Music review: Red Priest entertains with unique technical wizardry
By CHARLES WARD ARTS WRITER
Oct. 29, 2009, 5:55PM
If any Baroque-music purists survived the Houston debut of Red Priest, Tuesday’s concert at Midtown’s Trinity Episcopal Church would have been their personal Nightmare on Main Street.
Actually, the four-member, Britain-based ensemble called the evening Nightmare in Venice and, in the spirit of Halloween, featured music composed in Stylus Phantasticus, a 17th-century style noted for its free-form, fantastical moods and unexpected musical effects
Red Priest recorders, violin, Baroque cello and harpsichord opened with a concerto by the original red priest, Italy’s Antonio Vivaldi. ForLa Notte (The Night), the players entered in black hoods and robes, one musician from the side of the church’s chancel and the rest from the church’s rear. They played the horror film-like special effects with ghoulish glee and fabulous virtuosity. Continue reading →
Red Priest gave an amazing performance tonight for Houston Early Music, complete with their trademark rearrangements of famous Vivaldi concerti and Halloween-inspired shenanigans. These four players, led by recorder virtuoso Piers Adams, have been compared to the Rolling Stones (among other groups), and now I see why. They play with an enthusiasm that goes well beyond the familiar swaying and ducking of even the most physical of early music practitioners. It’s a fascinating combination of both spot-on playing with the imagination — and sheer nerve — of the best jazzers or rock musicians. Utterly fascinating, though some of the music — particularly the Corelli "Folia" at the end — came completely apart in their hands, though no one there (myself included) seemed to mind!
Red Priest will do their outreach concert at the Shepherd School this coming Tuesday, October 27, at 12:10pm. They’ll perform in Hirsch hall (enter the building from the parking lot and turn left), and it’s free. Please do come and spread the word!
Thanks,
Greg
Gregory Barnett Associate Professor of Musicology Rice University The Shepherd School of Music – MS 532 P.O. Box 1892 Houston, TX 77251-1892
presenting the world’s finest period ensembles and soloists … bringing to life music from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance to the Baroque and Classical periods. Experience with us early music played on original instruments, by musicians reviving performances of the past.
The season launches with the notorious renegade of the recorder, Piers Adams, and his famed UK-based group, Red Priest, presenting Nightmare in Venice, just in time for Halloween, on Tuesday, October 27, 7:30 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1015 Holman at Main.
Adams, a rock star of the early music genre, is known for bending the rules and for high theatrics. The program includes Vivaldi’s Nightmare Concerto, Tartini’s Devil’s Trill sonata, Masque music by Robert Johnson, Gluck’s Dance of the Blessed Spirits, Leclair’s Demon Airs and Red Priest’s own Fantasia on Corelli’s La Follia. “Expect some Halloween flavor,” says Adams. “Taking Vivaldi’s spooky and dramatic concerto La Notteas a place to begin, we will explore the myriad themes of fantasy, myth and horror in the Baroque, not forgetting that the word ‘baroque’ itself means strange, bizarre and irregular.”
Some of the fun ingredients in the Red Priest mix include creating their own original arrangements, incorporating stylistic elements from the world and folk music realms, bringing out stories and drama in the music, and wildly colorful costumes.
Adams will give a pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m.
Houston Early Music will treat you to nutritionally-incorrect Halloween candy during intermission.
Tickets
Tickets to RED PRIEST may be purchased through our new online ticket service. Your tickets will be held in your name at the Will Call desk.
Prices at the door are $35 for general admission, $30 for seniors, and $10 for students (with student ID.) Free admission for children under 15.
NOTE NOTE NOTE
This season we will send our concert reminders via email only. We will not be mailing postcards. Please be sure your current email address is on our list.
Click to subscribe to our email list
If you have friends interested in our programs, please be sure they also know of this change and ask them to join the list.
If you don’t use email, please let us know by phone 713-432-1744 or mail at Houston Early Music, P.O. Box 271193, Houston, TX 77277-1193. We will accommodate your needs.
Please make sure that info@HoustonEarlyMusic.org is registered in your contacts list or with your spam filter to ensure that delivery will not be blocked. If you wish to modify or cancel your email subscription, please see the links at the bottom of this email. For new subscriptions visit http://www.houstonearlymusic.org/lists/
Red Priest conjures the spirit of Halloween – Living – MiamiHerald.com
BY REBECCA J. RITZEL
SPECIAL TO THE MIAMI HERALD
… Adams leads Red Priest — a quartet named for the flame-haired cleric and composer Antonio Vivaldi — that opens the St. Martha-Yamaha Concert Series in Miami Shores on Saturday.
Ever since the ensemble released its Nightmare in Venice CD in 2000, he says, it has been asked to play music from the album on U.S. tours.
“For some reason, you tend to go very big into Halloween over there, so we always end up playing our big Nightmare in Venice Halloween spectacular,” Adams said, speaking from his home in England last week. “It’s actually nice to come back to it each year. It’s a funky program, and we rather like doing it.”
If “funky” seems an odd adjective for Baroque music, well, that’s because Red Priest is an unusual Baroque ensemble, given to creeping onstage in dark-hooded capes, employing atmospheric lighting and even fog machines to amp up the ambience for Vivaldi’s La Notteconcerto, otherwise known as The Nightmare.
Red Priest brings drama to chamber music, but that’s not why Paul Posnak, a piano performance professor at the University of Miami and founding artistic director of the St. Martha’s series, booked the group.
“Under all the theatricality, all the costumes, these are serious musicians and scholars,” Posnak said. “People are going to be dazzled.” …
See also video at Red Priest conjures the spirit of Halloween – Living – MiamiHerald.com
presenting the world’s finest period ensembles and soloists … bringing to life music from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance to the Baroque and Classical periods. Experience with us early music played on original instruments, by musicians reviving performances of the past.
In this Newsletter:
Concert reminders via email only
Next concert: RED PRIEST, Tuesday 27 October
New Online Ticket Service
NOTE NOTE NOTE
This season we will send our concert reminders via email only. We will not be mailing postcards. Please be sure your current email address is on our list.
Click to subscribe to our email list
If you have friends interested in our programs, please be sure they also know of this change and ask them to join the list.
If you don’t use email, please let us know by phone 713-432-1744 or mail at Houston Early Music, P.O. Box 271193, Houston, TX 77277-1193. We will accommodate your needs.
The season launches with the notorious renegade of the recorder, Piers Adams, and his famed UK-based group, Red Priest, presenting Nightmare in Venice, just in time for Halloween, on Tuesday, October 27, 7:30 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1015 Holman at Main.
Adams, a rock star of the early music genre, is known for bending the rules and for high theatrics. “We don’t set out to cause trouble, honestly,” quips Adams, Red Priest’s artistic director. “But we do like to shake off all of those early music straitjackets and preconceptions, so that we’re no longer bound by a fear of what the composer—long dead as he is—might think.”
According to Houston Early Music artistic director Nancy Ellis, Red Priest is a bit like early music gone wild. “They are known for being way out there,” says Ellis. “They will most definitely add some spice to our programming.” The program includes Vivaldi’s Nightmare Concerto, Tartini’s Devil’s Trill sonata, Masque music by Robert Johnson, Gluck’s Dance of the Blessed Spirits, Leclair’s Demon Airs and Red Priest’s own Fantasia on Corelli’s La Follia. “Expect some Halloween flavor,” says Adams. “Taking Vivaldi’s spooky and dramatic concerto La Notteas a place to begin, we will explore the myriad themes of fantasy, myth and horror in the Baroque, not forgetting that the word ‘baroque’ itself means strange, bizarre and irregular.” Red Priest really lets it go in Corelli’s La Follia. “Using this famous ground as a starting point, and Corelli’s variations as a loose structure, we pass through many musical styles from gypsy to Indian to modern jazz,” adds Adams.
Some of the fun ingredients in the Red Priest mix include creating their own original arrangements, incorporating stylistic elements from the world and folk music realms, bringing out stories and drama in the music, and wildly colorful costumes. Adams has been referred to as early music’s version of The Rolling Stones, and he doesn’t mind the comparison in the least. “We definitely want to shake things up,” says Adams. “We want to find the most eye- and ear-catching ways to present what we consider to be some of the most fantastic music ever written to the widest possible audience, even if that does mean stretching the boundaries a little.”
Adams will give a pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m.
Tickets
Tickets to RED PRIEST may be purchased through our new online ticket service.
Prices at the door are $35 for general admission, $30 for seniors, and $10 for students (with student ID.) Free admission for children under 15.
Houston Early Music Online Ticket Service
Houston Early Music is pleased to announce that you can now purchase tickets to our performances on our web site, using major credit cards. At this time, the first concert Red Priest is available for sale. In a few weeks we will add the remaining concerts to this service.
Please make sure that info@HoustonEarlyMusic.org is registered in your contacts list or with your spam filter to ensure that delivery will not be blocked. If you wish to modify or cancel your email subscription, please see the links at the bottom of this email. For new subscriptions visit http://www.houstonearlymusic.org/lists/
The season launches with the notorious renegade of the recorder, Piers Adams, and his famed UK-based group, Red Priest, presenting Nightmare in Venice, just in time for Halloween, on Tuesday, October 27, 7:30 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1015 Holman at Main.
Adams, a rock star of the early music genre, is known for bending the rules and for high theatrics. “We don’t set out to cause trouble, honestly,” quips Adams, Red Priest’s artistic director. “But we do like to shake off all of those early music straitjackets and preconceptions, so that we’re no longer bound by a fear of what the composer—long dead as he is—might think.”
According to Houston Early Music artistic director Nancy Ellis, Red Priest is a bit like early music gone wild. “They are known for being way out there,” says Ellis. “They will most definitely add some spice to our programming.” The program includes Vivaldi’s Nightmare Concerto, Tartini’s Devil’s Trill sonata, Masque music by Robert Johnson, Gluck’s Dance of the Blessed Spirits, Leclair’s Demon Airs and Red Priest’s own Fantasia on Corelli’s La Follia. “Expect some Halloween flavor,” says Adams. “Taking Vivaldi’s spooky and dramatic concerto La Notteas a place to begin, we will explore the myriad themes of fantasy, myth and horror in the Baroque, not forgetting that the word ‘baroque’ itself means strange, bizarre and irregular.” Red Priest really lets it go in Corelli’s La Follia. “Using this famous ground as a starting point, and Corelli’s variations as a loose structure, we pass through many musical styles from gypsy to Indian to modern jazz,” adds Adams.
Some of the fun ingredients in the Red Priest mix include creating their own original arrangements, incorporating stylistic elements from the world and folk music realms, bringing out stories and drama in the music, and wildly colorful costumes. Adams has been referred to as early music’s version of The Rolling Stones, and he doesn’t mind the comparison in the least. “We definitely want to shake things up,” says Adams. “We want to find the most eye- and ear-catching ways to present what we consider to be some of the most fantastic music ever written to the widest possible audience, even if that does mean stretching the boundaries a little.”
Houston Early Music launches season with UK-based group Red PriestKnown as The Rolling Stones of early music!
HOUSTON, TX— July 27, 2009 – The season launches with the notorious renegade of the recorder, Piers Adams, and his famed UK-based group, Red Priest, presenting Nightmare in Venice, just in time for Halloween, on Tuesday, October 27, 7:30 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1015 Holman at Main. Continue reading →
HOUSTON, TX— June 27, 2009 – Houston Early Music announces its 2009-2010 season featuring four internationally known groups – Red Priest, The Rose Ensemble, Ensemble Caprice and Tapestry. Each will delight audiences with inventive programs, outstanding virtuosity and their expertise in early music performance.
