The French Early Music ensemble's easy virtuosity frees it to inject plenty of fun into its concerts, enlivening the music with dramatic flair.
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Concert Review: ‘L’Épitome Musicale: French Music for Viol Consort’ with LeStrange Viols (NYC 3/3/16)
Five superb musicians who play the treble, tenor, and bass members of the viola da gamba (or viol) family gave us baroque music from France, including some unexpected adaptations and arrangements.
Read More »Concert Review: Juilliard415 with Jordi Savall – ‘Shakespeare & Cervantes: Dreams and Follies’ (NYC 1/30/2016)
The 'eminence grise' of Early Music led the Juilliard School's main Early Music group in an crowd-pleasing concert with readings, all in tribute to the music of the time of Shakespeare and Cervantes.
Read More »Concert Review: Folger Consort and Stile Antico with Arcadia Viols (NYC, 1/24/16)
Defying the Blizzard of 2016, the combined ensemble presented early and new music celebrating Shakespeare.
Read More »Concert Review: Cappella Pratensis – ‘Josquin in Rome: Missa Ave maris stella’ (NYC, Nov. 8 2015)
We were in the presence of a brilliant musical mind with a timeless sensibility, brought to life by an ensemble of singers who are surely among our time's finest interpreters of Josquin and the other polyphonists of the 15th and 16th centuries.
Read More »Concert Review: Cellist Inbal Segev – Bach Cello Suites (NYC, Oct. 30, 2015)
As the boat rocked – luckily, mostly gently – Segev gave an account of these difficult pieces that was impressive both technically and idiomatically.
Read More »Music Review: Stile Antico – ‘Sing With the Voice of Melody,’ Early Music Polyphony Choir’s 10th Anniversary Favorites
While the English choir applies a constant smooth tonality to its performances, these can still feel fresh, the centuries-old music almost as much as the recent.
Read More »Concert-Theater Review: ‘L’Amfiparnaso,’ a Madrigal Comedy from 1594 by Orazio Vecchi Performed by The Western Wind
Voices simulate the ringing of bells and the knocking-on of doors as effectively as they convey the desperation of foiled lovers, the comic scheming of the servant class, and the self-satisfied prancing of the smug.
Read More »Concert Review: The American Classical Orchestra and Chorus with Soprano Hana Blažiková (NYC, 4/21/15)
Earthly Love and Celestial Love battle for the soul of Mary Magdalene in Caldara's rarely performed oratorio 'Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo.'
Read More »Concert Review: Wayward Sisters, ‘The Naughty List’ (NYC, March 19, 2015)
This concert of Early Music presented by Music Before 1800 was just plain fun, thanks to the music's spirited beauty and Wayward Sisters' infectious energy.
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