From Court to Country
Adrienne Lotto ~ soprano; Rhianna Cockrell ~ mezzo soprano; Corey Shotwell ~ tenor; Christopher Talbot ~ bass baritone; Adam Cockerham ~ theorbo; Jonathan Luik ~ viola da gamba
This was a free concert sponsored by Gotham Early Music Scene—I have attended many of their concerts. About the Program (from their program notes)—From Court to Country explores the threads of connection between courtly and pastoral music in France, Italy, and England from the late Medieval to the early Baroque. I only sort of got the concept.
On to the the music, or at least the concert. With fifteen short pieces by thirteen composers, I won't give you a blow-by-blow description. Suffice it to say that all six musicians performed admirably. Yes, I consider the vocalist musicians on the same level as the instrumentalists.
The concert gave each vocalist a solo piece, a cappella in the case of the bass baritone, and accompanied by either the theorbo or the viola da gamba for the the other three vocal soloists. There were also tutti (all six musicians) entries as well as duets and a cappella vocal quartets, plus a viola da gamba and theorbo duet (do we all remember what a theorbo is?). Alas, the actual compositions had a bit of a sameness—somber, low-level energy, with only occasional bursts of quickness in terms of tempo and interest. Two of the fifteen were sung in English, including the only one (April is in my mistress' face) I've performed. And we're talking mid-1970s.
Composers that I was familiar with included Henry Purcell (ca. 1659–1695); Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643); Orazio Vecchi (1550–1605); and Thomas Morley (1557– 1602). No, I did not work with any of them. Ask about other composers, if you're interested.
I enjoyed the concert, and I enjoyed learning about composers I'd never heard of. A win-win for me.
ConcertMeister
