2012

Folksy German tunes contrast the expository Italian style, yet earthy love songs mirror the ecstatic yearning of sacred music.  Highlighting the timeless themes of love and loss, passion and regret, Between Heaven and Earth leads modern audiences through the human experience.  Works include selections from Giovanni Cima’s Concerti Ecclesiastici and Monteverdi’s Selva Morale e Spirituale, and Thomas Selle’s rarely-heard Deliciarum Juvenilium.

Amanda Keil, mezzo-soprano
James Kennerley, tenor
Kris Kwapis, cornetto
Kelly Savage, harpsichord
Elizabeth Weinfeld, viola da gamba
Dorothy Olsson, Dance and Choreography

An original production from the Amherst Early Music festival, Il Ballo delle Ingrate (The Dance of the Ungrateful Ladies) recounts Cupid's revenge on women who no longer heed their lovers' desires. The message is turned on its head with the addition of other Monteverdi songs and original verse that create new characters and a quirky play within a play.

Grant Herreid, Music Director
Dorothy Olsson, Choreography
Lawrence Rosenwald, Narrator and English Verse Dialogue
Walker Lewis, stage director

Italian Baroque songs tell a timeless tale of love's pains and pleasures. Music by Monteverdi, Strozzi, Frescobaldi, and Rossi.
Amanda Keil, mezzo soprano
Gabriel Shuford, harpsichord

Information (click on British flag icon for English translation):
http://www.smf.lv/programme.php?id=19

2011

Three Baroque monodramas on the legend of Ariadne
by Monteverdi, Scarlatti, and Haydn.

R. B. Schlather, Director
Marcy Richardson, Silvie Jensen, and Amanda Keil, singers

Through airs de cours and the dramatic French cantatas of the late 17th and early 18th Centuries, two sisters bicker about the pains and pleasures of love. Who will win? Works by Monteclair, Bernier, and Clerambault will help us decide. With guest artist Kimberly Sizer, soprano

A tour through the entrancing world of music for plucked strings and voice: rugged Spanish songs for the vihuela, surprisingly sensual German lute songs, playful English tunes and gorgeous French melodies. An intimate concert with mezzo-soprano Amanda Keil, lutenist Scott Lemire, and a guest appearance by Seth Warner.

Taking its name from the Facebook relationship status, It's Complicated features songs and instrumental works by Caccini, Strozzi, Merula, Frescobaldi and other Italian composers from the early 1600s. The message behind the music, words, drama and virtuosity of this highly entertaining show is that love, as we know it, has not changed so much over the years.

In the first half Musica Nuova explores the dark and stormy world of unrequited love, then storyteller Doria Hughes joins us for a lighthearted take on the legend of Bess of Bedlam. The program includes progenitors of Italian opera – Frescobaldi, Strozzi, Monteverdi – and flamboyant songs and instrumental works by Purcell, Eccles and other English Baroque greats!

Musica Nuova’s dramatic exploration of love and longing in the Italian Baroque. Historic composers and a timeless message!

Set as an office romance, Musica Nuova uses staging, movement, and humor to bring a new perspective to the turbulent love songs of 17th-century Italy. 

With guest artist Bradford Gleim, baritone

• June 11: First Church of Boston, Hale Chapel
• July 19: Ellingwood Chapel, 195 Nahant Rd, Nahant, MA
• July 21: St. Peter's Church, Weston, MA
• July 22: The Chapel at West Parish Church, Andover, MA
• July 23: Emmanuel Church, Boston, MA

Ancient Celts believed the boundary between the living and the dead dissolved on All Hallow’s Eve. Come hear weird, wonderful, and spooky music from Purcell’s England and stay for tricks and treats and tall tales! With special guest storyteller Doria Hughes.

Reprise. With special guest storyteller Doria Hughes.

Ever have trouble feeling merry during the most hectic time of year? Consumer Confidence takes us through the many conflicted feelings of the holiday season: regret, sadness, and cynicism to ultimately arrive at peace and joy. An all-Italian program including Monteverdi, Strozzi, Merula, and Mazzocchi.

Reprise