This preview has been provided by Baroque and Beyond.
January 26, 2014 – 3:00 pm
Chapel of the Cross – Sanctuary
304 E. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill
Tickets $20 www.baroqueandbeyond.org
Baroque & Beyond continues its season on Sunday, January 26, with “Zephyr – Gentle Winds”. Concert time is 3:00 pm at Chapel of the Cross, 304 E. Franklin Street in Chapel Hill.
The concert features a robust ensemble of baroque-period wind players whose specialty is performing on baroque flute (traverso), baroque oboe, various instruments in the recorder family, and baroque bassoon. The accompanying ‘continuo band’ is comprised of two baroque cellos and harpsichord.
Many of these early-music musicians live in the Triangle, but a few are from other cities in North Carolina (Asheville, Boone, Davidson, and Greenville). They are Rebecca Troxler, Nancy Schneeloch-Bingham and John O’Brien, traverso; William Thauer and Alicia Chapman, baroque oboe; Jennifer Streeter, recorder; Barbara Blaker Krumdieck and Chris Nunnally, baroque cello; and Beverly Biggs, Artistic Director and harpsichord.
Visiting musicians are Frances Blaker, recorder (California); Tom Moore, traverso (formerly from Durham but now living in Miami); Aaron Reichelt, baroque oboe (New York City); and Sally Merriman, baroque bassoon (Boston).
The concept of a concert featuring “our splendid wind players,” as Artistic Director Biggs affectionately characterizes them, grew from her years in the Pacific Northwest where her most frequent musical partners were wind players. She was chomping at the bit for an opportunity to feature them on the Baroque & Beyond series. The series is presented by Preservation Chapel Hill, which has a distinguished history of offering concerts and art exhibits to complement their mission of historic preservation. Chapel of the Cross graciously provides the venue for the series.
The program will showcase different instruments in each selection, with the entire ensemble playing the final piece. Telemann is represented by two works: an opening sextet (Concerto in F major, TWV 44:41 for pairs of recorders, flutes and oboes with continuo); and Quatuor in d minor (TWV 43:d1) for solo recorder, two flutes and continuo.
A choir of flutes will be featured in a beautiful concerto by Boismortier (Concerto a 5 in e minor, Op. 15 no. 6). Boismortier wrote exquisitely for the baroque flute. In this work, he stipulates that the lowest flute part can alternately be played on baroque bassoon, which is how the Zephyr ensemble will do it. Baroque cello and harpsichord round out this grouping.
In a complete change of character, the following piece is a sizzling work by Jan Dismas Zelenka: Sonata in c minor (ZWV 181 #6) featuring two oboes and bassoon, with continuo. This piece is a real tour-de-force for the double-reed instruments.
The program will conclude with an arrangement (scored for our instrumentation by William Thauer) of the popular Follia (variations on La Folia) by Vivaldi. It is a show-stopping composition that fittingly caps the program.
Additional information is found at www.baroqueandbeyond.org. The website offers musician biographies, photographs, and information about period instruments and performance practices.
Tickets ($20) can be ordered in advance (through January 24) using the link found on the Tickets tab. Tickets are also available at the door. In addition, they can be reserved (through Jan. 24) from Preservation Chapel Hill at 919.942.7818.
Baroque & Beyond’s performance is one of sixteen concerts and related events of the 2014 NC HIP Music Festival. A complete listing of participating ensembles and arts organizations is found on the B&B website under HIP Festival. Additional details, including a link to buy a Festival Pass (all concerts and events for only $100) can be found here: http://www.mallarmemusic.org/NCHIPMusicFestival_000.html.
Please note that the church is constructing a new wing. Parking should be available in the Rosemary Street parking deck, and may also be available in the Planetarium parking lot and on nearby streets.
