we love a challenge

SELECT APPEARANCES
International Language and Cultural Festival
Eastern Oregon University, La Grande, OR:
Petrarch's 'Canzoniere' & 16th century French lyric verse
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY. Notation to Performance: The musician's role in
interpreting historical music (seminars, 2009,2010)
Shakespeare Authorship Conference
Ashland, OR co-sponsored by The Shakespeare-Oxford
Society and the Shakespeare Fellowship
2010: My Lord of Oxenford’s Maske: Poetry and music associated
with Edward de Vere 2005: Music in Shakespeare
Center for Medieval & Renaissance Studies
Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY
2010: Negotiating trade: Commercial Institutions & CrossCultural Exchange in the Medieval & Early Modern World
2008: Venus and the Venereal: Interpretations & Representations
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art
at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY:
An Evening at the French Renaissance Court
Cleveland Institute of Music
Cleveland, OH: Polyphonic music for voice and lute
Mignarda’s eight
award-winning,
critically-acclaimed
recordings..
One of the few professional
lute song duos in the US, Mignarda's fresh
and engaging approach to historical music
has set a new standard for interpretation,
authenticity and musicianship.
2009 winner, JPF award for
Best Classical/Vocal Album
John Carroll University
University Heights, OH: Art & Music in the Stuart Age as seen
through Six Portraits: Constantijn Huygens, Lady Mary Killigrew,
John Donne, Jacques Gaultier, and Nicholas Lanier
Boise State University Boise, ID
Mi Fa Morire: English and Italian renaissance lute songs
National Music Museum Vermillion, SD:
Shakespeare’s Lute Book
Hastings College Hastings, NE:
Music in Shakespeare
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH: Rise of the Reformation through music
Lyceum School Cleveland, OH: Psalms & measured
verse: settings of the poems of Marot & Ronsard
™
MIGNARDA
www.mignarda.com
™
378 Tupper Road, Spencer, NY 14883
voicemail: 607.697.0525
email: Lutesongs@Mignarda.com
all text, design, & photography ©2012 Mignarda
THE TUDORS: Music from the Tudor Courts
MIGNARDA’S engaging
lecture-recitals illuminate the fascinating
links integrating Renaissance art, music,
poetry, science and literature, presented in
a format tailored to support your curriculum.
O DEAR LIFE: Song settings of poetry by
Sir Philip Sidney
Ron & Donna at the Johnson Art Museum, Cornell University
As concert performers, lute song duo Mignarda –
Ron Andrico & Donna Stewart – specialize in thoughtful
programming that illuminates the vibrant mingling of
renaissance music and poetry.
Mignarda’s lecture-recital presentations go a step
further to illustrate the important links that integrate
historical music and poetry, literature, theater, art, and
science. Programs are presented with visual aids and
musical examples but without costumes, juggling, or other
gimmicks. We bring history to life, allowing the material
the chance to communicate on its own merits. Our
audiences remark that historical music, as we present it,
seems as fresh and direct as if it were newly composed.
We thrive on the challenge of creating
thoughtfully tailored presentations to fit the setting
and the audience. As the list of appearances included in
this brochure indicates, we’ve worked with educators to
create interdisciplinary programs for audiences ranging
from K - 12 to graduate students in specialized seminars.
“Amazing!”
“great inspiration”
“a most delightful program”
“More of these!”
comments from a presentation of
“Shakespeare’s Lute Book”,
Reno (Nevada) Public Library, September 2010
_______________
History springs vibrantly to life in this evocative
presentation that links musical, literary, social,
religious, and political developments of the turbulent
118-year Tudor reign. Using the framework of the
Tudor dynasty - 1485 through 1603 - we present a
broad range of musical styles reflecting the varied
influences of this musically gifted clan, all of whom
employed legions of important musicians, French,
Flemish, Spanish and Italian.
A SAMPLING OF OUR PROGRAMS
SHAKESPEARE'S LUTE BOOK:
Music in the plays of Shakespeare
Our most popular and well-received program. Music was
integral to Shakespeare's plays and is featured more prominently
than is apparent to the casual reader. Through fascinating
projected visuals of facsimiles of the first folio and historical
musical sources, this program identifies and explores the
purpose, function and significance of the many musical
references in selected plays. The program features live
performance of several Elizabethan songs with a contextual
discussion adding detailed insight into the daily lives of working
musicians in the 16th century.
Even in his own time, Sidney was recognized as the
ideal Elizabethan courtier and several musical settings
survive from his remarkable literary output. This
program presents songs set by John Dowland and
Thomas Morley as well as anonymous song settings &
lute solos that can be traced to Sidney and his circle.
ART & MUSIC IN THE STUART AGE:
Five Portraits
Appreciation for fine art is heightened by an
understanding of the cultural context in which the art
was created. This presentation features five figures who
were the subject of portraits by prominent artists circa
1620-1640: Constantijn Huygens, Lady Mary
Killigrew, John Donne, Jacques Gaultier, and Nicholas
Lanier. We offer a bit of background on these five
figures and discuss their inter-relationships which
were, not surprisingly, centered around music.
FROM NOTATION TO PERFORMANCE
The musician’s role in interpreting early music
MUSIC & POETRY 1500-1690
Students are fascinated to learn the origins of western
musical notation, up to and including the hexachord in late
16th century as it gave way to our more modern tonal system.
Presented in an interactive format with live performances
reinforced by visual materials, this program has proven to be
very popular with a variety of classes at all levels.
This program presents a survey of pan-European
musical settings of poetry known to have a separate
non-musical provenance in published historical
sources. Poets represented include Francesco Petrarch,
Clement Marot, William Shakespeare, Samuel Danyel,
John Donne, and Robert Herrick.
™ WE LOVE A CHALLENGE...
This brochure illustrates a representative sampling of some of our more popular lectures, but is by no means
comprehensive. Imagine what we could create together to help you bring history to life for your students.
For further details and information on booking, fees, and availability,
contact Ron Andrico or Donna Stewart | lutesongs@mignarda.com