Suspiros y Cantos: Songs & Dances of 17th-Century Spain.

Camila Parias ~ soprano
Christa Patton ~ Baroque harp
Hideki Yamaya ~ Baroque guitar

This program presents the pleasures and treacheries of love depicted in nature by the birds, wind, sea, and forest. The rich poetic landscape is delivered to us by way of the sumptuous sound world of 17th-century Spanish songs and dances and includes master composers: Juan Hidalgo, Juan de Návas, José Marín, Cristóbal Galán, Santiago de Murcia, Diego Fernández de Huete and more. Some of the vocal selections are taken from a collection of 17th-century songs located at the Hispanic Society of America in New York City and compiled by Lola Jose and Mariano Lambea. (HSA Ms HC 380).

Baroque harpist and multi-instrumentalist, Christa Patton and Columbian Soprano, Camila Parias welcome Baroque guitarist, Hideki Yamaya in a new collaboration exploring works from the Iberian Peninsula and the New World. This program displays the craftmanship of 17th-century Spanish poetry while exploring Spain’s colorful dance forms and their interconnectedness with the song repertoire.

www.camilaparias.com

www.christapatton.net

1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

In person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.

Music for Flute & Harpsichord.

Sandra Miller ~ flauto traverso
James Richman ~ harpsichord

This concert features the two sonatas for flute and obligato harpsichord by J.S. Bach, considered by many to be the apex of this art form. Each will be introduced by an appropriate period prélude, and as a contrast, the program will also include five movements from the fourth Concert Royal of François Couperin, his only chamber music for the flute. He writes that these works were played for Sunday afternoon musicales at Versailles for the late King Louis XIV, and probably also enjoyed by his morganatic wife, the dour Madame de Maintenon.

Sandra Miller and James Richman have been performing together for many years, throughout the United States as well as in South America, Canada, and Europe. Founding members and directors of the ensemble Concert Royal, they have been at the forefront of the historical instrument movement in the United States, presenting large scale oratorio, opera-ballet, and symphonic repertoire, as well as intimate chamber music works.

1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

In person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.

An Eyewitness Guide to Versailles.

Readers: Roberta Maxwell & Paul Hecht

Vita Wallace ~ violin
Jane McKinley ~ oboe
Lisa Terry ~ bass viol
Webb Wiggins ~ harpsichord

This dramatic musical entertainment combines French Baroque music with eyewitness accounts of life at Versailles, featuring actors Roberta Maxwell and Paul Hecht reading from the letters of Élisabeth Charlotte, sister-in-law to Louis XIV, and the memoirs of the Duc de Saint-Simon, a soldier, diplomat, and diarist. The program gives listeners an idea of daily life at the court.

Named in honor of John Dryden, the English poet laureate whose words inspired Baroque composers including Purcell and Handel, the Dryden Ensemble specializes in performing music of the 17th and 18th centuries on period instruments. A line from Dryden's "Song to St. Cecilia" captures the essence of Baroque music and the ensemble's philosophy: "What Passion cannot Musick raise and quell!"

Artist Website

1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

In person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.

Angels & Demons.

Tatiana Daubek ~ violin
Gonzalo X Ruiz ~ oboe
Matt Zucker ~ cello
Elliot Figg ~ harpsichord

Angelic inspiration and demonic possession take turns driving some of the most dramatic works of the Baroque. Tartini claimed that his fiendish Devil's Trill Sonata was played to him by the devil himself sitting at the foot of his bed and in Vivaldi's Damnation Sonata the oboe becomes a wayward soul dragged down to hell. Trios by Arcangelo Corelli, and Marin Marais, who "played like an angel", contrast with works by Antoine Forqueray, who "played like a demon". House of Time explores these mythic extremes in Baroque music, capped by a special edition of La Folia (The Madness of Spain).

House of Time, known for its “fluency and command” (San Francisco Classical Voice) and "fine playing, cohesiveness and creativity" (Early Music America) is dedicated to both well-known and underperformed repertoire of the 17th through the 21st centuries played on period instruments. Members and guests include faculty and alumni of The Juilliard School, as well as prize winners of major international competitions. Using the instruments and techniques of the past to express the vivid passions in the music, House of Time has moved audiences and keeps them coming back for more. Critics have declared oboist, Gonzalo X. Ruiz, “one of only a handful of truly superb Baroque oboists in the world” (Alte Musik Aktuell), while violinist Tatiana Daubek is known for her "sleekly elegant playing" (Gazettes Long Beach) and soloistic precision (Early Music America). By performing quality concerts showcasing world-class musicians on period instruments, House of Time presents our Classical music heritage in a way that not only entertains but also allows greater understanding of its cultural context. By replacing the traditional pre-concert lecture with personable and accessible remarks from the stage, the ensemble breaks down the barrier between performer and audience, and gives casual listeners, as well as experts, the opportunity to understand the intersection between musicology and performance. By committing to performing its series in the Washington Heights as well as Lincoln Center neighborhoods, and making tickets available and affordable through a variety of outlets, House of Time seeks to bring the musical jewels of the past and the thrill of live performance available to all New Yorkers.

Artist Website

1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

In person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.

The Musical Murder Mystery of Gesualdo.

Charlotte Mundy ~ soprano
Angela Yam ~ soprano
Tim Keeler ~ countertenor
Tomás Cruz ~ tenor
Jeffrey Gavett ~ baritone and director
Steven Hrycelak ~ bass
Adam Cockerham ~ lute

This concert of works by Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa has a particular focus on the relationship of his radical chromatic experimentation to the particular systems of tuning employed at the time. Recent scholarship has implied that Gesualdo preferred the intonation system of the lute for the performance of his madrigals. A didactic work, possibly by Crescenzo Salzilli, a contemporary of Gesualdo's, demonstrates the effects of different approaches to tuning in distant keys.

Ekmeles is a vocal ensemble dedicated to the performance of new and rarely-heard works, and gems of the historical avant garde. With a special focus on microtonal works, the ensemble has been praised by The New York Times for its "extraordinary sense of pitch". Fanfare Magazine said the ensemble's performances were "beyond expert — almost frightening in their precision".

Artist Website

1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

In person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.

Shining a Light on Baroque Music.

Daniel Lee ~ violin
Martha McGaughey ~ viola da gamba
Arthur Haas ~ harpsichord

From the canals of Venice and music salons in German courts to the bright candlelit halls of Versailles, the early music ensemble Gold and Glitter shines a new light on 17th- and 18th-century masterpieces of the Baroque era. Our aim, through great attention to detail and emphasizing historical performance practices, is to perform this music with flair, virtuosity, and passion in order to understand the composers’ intentions and have audiences love this music as much as we do. The three members of the ensemble, all with different backgrounds, studied in Europe and the United States and now perform and teach all over the world. Their love and respect for this music brought them together in this great exploration of music from Bach’s time and before.

1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

In person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.

The Art of Elegant Conversation: Music for Flute and Strings.

Isabelle Seula Lee ~ violin
Jessica Troy ~ viola
Ana Kim ~ cello
Mili Chang ~ flute

This afternoon we will walk you through a journey of elegance. The music centers on two quartets from the prominent composers Mozart and Devienne, and a trio from Haydn. These three composers each represent a different kind of charming and distinct character with hints of mischief and grace in their music. We will perform with Classical period instruments and pitch (A=430).

Hailed for her “marvelous” and “scintillating” performance, Isabelle Seula Lee is a celebrated violinist and a passionate historical performer. She is a founding member of New Amsterdam Consort and frequently performs with New York Baroque Inc, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Bach Collegium Japan, Bach Collegium at Saint Peter’s, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, and Teatro Nuevo. Her appearances as a soloist and chamber musician include Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Maly Hall and Grand Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Glazunov Hall and Belosselsky Belozersky Palace in Russia, St. Petersburg State Capella Concert Hall, and New Zealand’s Fowler Center. Isabelle's performances have also been broadcast on live radio and television by WQXR, MediciTV, Estonian Cultural TV, WPBI, and Radio New Zealand. She is now primarily based in New York City and enjoys an active musical life as a violinist and Baroque violinist across many musical styles and periods.

Indiana-native Ana Kim is a versatile cellist based in New York, who actively performs on modern and historical instruments with various ensembles throughout the United States, United Kingdom, and France. She performs with ensembles including Les Arts Florissants, the Sebastians, American Classical Orchestra, and the Halle Orchestra. Ana has participated in festivals including Yellow Barn, Verbier Academy, Music@Menlo, and International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove. She has received a Doctorate at the University of Southern California and has studied Historical Performance at Juilliard. Her teachers include Janos Starker, Ralph Kirshbaum, Laurence Lesser, and Phoebe Carrai. With a keen interest in education and interacting with different communities, Ana has participated in outreach residencies with Kneisel Hall Festival in Maine and Listen Closely in New York, and educational programs with the American Classical Orchestra’s Classical Music for Kids. She has also taught in Pacific Union College and public schools in Napa Valley. She is currently teaching at Browning School in New York City.

Jessica Troy is a member of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's, New York City Opera, and Mark Morris Dance Group Music Ensemble, and plays regularly with the Sebastians, New York Baroque Inc., and the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra. She can be heard on the Marlboro Festival's 50th anniversary CD in György Kurtág's Microludes for string quartet, which she prepared with the composer. She has subbed and had her own chair on numerous Broadway shows (ranging from Porgy & Bess to Tootsie) and played on many film scores (most recently Joker and Little Women). She has recorded quartet tracks for Lou Reed and Ani DiFranco, performed on television with Renée Fleming and Whitney Houston, and on film with David Byrne.

“…Mili Chang, whose traverso playing in the Credo’s Benedictus was fluid, elegant, and well, just lovely” in her performance with Ton Koopman, the director of Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. Mili has performed with many ensembles and with Grammy Award recipient and nominees’ violinist Monica Huggett, tenor Aaron Sheehan, keyboardist Richard Egarr. She plays with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Chorale Taipei, the Sebastians, Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra, and St. Peter’s Lutheran Church Baroque Orchestra. She has been featured on WQXR, West Side Radio, and has performed at venues including Lincoln Center, Yale University, Columbia University, The National Center for Performing Arts in India, Banff Center in Canada, and National Concert Hall in Taiwan. Currently she performs in the New York metropolitan area and teaches at New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

In person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.

Due to the unsafe air quality, we have canceled this performance. We will have Pascal back on our series as soon as we are able.

Guitaromanie.

Pascal Valois ~ early period Romantic guitar

This program brings to life the frenzy and wonder of a musical performance where spontaneity is combined with virtuosity. It features a set of masterpieces that drew crowds and rocked music salons across Europe. Whether an operatic fantasy by Mauro Giuliani, a sonata by Niccolò Paganini or a theme and variations by Fernando Sor, audiences were fond of new works for guitar. Sometimes imbued with clarity and rigor, sometimes strewn with dazzling drama, romantic guitar music always charms ─ thanks to its richness and diversity.

Pascal Valois guitar, is dedicated to reviving enthusiasm for his instrument’s music as popular during the Romantic era. After graduating with honours at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal under Jean Vallières, and receiving the Pierre J. Jeanniot Award during his studies at Université du Québec à Montréal with Alvaro Pierri, Pascal studied romantic guitar with Hopkinson Smith at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and with David Starobin in New York. He has played in Basel, Paris, Riga, San Francisco, New York, Ottawa, and Toronto.

Pascal has received the most renowned bursaries in Canada for guitar performance (Canada Council for the Arts) as well as musicology (FQRSC and SSHRC). He has also been awarded scholarships from the Desjardins Foundation, the Wilfrid-Pelletier Foundation, the Laval University Foundation, and the Université du Québec à Montréal Foundation. He has recorded for the Centaur records and Analekta labels. Pascal’s forthcoming album will reveal the music of forgotten composer Monsieur Vidal.

Artist Website

1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

In person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.

Solo Violin Masterpieces of Bach & Biber.

Heidi Powell ~ violin

These solo violin works of Bach and Biber are some of the most profound, intimate pieces ever written by any composer, not only in the Baroque period, but of all time. Beyond their amazing technical difficulty, they provide the player and audience with a deep religious journey through human understanding, pain and peace. Biber's Passacaglia of 1676 feels as though the composer is talking to us directly, telling us his most personal secrets. Bach's Chaconne of 1720, the most monumental movement of all his six solo violin works, speaks of universal truth. It spans a deep spirituality that covers a wide range of the human experience, from tragedy, loss, and redemption. It is with deep gratitude that I will perform all these epic works for you on one program.

Heidi Powell is a Baroque violin specialist and Artistic Director of Baroque Orchestra of Maine. She has appeared as soloist with the New York Collegium, Tafelmusik, Smithsonian Chamber Players, Early Music New York and the Washington Bach Consort. Heidi holds violin degrees from Indiana University & Oberlin Conservatory. Her performance was reviewed by The New York Times as “supremely confident & powerful”.

Artist Website

1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

In person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.

A Baroque Bouquet.

Natalie Kress ~ violin
Elena Kauffman ~ violoncello & viola da gamba
Robert Warner ~ harpsichord

In Musicivic Baroque’s New York debut, the ensemble performs an array of colorful favorites by Biber, Bach, Corelli, and Stradella, spanning the dramatic, humorous, and elegant.

Founded in 2019, Musicivic Baroque is the resident Baroque ensemble for Musicivic Inc., a nonprofit based in Ambler, Pennsylvania with the mission to help build and provide support services for chamber music series and residencies around the country. Musicivic Baroque performs repertoire from the 17th and 18th centuries and plays on period instruments. The founding members include Natalie Rose Kress, Baroque violin/director, Elena Kauffman, Baroque cello/gamba, and Robert Warner, harpsichord. This season includes debuts in Washington D.C. at St. Mark’s Church, and New York at Gotham Early Music Scene’s Midtown Concert series.

Artist Website

1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

In person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.

Fond Farewells.

Marc Bellassai ~ harpsichord

Who hasn't had to say a farewell or two in these last few years? Harpsichordist Marc Bellassai looks at the lighter side of all that leave-taking. From saying a pious "goodnight" to the sun before Evensong, and a "goodbye to all that" military honour...to warning your hautboy-playing brother about the dangers of Swedish Beer.

Marc Bellassai has studied harpsichord at the Oberlin Conservatory, Indiana University, and, as a Fulbright IIE scholar from 1994–6, at the Civica Scuola di Musica and Castello Sforzesco in Milan, Italy. His interests include early keyboard performance practice, basso continuo, organology, art history, theatre, and the music and literature of the Italian seicento/settecento. He performs with many period instrument ensembles including The Academy of Sacred Drama (New York City), Mountainside Baroque (Cumberland, Maryland), Capitol Early Music, and the Midtown Concerts series (New York City). He is also an art lecturer in various local museums with Wandering Docents LLC. He currently teaches harpsichord and art history, and directs the early music ensemble at Towson University.

Artist Website

1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

In person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.

Return to the Garden of Love.

Musicians:
Lisa Terry ~ viola da gamba
Ryan Closs ~ theorbo
Dongsok Shin ~ harpsichord
Dongmyung Ahn ~ violin
Eugenia Forteza ~ mezzo-soprano

Dancers:
Carlos Fittante
Yumiko Niimi
Toshinori Hamada

By popular demand, BALAM presents a sequel performance from the Garden of Love. This version will reunite our winning artist team from the original work but add a new music trio to begin the show, as well as a third masked dance character. Return to the Garden of Love will begin with the Trio Sonata in D Major by Georg Philipp Telemann performed by expert period musicians. Immediately following this piece will be BALAM's new 30-minute theatrical sequel entertainment showcasing a mezzo-soprano and masked Baroque dancers performing as masked fantasy characters to the Entrée d’Apollon by Jean Baptiste Lully, transcription for solo harpsichord by Jean Henri d’Anglebert, excerpts from Francois Couperin’s Concerts Royaux, and the aria "Sans Freyeur dan ce Bois" by Marc Antoine Charpentier. This magical and charming program suggests the Baroque opera entreact divertissement and combines all the performative arts: music, dance, costumes, and acted text.

BALAM Dance Theatre (BALAM) was founded in 1979 by choreographer and dance educator Islene Pinder and has performed throughout the United States, and internationally. Under the artistic direction of Carlos Fittante, a Baroque dance specialist, presently the company’s repertoire highlights Baroque, Balinese, Japanese Noh, and Spanish Escuela Bolera techniques. BALAM’s unique blend of historically and culturally informed innovative choreography, opulent costumes, striking masks, eclectic music, and fantasy characters enacting myths and tales presented at the grass-roots level, has broad audience appeal and is suitable for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Artist Website

1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

In person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.

Telemann: Cantatas from the Harmonischer Gottesdienst.

Elisse Albian ~ soprano
John Taylor Ward ~ bass-baritone
Kelsey Burnham ~ Baroque flute and recorder
Manami Mizumoto ~ violin
Doug Balliett ~ viola da gamba
Elliot Figg ~ harpsichord

When Bach composed his cantata cycle for St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, he was not the first choice for the job. That distinction belongs to Telemann, who also composed a complete cantata cycle for the liturgical year. Telemann's cycle, though composed for smaller forces, is equally evocative and dramatic in its word-painting and charged emotion. We present three of Telemann's most exciting, bizarre, and touching cantatas from this cycle.

Theotokos is the living embodiment of a Baroque church ensemble. In residence at St. Mary Grand in New York City, every week a new cantata is composed and performed by the group, based on and tightly linked with the liturgical readings assigned to that date. In addition, theologically relevant Baroque music is performed. In 2021 Theotokos began a collaboration with The Juilliard School Historical Performance program.

Artist Website

1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

In person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.

Curios from Castrucci to Couperin.

Elizabeth Field ~ violin
Loretta O'Sullivan ~ cello
Charlotte Mattax Moersch ~ harpsichord

Bethlehem Baroque will present three lesser-known works from the mid-eighteenth century. Violinist Elizabeth Field will perform a sonata by Pietro Castrucci featuring virtuosity reminiscent of his teacher Arcangelo Corelli. Harpsichordist Charlotte Mattax Moersch offers Armand-Louis Couperin’s brilliant and expressive Pièces de Clavecin. Cellist Loretta O’Sullivan brings us a ravishing sonata by Joseph Boismortier which melds French elegance with Italian flair.

Bethlehem Baroque is a newly-formed period instrument ensemble comprised of core players from The Bethlehem Bach Orchestra. Elizabeth, Charlotte and Loretta have been playing Bach together for over 20 years, and this performance at Midtown Concerts is their debut performance under their new moniker.

Elizabeth Field, violinist, soloist and chamber musician on period and modern violin, is concertmaster for The Bethlehem Bach Orchestra and has served as guest concertmaster for leading ensembles including the Washington Bach Consort, Opera Philadelphia, National Philharmonic, and Opera Lafayette. Co-director of The Vivaldi Project, heralded as “period instrument playing at its best” (Fanfare Magazine), Elizabeth holds a Doctorate from Cornell University.

Charlotte Mattax Moersch, harpsichordist, has appeared at major international venues and festivals, including the Associazione Musicale Romana and Tage alter Musik Regensburg. She has recorded the complete harpsichord pieces of Noblet, Février, D’Anglebert, and Armand-Louis Couperin, and over 100 videos online for The Vernissage Project. Professor of Music at University of Illinois, she has degrees from Yale, Juilliard, and Stanford.

Loretta O'Sullivan, solo cellist, continuo cellist and chamber musician, has played with many of this country's leading ensembles. On period instruments, these include the Four Nations Ensemble, Opera Lafayette, Aston Magna, Capriccio Baroque, the American Classical Orchestra, and Helicon. Her work specializing in Baroque music on modern instruments includes the Bach Choir of Bethlehem and the Orchestra of St. Luke's.

Artist Website

1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

In person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.

Order in Fours.

Christopher Preston Thompson ~ director, tenor & Medieval harp
David Dickey ~ countertenor & recorder
Clifton Massey ~ countertenor
Thomas McCargar ~ baritone & percussion
Niccolo Seligmann ~ vielle
Nathaniel Adams ~ tenor

In preparation for a concert of Medieval quartets commissioned by the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival, Concordian Dawn presents "Order in Fours". The number 4 represents stability, a firm foundation, order in the universe, the completion of justice, the bodily humours, and a perfect Pythagorean interval. This program explores such symbolism in variously configured quartets.

Concordian Dawn specializes in vocal repertoire from the 12th through 14th centuries, drawing on primary source material and focusing on socio-philosophical similarities between texts from centuries ago and the mindset of modern society. The ensemble’s “mesmerizing” (Early Music America) debut album, Fortuna Antiqua et Ultra (MSR Classics), was released in December of 2021 to critical acclaim, and forthcoming releases include a collaboration with Medieval studies scholar, Sarah Kay, in conjunction with her monograph, Medieval Song from Aristotle to Opera (Cornell University Press/MSR Classics).

Artist Website

1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

In person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.

Winds of Change.

Ellen Sauer ~ flute
Emi Ostrom ~ oboe
Yan Liu ~ clarinet
Megan Hurley ~ French horn
Aaron Goler ~ bassoon

The turn of the 19th century marked a period of political, social, and artistic revolution in France. Winds of Change is a sonic snapshot of Paris during and immediately following the Revolution. We present music for the newly established wind quintet genre by composers known in the most influential musical spaces in Paris — the Concerts Spirituel, the Conservatoire, and private salons.

Established in 2021 by students at The Juilliard school, Pentharmonia is a period instrument wind quintet specializing in late Classical repertoire. Not long after Haydn began exploring string quartets, composers sought similar chamber combinations for wind instruments, and the quintet emerged. Pentharmonia seeks to capture the unique blend and sonorities of the original instruments which inspired the composers of this repertoire.

1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

In person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.

Treasures of the High Baroque: Two Sonatas for Violin & Harpsichord.

Jörg-Michael Schwarz ~ violin
Dongsok Shin ~ harpsichord

Dedicated to the Memory of
Karen Marie Marmer (26 January 1957–21 July 2020)
Founder, violinist & manager of REBEL

The six sonatas for violin and obbligato harpsichord (BWV 1014–1019) represent some of Bach's most eloquent and ingenious contrapuntal writing, where harpsichord & violin form a fully integrated trio texture. In the Sonata a Violino solo e Basso per il Cembalo, BWV 1024 the harpsichord takes the usual role of continuo accompaniment. It is now believed to be by Johann Georg Pisendel.

JÖRG-MICHAEL SCHWARZ, a prize winner in several international violin competitions, has performed throughout the Americas, Asia, Australia & Europe, and is recognized as one of North America’s foremost exponents of the Baroque violin. He served as concertmaster for the Barockorchester Stuttgart (1992–96) and has performed and recorded with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Anima Eterna and Musica Antiqua Köln. Co-founder/ director of REBEL, he has also served as concertmaster / soloist with the New York Collegium, American Bach Soloists, American Classical Orchestra and the Portland Baroque Orchestra.

Much in demand as a soloist and continuo player, DONGSOK SHIN has been a member of REBEL since 1997 and has appeared with the American Classical Orchestra, ARTEK, Concert Royal, Early Music New York, Carmel Bach Festival, Mark Morris Dance Group, The New York Philharmonic, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. He has recorded for ATMA, Bridge, Dorian/Sono Luminus, Hänssler, Helicon, Lyrichord, and Newport Classic. Alongside performing, he tunes and maintains harpsichords in the New York area and is well known as a recording engineer, as well as a producer and editor of many early music recordings.

Artist Website

1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

In person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.

Folk Dialogues.

Gaia Saetermoe-Howard ~ oboe and recorders
Sarah Stone ~ cello
Kevin C. Devine ~ harpsichord

In this recital, historical oboist and recorder player Gaia Saetermoe-Howard and continuo team Sarah Stone and Dr. Kevin C. Devine explore folk-influenced Baroque music from South America and Northern Europe. The featured composers incorporated folk idioms from their cultures into each of these works, and in doing so, sparked a dialogue between the concert hall and the bandstand.

This performance is dedicated in loving memory to our friend Ian van Maaren.

Gaia Saetermoe-Howard is a New York City-based oboist and recorder player, passionate about exploring global histories through musical performance. She performs regularly with various Baroque ensembles throughout North America, and in her premiere season will make her debuts with the Handel and Haydn Society, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Tafelmusik, and others. Her recent scholarly projects have focused on the music at the Elmina Castle in Ghana and the life of the female composer Barbara Strozzi. She is a graduate of the Juilliard Historical Performance Program and the Eastman School of Music. www.gaiashoboe.com 

A curiosity in the cultural background behind the music she plays led Sarah Stone to Baroque cello and viola da gamba. "The show is not over... Questlove keeps spinning into the early morning. Sir Patrick Stewart has been reading a Shakespeare sonnet everyday. Sarah Stone, who plays cello and viola da gamba, has stuck to her 'Bach Everyday' performances...Since March 19, she’s done a Bach Chorale each day." (Geoff Edgers, The Washington Post, June 10, 2020). At the start of the pandemic Sarah created Everyday Bach, recording multi-instrumental Bach for consecutive 375 days. Sarah plays with Repast Baroque, NYBI, Washington National Cathedral, Seraphic Fire, The Thirteen, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, the Sebastians, and Baroque Music Montana. Sarah holds a Masters in Historical Performance from The Juilliard School, a Masters from San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and a Bachelors of Music from Rice University. www.sarahabigaelstone.com

Dedicated to presenting audiences with innovative programs, Kevin C. Devine looks to underrepresented voices of the past, expanding the early music canon and brings fresh repertoire to the harpsichord. Dr. Devine has obtained degrees from Boston University, Stony Brook University, and has completed a graduate diploma at The Juilliard School. He has been invited to play solo recitals on several concert series, including Gotham Early Music Scene and Harpsichord Heaven at the Barn at Flintwoods.

1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

In person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.

Love on the Brink.

Melissa Fogarty ~ soprano
Leah Nelson ~ violin
Motomi Igarashi ~ viola da gamba
Jennifer Griesbach ~ harpsichord

Love on the Brink is a program of unrestrained chamber cantatas from the court of Louis XIV, celebrating the stories of two powerful mythological women interpreted by Melissa Fogarty. These two 18th-century cantatas are essentially miniature one-woman operas, with a surprising dramatic heft.

Hailed by The New York Times for her “delirious abandon” onstage, eclectic soprano Melissa Fogarty’s wideranging experience has led her to appear at diverse venues ranging from the New York City Opera to popular clubs including Le Poisson Rouge and City Winery. Known for her lively and elegant interpretations of Baroque music, highlights include King Arthur at New York City Opera, and La serva padrona and Agar e Ismaele in esiliate with Seattle Baroque. Her solo album Despite and Still is a critically acclaimed collection of songs by Samuel Barber, and she is a highlighted performer and commentator in the biopic Samuel Barber: Absolute Beauty (Zen Violence Films, 2017).

Leah Nelson, violin, specializes in music from the 17th to early 19th centuries. She has led ensembles for Chicago’s Music of the Baroque, Gotham Chamber Opera, Aspen Festival Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, and is Artist-in-Residence at New York’s Church of St. Luke in the Fields. She holds a Masters degree from Mannes College where she studied with David Nadien, and historical performance with Nancy Wilson and Arthur Haas. In 2011, her recording Biber: The Sacred Mysteries was released to critical acclaim, Oxford’s Early Music hailing it “an elegant and beautiful recording.” Leah teaches historical performance at Rutgers University.

Motomi Igarashi performs regularly on viola da gamba, double bass, violone and lirone. She has appeared mainly in New York, Washington, D.C., and Boston, playing with The American Classical Orchestra, Anima, ARTEK, Boston Baroque (as Principal Bass), the Dryden Ensemble, Lenape Ensemble, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Motomi recently appeared as a lirone soloist on Brad Mehldau’s Grammy nominated jazz album Jacob’s Ladder. She graduated from The Juilliard School, studied viola da gamba in Europe, and lirone in the United States with Erin Headley.

Jennifer Griesbach studied harpsichord with Colin Tilney in Toronto and Davitt Moroney in Paris. She cofounded Teatro Bacchino in Berkeley, CA, and has performed in chamber music concerts and Baroque opera on both coasts. She collaborated with The Wooster Group on their reconstruction of Cavalli’s La Didone and has stage directed and assisted on opera productions in the United States and Europe. Jennifer is an organist and music director, recently retired from Grace Episcopal Church in Hastings-on-Hudson. She is a gestalt therapist in private practice in New York.

1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

In person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.

The Expressive Violoncello.

Caroline Nicolas ~ Baroque cello

This program presents a rich array of compositions for unaccompanied cello that highlights the instrument's unique expressive qualities, featuring a brilliant variety of works by Domenico Gabrieli,
Johann Sebastian Bach and Jean-Pierre Duport.

Acclaimed cellist/gambist Caroline Nicolas enjoys an active and multifaceted career as one of the outstanding performers of music from the Renaissance to the Romantic eras. Noted for her “eloquent artistry and rich, vibrant sound” (Gainesville Times), she has been praised for her unique ability to combine emotionally rich interpretations with an historically inquisitive spirit.

Artist Website

1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

In person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.