the festival music society of indiana's

All events except the last concert presented at:

The Indianapolis Art Center's

Frank M. Basile Auditorium

820 E. 67th St. (2 Blks E. of N. College Av.)

The Sun July 25th Concert will be presented at:

The Indiana Historical Society, 450 W. Ohio Street

Fri. June 25:   The Publick Musick

"Concertos for the Chamber:Vivaldi & His Followers". The Publick Musick received the prestigious Noah Greenberg Award of the American Musicological Society in 2000 for its recording of Telemann's Early Trios. Co-direccted by flutist Steven Zohn and Tom Folan, the group includes recorder player Aldo Abreau, whose playing has thrilled FMS audiences in recent years. The Publick Musick is fast establishing a reputation as one of today's most dynamic early music ensembles.

This performance will include two firey programmatic works by Vivaldi: Il Gardellino (The Goldfinch), with its sparkling imitations of bird calls, and La Tempesta di Mare (The Storm at Sea) - plus virtuoso concertos by Telemann and Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, that mix the Vivaldian Style with Germanic gravity and French elegance.

"It is a novel, colorfully diverse world that the Publick Musick constructs before the astonished ear of the listener"  .....Concerto Magazine.

Sun. June 27: The Quadriga Consort of Austria

"Ancient Tunes of the Isles". The passion of making early music an adventure binds the members of the Quadriga Consort. The seven member consort, based in Graz, Austria, is directed by harpsichordist Nikolaus Newerkla. Since its formation in 2000, the ensemble has been compiling an extraordinary repertoire. Beginning with its first program, Ground (released on CD in 2003) the Quadriga Consort has delighted audiences with uncompromising interpretations and exhilarating freshness. In 2003, the group won a competition organized by Sir Yehudi Menuhin's Live Music Now Foundation, and in 2004 the Gotthard Schierse Foundation awarded the Consort a prize given to talented yound musicians and ensembles.

Their concert is one that FMS audiences will find irrestible. The intensely researched program is comprised of both folk and art music from early Ireland, England and Scotland. We have never had its like !

"Electrifying music....breath-taking technique...true Irish enchantment"  said the Upper Austrian Review

Fri. July 9:   Schola Antiqua of Chicago

"Voices From the Middle Ages". Schola Antiqua of Chicago is dedicated to the study and performance of liturgical chant and early polyphony. Guided by professional scholars in the field, the vocal ensemble draws its repertory from medieval manuscripts from the earliest incarnations of Geogorian chant through the fifteenth century. Artistic Director Calvin Bower and the eight members of Schola Antiqua seek to promote an understanding of early liturgical music through performance demonstrating the highest standards of musicianship. The Schola emsemble researches deeply into the primary sources of the repertory, namely medieval manuscripts dating from the ninth through fifteenth centuries, and prepares scholarly editions of the music appropriate for performance by the group.

Their innovative programming makes use of rare manuscripts found only at the Newberry Library in Chicago, which now has one of the most significant collections of medieval music repertoire and notation in North America. They will be including works from the Cathedral of Notre Dame and from the Court of Henry VIII in their program.

"A guiding light in early music"....Gary Panette, Peoria Journal Star.

Sun. July 11:   La Monica

"Transalpina: The 17th Century in Germany or Out of the Depths".  With each vibrant performance La Monica has captured the imagination of its audiences nationwide, receiving standing ovations at major music festivals. Its innovative programming and dramatic flair have established this dynamic combination of voice and strings at the forefront of the early music scene.

From the ruins of the Thirty Years War, Germany entered a period that produced a great flowering of music characterized by cosmopolitan tastes and the steady exchange of ideas over political boundaries. Many German musicians traveled to Italy in order to study with such masters as Monteverdi and Frescobaldi, and many Italian musicians voyaged to German lands. The Italians' dazzling virtuosisty in their writing for string instruments and dramatic text setting was adapted by the Germans and filtered through their own sensibilities. La Monica's program highlights the interactions between these two cultures through sacred works by the North Germans and instrumental chamber works by the Austrians, who created their own style of Baroque.

"World class performers, La Monica absolutely owns this repertoire and plays its with an abundance of warmth, wit and intelligence" .....John Schneider, KPFK-FM.

Fri. July 23: Freiberg - Freeman - Coe  Ensemble

"The Arts of Music and Words". The arrival of the Freiberg- Freeman-Coe Ensemble is the result of three years of conversations beetween Freiberg and Frank Cooper, FMS Music Director. The result will be an unforgettable evening of instrumental music and spoken word.

Baroque cellist Sarah Freiberg, harpsichordist Rhona Freeman and poet Charles Coe have joined forces to offer a unique program blending gems of the Baroque musical repertoire with timeless poetry that touches on musical themes. Music and words alternate in a dynamic way that highlights the deep connection between these two art forms. Within the framework of a concert performance, audiences sense both the commonality and differences between these arts. Musical selections include cello sonatas by Vivaldi, Geminiani, Guerini and others. Poetry and prose selections are drawn from the works of John Cage, John Dryden, Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, Matk Twain Walt Whitman and Charles Coe.*

"Their collaboration is innovative and inspiring, marked with moments of humor and warmth as well as passion and beauty"....Forest Hills Educational Trust, Boston.

Sun. July 25:   The Harp Consort

      This concert at The Indiana History Center, 450 W. Ohio Street

"El Arte de Fantasia - Music of the Golden Age in Spain and the New World". The Harp Consort, led by Andrew Lawrence-King, takes its inspiration from the 17th century harp consort formed in England at the Court of Charles I. In contrast to the homogeneous string orchestra, the Consorte brought together diverse types of solo instruments - harp, lute, keyboard, strings - together with voices to create colorful new combinations in the fashion of the day. The Harp Consort is formed around the accompanying instruments of the basso continuo and brings together an international team of musicians who create a rich variety of timbres.

This group takes its inspiration from the 17th century harp consort formed in England at the Court of Charles I. In this fascinating glimpse of the musical life at the court of Charles, the Harp Consort recreates the intricate Spanish art of improvisation with a sophisticated collection of Spanish romances, French chanson, popular dances and polyphonic fantasies which Luis Venegas de Henestrosa transcribed for harp, keyboards and vihuela.

"A stupendous mixture of historical accuracy and improvisatory freedom".....Main-Echo (Germany).

Three slide lectures by Frank Cooper*, Artistic Director

In three fascinating Sunday Afternoon Sessions, Frank Cooper will explain the spectrum of early music - what it meant when it was first heard and what it means when we hear it today. Drawing on more than 30 years of experience as a distinguished educator, he will clarify the forms and styles of music, sacred and secular, vocal and instrumental. The audience will be treated to the sounds and sights of each period through select recorded examples and memorable projected images.

June 27:   Discovering the Middle Ages

Cathedrals, Crusades, Castles and Courts - plainsong to polyphony

July 11:   Discovering the Renaissance

17th Humanism and Heroism - music's rise in an evermore stratified society.

July 25:   Discovering the Baroque

Grandeur and Glory - the culmination of early music.

 

* Mr. Cooper is Research Prof. of Music, University of Miami (Florida); and Associate Curator of Fine Arts at the Vizcaya Museum, Miami. A former Butler Univ. faculty member, Cooper is an accomplished harpsichordist and interpreter of early music.

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