by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Today: pianist Clare Longendyke on the Signature Series
•Announcements: Severance celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with Sammy DeLeon, The Music Settlement has openings in its Adult Orchestra, and Assembly for the Arts seeks input from local artists on making use of individual artist funds
•Almanac: Francesca Caccini, master of ornamentation
HAPPENING TODAY:
At 7:30 pm at the Stocker Arts Center’s Cirigliano Studio Theatre, the Signature Series presents pianist Clare Longendyke in music by Vivian Fung, Maurice Ravel, Anthony Cheung, Zosha di Castri, Jeffrey Mumford, Mel Bonis, Claude Debussy, Amy Williams, and Anthony R. Green. Click here for more information. It’s free.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, Severance Music Center will present a Community Concert on Saturday, October 14 at 7:00 pm. The performance will feature the Latin jazz of Sammy DeLeon y su Orquesta and will be hosted by WKYC’s Lydia Esparra. It’s free, but tickets are required.
The Music Settlement has openings in its Adult Orchestra, open to string, woodwind, brass, and percussion players and geared towards advanced beginner and intermediate adults interested in playing in a group setting. Previous ensemble experience is not necessary. Click here to enroll.
On commission from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, Assembly for the Arts is researching how best to make use of CAC’s dedicated individual artist funds. As part of that research, Assembly would like to hear from as many Cuyahoga County-based artists as possible — artists in any creative discipline. If that describes you, you’re invited to take a survey and register to attend an upcoming Listening Session moderated by Brea Heidelberg of ISO Arts Consulting. More information here.
TODAY’S ALMANAC:
Francesca Caccini — the Italian composer, singer, lutenist, and poet whose opera La liberazione di Ruggiero is believed to be the first entry in that genre by a woman, and possibly the first Italian opera to be performed outside of Italy — was born on September 18, 1587 in Florence.
In March 2021, during the “Women in Music” episode of Les Délices’ SalonEra series, soprano Michelle Kennedy sang the role of the Siren in “Chi nel fior di giovinezza,” a scene from that Caccini opera. I spoke to Kennedy before the episode aired, and among our topics of discussion was the composer’s distinctive ornamentation.
“It’s kind of a signature of hers — she was a master of ornamentation as a performer, and also compositionally,” Kennedy said. Though the episode is no longer freely accessible, it’s worth noting that SalonEra subscribers get on-demand access to the first three seasons.
Caccini’s signature ornamentation is most evident in her famous collection of solo songs and duets Il primo libro delle musiche. Soprano Henriette Feith and theorbist David Van Ooijen choose a selection of songs from that work in their album La Cecchina (the composer’s nickname) — listen in this playlist on YouTube.