of Colorado, St. Martin’s Chamber Choir, the San
Francisco Bach Choir, the San Jose Opera, and the
American Bach Soloists, among others. Her stage roles
Soprano Catherine Webster is engaged regularly by
many leading early music and chamber ensembles
in North America. She has appeared as a soloist
14
include Dido in Dido and Aeneas, Giannetta in
l’Elisir d’Amore, Ruggiero in Alcina, and Maggie in
Gift of the Magi. She has performed under numerous
directors, among them Helmut Rilling, Marin
Alsop, Catherine Sailer, Timothy Krueger, Tan Dun,
Michael Tilson Thomas, Jeffrey Thomas, Ragnar
Bohlin and George Cleve.
Originally from Portland, Oregon, Danielle
earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the Lamont
School of Music at the University of Denver, and
a Master of Music degree from the San Francisco
Conservatory of Music. She has been a professional
member of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus since
2011 and is a founding member of the Bay Area’s
Liaison, an early music ensemble which features
chamber music from the 17th and 18th centuries.
Requiem, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Orff’s
Carmina Burana. He has also performed the title
role of Paris in the Florida premiere of John Eccles’
Judgment of Paris, under the direction of Anthony
Rooley and Evelyn Tubb.
A longtime member of the twice Grammynominated Miami-based professional vocal ensemble
Seraphic Fire, Reggie has also performed with
other ensembles in the US and abroad, such as the
Dartmouth Handel Society, Apollo’s Fire, Vox Early
Music, Portland Baroque Orchestra, North Carolina
Baroque Ensemble, Ensemble VIII, San Antonio
Symphony, Early Music Vancouver, Symphony Nova
Scotia and the Oregon Bach Festival.
Not limited to conventional countertenor
repertoire, he has performed in several musical
theatre productions, including the title role in Rupert
Holmes’ Mystery of Edwin Drood, and Jacey Squires
in Meredith Willson’s The Music Man. He has also
performed in many cabaret shows and sets of jazz
standards and torch songs in jazz clubs in and around
Tokyo, Japan.
Reggie studied voice at the University of Florida
with Jean Ronald LaFond, and Florida State
University with Roy Delp.
Countertenor Reginald Mobley fully intended to
speak his art through watercolours and oil pastels
until circumstance demanded that his own voice
should speak for itself. Since reducing his visual
colour palette to the black and white of a score, he
has endeavoured to open a wider spectrum onstage.
Particularly noted for his “crystalline diction and
pure, evenly produced tone” (Miami Herald), as well
as “elaborate and inventive ornamentation” (South
Florida Classical Review), Reggie is rapidly making a
name for himself as soloist in baroque, classical and
modern repertoire. His natural and preferred habitat
as a soloist is within the works of Bach, Charpentier,
Handel and Purcell, as well as other known baroque
period mainstays. Not to be undone by a strict diet
of cantatas, odes, and oratorios, Reggie finds himself
equally comfortable in repertoire of later periods
and genres, such as Haydn’s Theresienmesse, Mozart’s
Ross Hauck, tenor, is a resident of Issaquah,
Washington. Hailed by the Seattle Times as “almost
superhuman in musical effect”, Mr. Hauck maintains
a busy and eclectic career, often specializing in both
early and new music. This past year he made concert
debuts with the Phoenix Symphony, the Oregon
Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, Orchestra
Kentucky, the Lincoln Symphony, and the Chautaqua
festivals in Boulder, Co and upstate New York.
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Other debuts included appearances with Les
Voix Baroques de Montréal and “Celtic Crossings”
countryside concerts with Apollo’s Fire in Cleveland.
Recently, he released two recordings: Messiah with
Apollo’s Fire (Avie), and the world premiere of
composer Lori Laitman’s oratorio Vedem (Naxos).
Recent opera credits include multiple performances of
the role of Tamino in The Magic Flute, most recently
with Apollo’s Fire in Cleveland, but also with the
Atlanta Ballet. Ross has sung roles with Tacoma
Opera, Sacramento Opera, Indianapolis Opera, and
the Aspen Music Festival, where he sang Almaviva in
The Barber of Seville. He also originated and recorded
the role of Bonario in the world premiere opera Volpone
by American composer John Musto, commissioned by
Wolf Trap Opera Company, where he also sang the
title role in the North American premiere of Rameau’s
Dardanus, Ernesto in Don Pasquale, and Lippo
Fiorentino in Street Scene. He has also collaborated
with American composer Libby Larsen singing the title
role in her opera Dreaming Blue.
As a concert artist, Ross is a regular with the
Seattle Symphony, and has also sung with the
National Symphony, the Chicago Symphony and
the Tanglewood Symphony. A frequent performer of
sacred music, he is in demand for oratorio work. In
the past few seasons, he has sung Handel’s Messiah
with Apollo’s Fire (the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra),
Portland Baroque Orchestra, Seattle Baroque, Dallas
Bach Society, Helena Symphony, Portland Chamber
Orchestra, and Orchestra Kentucky.
He is a distinguished alumnus of DePauw
University (Bachelor of Music), and Cincinnati
College-Conservatory of Music (Master of Music and
Artist Diploma).
16
Tenor Aaron Sheehan has established himself as
a first-rate singer in many styles. His voice is heard
regularly in the United States, South America, and
Europe, and he is equally comfortable in repertoire
ranging from oratorio and chamber music, to the
opera stage.
His singing has taken him to many festivals and
venues including Tanglewood, Lincoln Center, the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Washington National
Cathedral, the early music festivals of Boston, San
Francisco, Vancouver, Houston, Tucson, Washington
DC, and Madison, as well as the Regensburg Tage
Alter Musik.
Known especially for his Baroque interpretations,
his voice has been described by the Boston Globe
as “superb: his tone classy, clear, and refined,
encompassing fluid lyricism and ringing force”
and the Washington Post praised his “polished,
lovely tone”.
In the concert world, Aaron has made a name as
a first rate interpreter of the oratorios and cantatas
of Bach and Handel. The San Diego Classical Voice
said, “Tenor Aaron Sheehan performed the role of
Evangelist, and sang with assured vocal and linguistic
fluency, tasked with telling the audience the story
while imparting its drama. In this regard, he was
superb.” He has appeared in concert with Orpheus
Chamber Orchestra, American Bach Soloists,
Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, North
Carolina Symphony, New York Collegium, Charlotte
Symphony, Boston Cecilia, Charleston Bach Festival,
Baltimore Handel Choir, Les Voix Baroque, Pacific
Chorale, Boston Early Music Festival, Tempesta
di Mare, Aston Magna Festival, Bach Collegium
San Diego, Washington National Cathedral,
Pacific Music Works, Boston Museum Trio,
Magnificat, Tragicomedia, the Folger Consort, and
Concerto Palatino.
On the opera stage, Aaron made his professional
debut in 2005 as Ivan, in the Boston Early Music
Festivals world premiere staging of Mattheson’s Boris
Gudenow, a role in which Opera News praised his
voice as “sinous and supple”. He has since worked
with the company in leading roles such as l’Amour
and Apollon in Lully’s Psyché, Actéon in Charpentier’s
Actéon, and as Acis in Handel’s Acis and Galatea. He
also has worked on the opera stage with American
Opera Theater and Intermezzo Chamber Opera in
leading roles of operas by Cavalli, Handel, Weill, and
Satie. Aaron also continues to work extensively in the
chamber music world. He has sung with Theater of
Voices, Blue Heron Choir, Tenet, Fortune’s Wheel, La
Donna Musicale, Folger Consort, Newberry Consort,
Dünya, The Rose Ensemble, and the Pro Arte Singers.
He has appeared on many recordings, including
the Grammy-nominated operas Thésée and Psyché of
Lully, recorded with BEMF on the CPO label.
A native of Minnesota, Aaron holds a Bachelor of
Arts from Luther College and a Master of Music in
early voice performance from Indiana University. He
is currently on the voice faculties of Boston University,
Wellesley College and Towson University.
concertmaster of Pacific MusicWorks, and plays an
active role at the University of Washington where
PMW is ensemble-in-residence. She directs the
Whidbey Island Music Festival, a summer concert
series now entering its tenth season, producing and
presenting vibrant period-instrument performances of
repertoire ranging from Monteverdi to Stephen Foster,
and plays regularly as concertmaster and principal
player with the American Bach Soloists in California.
Her concert performances have earned glowing praise
from reviewers and have been described as “ravishingly
beautiful” and “stellar”.
From 2006 to 2013 Tekla was principal second
violin with Seattle Baroque Orchestra & Soloists.
She has appeared as concertmaster/leader or soloist
with the American Bach Soloists, Baroque Chamber
Orchestra of Colorado, Seattle Baroque Orchestra,
and Musica Angelica (Los Angeles) and has played
with Apollo’s Fire, Los Angeles Opera, Philharmonia
Baroque Orchestra, and at the Carmel Bach,
San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, Indianapolis,
Savannah and Bloomington Festivals. She received
her musical training at Johns Hopkins University
and Peabody Conservatory, Hochschule für Musik
und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna, and at the San
Francisco Conservatory of Music where she completed
a Master’s degree with Ian Swenson. She teaches
Suzuki violin in both German and English and is
on the early music faculty of Cornish College for
the Arts. Tekla plays on a violin made by Sanctus
Seraphim in Venice, 1746.
Bass-baritone Douglas Williams has appeared
this year in two landmark new opera productions
from two of the world’s most celebrated directorchoreographers: as Polyphemus in Handel’s Acis and
Galatea in Mozart’s orchestration with Mark Morris
at Lincoln Center, conducted by Nicolas McGegan,
and as Caronte in Monteverdi’s Orfeo with Sasha
Waltz at the Dutch National Opera, conducted by
Pablo Heras-Casado. Both productions will tour this
season taking Mr. Williams to the Grand Théâtre
Luxembourg, Kansas City Kauffman Center and
the Bergen Festival, Baden-Baden Festspiehaus, and
Berlin Staatsoper. Other highlights of the season
include Handel’s Agrippina with Boston Baroque,
Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona with the Boston Early
Music Festival, and an appearance with James Levine
and the Metropolitan Opera Chamber Ensemble at
Carnegie Hall in Charles Wuorinen’s It Happens Like
This, a piece that Mr. Williams premiered in 2011.
The passionate artistry of violinist Linda Melsted has
won the hearts of audiences across North America,
Europe and Japan. She has appeared as soloist,
member, and leader of many outstanding ensembles
including Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Freiburg
Baroque Orchestra, Portland Baroque Orchestra,
Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Pacific Baroque Orchestra,
and Pacific Music Works.
Linda is the featured soloist in Tafelmusik’s
TV documentary, DVD and CD “Le Mozart Noir,”
where she musically incarnates the remarkable
18th-century virtuoso and adventurer, the Chevalier
de Saint-Georges. An active chamber musician, Linda
has appeared on many series including Early Music
Vancouver, Gallery Concerts, Primavera Concerts,
Bloomington Early Music Festival, the Calgary
Symphony’s Italian Music Festival, Folia, Toronto
Music Garden, Quadra Island Discovery Chamber
Music Festival, and Tactus.
Tekla Cunningham, baroque violin, viola and viola
d’amore, leads an active and varied musical life.
At home in Seattle, she is Orchestra Director and
17
Linda was a member of Tafelmusik from 1992
to 2004, Music Director of Nota Bene Baroque
Orchestra from 2005 to 2009, a regular guest leader
and soloist of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony
Orchestra’s “Baroque and Beyond” series, and taught
violin at the University of Waterloo. Back in Seattle
since 2010, she formed the Salish Sea Players, a group
dedicated to performing chamber music in retirement
and nursing facilities and directs Seattle’s community
Baroque orchestra, the New Baroque Orchestra. Linda
performs on a Nicolo Amati violin from 1670.
Method of Awareness Through Movement,
with a focus on working with musicians
and performers.
Maxine Eilander, harp and harpsichord, has
appeared as a soloist with leading ensembles
throughout the world including Teatro Lirico,
Tafelmusik, Tragicomedia, The Toronto Consort, Les
Voix Humaines, and the Seattle Baroque Orchestra.
She plays a range of specialized early harps: the
Italian triple strung harp, the Spanish cross-strung
harp, the German ‘Davidsharfe’, the Welsh triple
harp for which Handel wrote his harp concerto,
and the classical single action pedal harp. Her most
recent recording “Handel’s Harp” (ATMA, 2009),
features Handel’s complete obbligato music for
harp, and includes his famous harp concerto. She
has also recorded the same work with Tafelmusik
(“A Baroque Feast”, Analekta, 2002). Other notable
recordings include William Lawes’ Harp Consorts
(ATMA, 2008), a recording of Italian music for harp
and baroque guitar with duo partner Stephen Stubbs
entitled “Sonata al Pizzico” (ATMA 2004), “Teatro
Lirico” (ECM, 2006), “¡Ay que si!”, Spanish 17thcentury music with Les Voix Humaines (ATMA,
2002), Scarlatti’s oratorio Agar et Ismaele Esiliati with
Seattle Baroque (Centaur, 2003), Monteverdi’s Vespro
della Beata Vergine, with Tragicomedia (ATMA,
2002), and the Grammy-nominated Conradi’s
Ariadne for the Boston Early Music Festival (CPO,
2005). Maxine is also the Managing Director of
Pacific MusicWorks.
Elisabeth Reed, viola da gamba and violoncello,
is Co-director of the Baroque Ensemble at the San
Francisco Conservatory of Music where she also
teaches baroque ‘cello and viola da gamba. A member
of the American Bach Soloists, Voices of Music, and
Wildcat Viols, she has also appeared with the Seattle,
Portland, and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestras,
and at the Boston Early Music Festival, the Berkeley
Early Music Festival and the San Luis Obispo
Mozart Festival.
A graduate of the North Carolina School of the
Arts, the Oberlin Conservatory, the Eastman School
of Music, and Indiana University’s Early Music
Institute, she can be heard on the Virgin Classics,
Focus, and Magnatune recording labels. She also
teaches baroque ‘cello and viola da gamba at the
University of California at Berkeley. Summer teaching
has included the American Bach Soloists Academy
and the Viola da Gamba Society National Conclave.
She is a Guild-certified practitioner of the Feldenkrais
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Supporting the Society
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Make a Donation
The Early Music Society of the Islands relies on
individual donations, memberships and grants to
sustain its operations each year. Your donation will
help to present concerts featuring internationally
renowned artists and to promote interest and
appreciation of early music in the community.
help the Fund grow. These operating grants will
assist in presenting artists that would otherwise be
unaffordable, and to ensure the long-term sustainability
of the Society. Tax receipts will be provided.
Ways to Donate
ONLINE To make a secure online donation
by Visa, MasterCard or AmEx, visit:
www.earlymusicsocietyoftheislands.ca
Early Music Endowment Fund, Victoria Foundation,
Suite #109–645, Fort Street Victoria, BC V8W 1G2
You can contribute directly to this Fund in three ways:
MAIL By sending a cheque to:
ONLINE Donate online by Visa, MasterCard,
AmEx at the Victoria Foundation’s Web site:
http://www.victoriafoundation.bc.ca/web/give/ways
Click on “give now” to go to CanadaHelps, select
“Donate Now” and choose “Early Music Endowment
Fund” from the drop-down list.
MAIL Please send cheque payable to EMSI to:
EMSI Donations c/o McPherson Box Office,
#3 Centennial Square, Victoria BC V8W 1P5
THROUGH UNITED WAY OR EMPLOYEE
CAMPAIGNS If your employer participates in
BEQUESTS OR GIFTS OF SECURITIES
the United Way or other employee campaigns,
you can support the Early Music Society of the
Islands by writing in the gift on your pledge
card. Our charitable registration number is
11889-0367-RR0001.
Bequests or gifts of life insurance or securities may
be arranged through the Victoria Foundation. For
more information, visit www.victoriafoundation.bc.ca
or phone the Foundation at (250) 381–5532.
To discuss donation options, please leave a message
at the Society’s voice mailbox: (250) 882–5958 or
email us at info@earlymusicsocietyoftheislands.ca.
Tax receipts are issued for all donations of $10
and over.
BUSINESS SPONSORS The Society welcomes business
Sponsorships
sponsorships and will provide appropriate public
acknowledgement of such support.
PRIVATE SPONSORS The Artistic Director would
be pleased to offer guidance and information relating
to large gifts for a special purpose or to support a
specific concert.
Donate for the Future
The Early Music Endowment Fund is owned and
managed on our behalf by the Victoria Foundation.
Each year, part of the investment income is given as
a grant to EMSI, and the balance is re-invested to
Please contact us at:
info@EarlyMusicSocietyoftheIslands.ca
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Thank you for your generosity in supporting
early music on southern Vancouver Island
www.earlymusicsocietyoftheislands.ca
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PHONE
250-882-5058
EMSI wishes to thank…
The Volunteer Ushers at Alix Goolden Performance Hall
The EMSI Volunteer Guild 2014–15
Mary Scobie who designs the EMSI brochure, ads, posters and programmes
David Strand who maintains the EMSI website
Visit our website at
www.earlymusicsocietyoftheislands.ca