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Les Délices at Plymouth: “Dido’s Lament” with Maria Christina Cleary & Clara Rottsolk (March 11)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Les Delices 031118Les Délices’ artistic director Debra Nagy quipped to the audience in Herr Chapel at Plymouth Church on Sunday, March 11, that the afternoon’s program could be nicknamed “Dido three ways.” Joined by the wonderful soprano Clara Rottsolk and the splendid Baroque harpist Maria Christina Cleary, Nagy and her ensemble explored the tragic story of Dido, Queen of Carthage, as chronicled in gripping performances of highly dramatic music by a trio of composers: Francesco Cavalli, Michel-Pignolet de Montéclair, and Henry Purcell. [Read more…]

Les Délices to present “Dido’s Lament”: a conversation with Baroque harpist Maria Christina Cleary

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by Mike Telin

Cleary-MariaDebra Nagy’s latest Les Délices creation, “Dido’s Lament,” will view the famous queen of Carthage from three emotional and musical perspectives. The tragic story of Dido, who was famously deserted by the Trojan warrior Aeneas, is based on Book 4 of Virgil’s classical epic The Aeneid. The program will include excerpts from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Cavalli’s Didone, and Montéclair’s La Mort de Didon.

The concerts, held on Saturday, March 10 at 8:00 pm in Lakewood Congregational Church, and on Sunday, March 11 at 4:00 pm at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights, will feature soprano Clara Rottsolk, harpist Maria Christina Cleary, oboist Debra Nagy, violinists Julie Andrijeski and Scott Metcalfe, violist Allison Monroe, viola da gambist Jaap ter Linden, and harpsichordist Eric Milnes. Tickets are available online.

On Saturday at 3:00 pm at the Bop Stop, the ensemble will present “Instrument of the Angels,” an LD@Play family concert. Registration is recommended.

In an email Debra Nagy said that she is thrilled to bring Maria Christina Cleary from Milan, Italy for these performances.

[Read more…]

Boston trombones join Case early music ensembles for Venetian concertos (Feb. 17)

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by Daniel Hathaway

CWRU Venice 2If you grew up before the late 20th-century early music enlightenment took hold, you might have thought from the available recordings that Venetian congregations visiting the Basilica of San Marco regularly heard music by the Gabrielis and their colleagues played by big, loud brass ensembles. Not so. [Read more…]

Apollo’s Fire: “Three Duels and a Wedding” at St. Paul’s, Cleveland Hts. (Feb. 9)

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by David Kulma

AF ForsytheThe Apollo’s Fire concert on Friday, February 9 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights, “Three Duels and a Wedding” — with a surprise — highlighted three double concertos and the well-known Wedding Cantata by J.S. Bach. First, about the duels. The concert opened with Georg Philipp Telemann’s Concerto in e for flute and violin. Flutist Kathie Stewart’s pearly tone and concertmaster Olivier Brault’s joie de vivre were excellently complemented by harpsichordist/conductor Jeannette Sorrell and the ensemble. [Read more…]

Apollo’s Fire: “Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain” (Dec. 9)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Sugarloaf1The five sold-out performances of “Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain” this month attest to the popularity of Apollo’s Fire’s crossover shows. Heard on Saturday, December 9 at First Baptist Church in Shaker Heights, the holiday sequel to “Sugarloaf Mountain: an Appalachian Gathering” was just as alluring and infectious as its predecessor, even if some of its elements were still in the process of settling in. [Read more…]

Les Délices goes Italian (Oct. 22)

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by Mike Telin

Andrijeski-JulieTry as he did, even Louis XIV’s edicts on style and taste could not suppress the cross-pollination of the “refined” music of late-17th and early-18th century French musicians with that of the more “flashy” Italians. This past weekend, Les Délices, the always-creative and musically polished French Baroque ensemble, opened their season with two performances of a program titled “Inspired by Italy.” I heard Sunday afternoon’s concert in the Herr Chapel at Plymouth Church. [Read more…]

Les Délices’ opening concerts to be “Inspired by Italy”

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by Hannah Schoepe

Les-Delices-galleryOpening a window into the past, Les Délices will explore the polarized yet relational bond between 17th- and 18th-century French and Italian music during its season-opening concerts. “Inspired by Italy” will take place Saturday, October 21 at 8:00 pm at Pilgrim Church in Tremont, and Sunday, October 22 at 4:00 pm at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights. For ticket information click here.

Les Délices, a Baroque ensemble founded in 2009 by Baroque oboist Debra Nagy, initially specialized in French music. This weekend’s concerts will feature Nagy, Baroque violinist Julie Andrijeski, viola da gambist Emily Walhout, and harpsichordist Mark Edwards. When asked about the French name via email, Nagy wrote, “It means ‘the delights.’ Délices also shares the same root as the words ‘delicious’ or ‘delicacy.’ French Baroque music is sometimes considered a fine delicacy. It is rich and diverse, but not often a central part of a listener’s diet. We wanted the opportunity to introduce this music to a wider audience.” [Read more…]

Apollo’s Fire: Vivaldi at Cain Park (July 29)

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by Robert Rollin

AF-Olivier-JeannetteApollo’s Fire performed an outstanding early music concert at Cleveland Heights’ Cain Park Amphitheater last Saturday night, July 29. Outside the venue, wine tastings, accompanied vocals, and a lively barbershop quartet set a relaxed mood. The core of the program was the ensemble’s performance of Antonio Vivaldi’s complete The Four Seasons, with the four separate concerti spread throughout the evening. [Read more…]

Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute: Week Two, Day Six (Saturday, July 1)

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by Daniel Hathaway

StudentOrchWeek2(Gascho)If Saturday began with the fatigue that accompanies the end of an immersive two-week experience, it ended with the adrenaline rush and afterglow of some wonderful performances.

The last day of Oberlin’s Baroque Performance Institute was devoted almost entirely to preparations for the final participant concert, which would begin at 1:30 pm in Warner Concert Hall with performances by the Student Orchestra and Choir and the Intermediate and Beginner Dance Classes.

Before that, most of the 16 ensembles who would play on the second part of the event in Kulas Hall got a 15-minute dress rehearsal — really more of a sound check — onstage. That necessitated a number of furniture moves by the agreeable and accommodating stage crew, and not in the same order as the concert itself. [Read more…]

Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute: Week Two, Day Four (Thursday, June 29)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Skip-Coaching-Peter-LimSkip Sempé was in rare form in Thursday morning’s harpsichord class. In Lully’s Chaconne de Phaëton, he noted that there are three possibilities of playing in triple meter: beat two can be on time, late, or early, and beat three can be long or short, depending on the second beat. He confessed that he didn’t really read music until his 20s or 30s because things didn’t make sense to him on the page. And in discussing a Rameau Sarabande, he entered a long monologue about orchestral vs. opera conductors, the latter being more effective at accompanying voices and dancers.

He also noted — in a discussion of playing difficult trills — that he had stopped admiring effort over results (he related that to grant writing), and had less than complimentary things to say about the traverso, though he suggested trilling like a flute would. [Read more…]

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