HISPANIC HERITAGE SERIES
Friday, March 2, 2012
LA MORRA
Tears Of A Lion: A Secret Concert For Pope Leo X

Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, 7:30 p.m.
6221 Main Street, Houston, TX 77030

Pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m.
La Morra ensemble members

Houston Early Music is pleased to introduce this exciting young Swiss ensemble. While remembered for his extravagant lifestyle, Pope Leo X (1513-1521) was a noteworthy patron of arts and a man of great sensitivity for music. Himself a competent composer, Leo X clearly had a weakness for good musicians and his rise to the peak of ecclesiastical power brought about a true (albeit short) Golden Age for many of them. Follow LA MORRA to Pope’s private chamber for an intimate concert performed by the best of the pontiff’s “secret musicians.” Music by Pope Leo, Tromboncine, Encina, Francisco de la Torre, …  Madly beautiful music, performed on harp, fiddle, flutes, lute and vihuela de manna.

Listen to recordings

Read the Press Release

Watch a video

Friday, May 4, 2012
TRIO SETTECENTO
The Scottish Play

Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, 7:30 p.m.
6221 Main Street, Houston, TX 77030

Pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m.
John Mark Rozendaal

Rising star violinist Rachel Barton Pine is joined by acclaimed cellist John Mark Rozendaal and harpsichordist David Schrader in a spirited program of Scottish baroque music including earthy, infectious Hebridean fiddling and the renewed pleasures of poetic works of Scotland’s classical composers. Even the Italian virtuosi Geminiani and Veracini get in on the action with Scottish-themed compositions.

Web Site

Watch other videos

Friday, February 3, 2012
RICHARD EGARR, Harpsichord
The Harpsichord’s Golden Century

First Unitarian Universalist Church, 7:30 p.m.
5200 Fannin, Houston, TX 77004

Pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m.
Richard Egarr

Harpsichord superstar Richard Egarr returns to Houston with his trademark sense of discovery and a fresh, compelling look at the virtuosic works of 17th century composers Couperin, Purcell, Froberger and Blow. With his inquiring mind and adventurous spirit, Egarr engages the audience with a gripping performance of works from a time when there were no restrictions and eccentricity was the standard.

View the concert program

• Download Concert Program Harpsichord’s Golden Century
• Bob Stevenson’s interview with Richard Egarr on KUHF’s The Front Row 
• Richard Egarr’s Website
• YouTube -R. Egarr, harpsichord

For the program, entitled The Harpsichord’s Golden Century, Egarr will present a fresh look at works of 17^th century composers Louis Couperin and Johann Jakob Froberger, who were known to be great friends and colleagues.

“The two geniuses inspired each other to create some of the most wonderful creations for the harpsichord,” Egarr said.

He will also examine the work of John Blow and Henry Purcell, which, he said, “add a bit of English quirkiness to the mix.”

Egarr said he is particularly inspired by 17^th century composers, because he believes the greatest music for harpsichord was written during this time.

 “This is the century of real musical barrier breaking and exploration, as well as the time of the harpsichord’s greatest importance,” he said. “I am a proud music addict and love to communicate my passion and enthusiasm for music to everyone I come into contact with.”

 Egarr currently serves as music director of the Academy of Ancient Music, is increasingly sought after as a conductor by non-period chamber and symphony orchestras and performs with period ensembles such as the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston, Tafelmusik and Portland Baroque.

 Egarr began his musical training as a choir boy at York Minster, at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, and as organ scholar at Clare College Cambridge. His studies with Gustav and Marie Leonhardt further inspired his work in the field of historical performance.

http://www.thefrontrow.org/articles/1328115130-Houston-Early-Music—Richard-Egarr.html

Download Concert Program Harpsichord’s Golden Century

Download Press Release: HEM-PR-LaMorraFINAL

Houston Early Music welcomes Swiss early music ensemble to Texas

HOUSTON, TX – January 25, 2012 – Swiss early music ensemble La Morra will visit Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church in Houston on Friday, March 2, at 7:30 p.m., as part of its first U.S. tour, which will take it to six cities across the country. The 12-year-old group will present “Lacrime di Leo (Tears of a Lion): A Secret Concert for Pope Leo X” on Houston Early Music’s season, treating audiences to little-heard gems from the early Italian Renaissance.

Mainly known for his extravagant lifestyle financed by the sale of indulgences — indeed, it was these that prompted Martin Luther to open protest — Pope Leo X (1513-1521) loved the arts, especially music. So sensitive to music was he that he was observed by a composer named Carpentras to weep “pious tears” when listening to religious polyphony.

A member of the famous Medici family of Florence, Leo X was raised in an atmosphere of humanism and artistic appreciation, and he both played and composed music. He also surrounded himself with a select group of musicians known as the musici segreti (secret musicians) who played only for him, and those lucky enough to be invited to these private performances.

“With our program we would like to evoke an atmosphere of such a private performance,” said La Morra co-director Michal Gondko. “Although our choice of repertory is hypothetical, we have cast our net wide to draw as many true gems as possible from the extraordinarily rich musical culture of the early Italian Renaissance.”

Included on the program are works by many composers whose names may be little known to the general public. A wide range of offerings will be presented by the likes of Bartolomeo Tromboncino, Benedetto Gareth, Sebastiano Festa, Francesco da Milano, Juan del Encina, Guglielmo Ebreo and Nicolas Craen. “Those men composed some of the most extraordinary music of their time,” said Gondko, who researched the program at the venerable early music academy Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basle, where La Morra resides.

Listeners will hear madrigals, chansons, frottole and instrumental pieces performed on instruments of the period. Performers include Gondko (viola da mano, chitarrino and drum), co-director Corina Marti (flutes), Ryosuke Sakamoto (lute), Tore Eketorp (viola d’arco) and Giovanni Cantarini (voice). The secret musicians may even debut a “new” chanson by Leo X, who famously said, “Since God has given us the Papacy, let us enjoy it!”

La Morra will present “Lacrime di Leo (Tears of a Lion): A Secret Concert for Pope Leo X” on Friday, March 2, at 7:30 p.m. at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, 6221 Main St., Houston, Texas 77030. A pre-concert talk with members of La Morra will begin at 6:45 p.m.

Exploring history through music is a Houston Early Music hallmark. The group follows music from the Middle Ages through the 18th century, providing unique programming and world-class concerts performed with historical instruments and styles true to the period.

For more information about Houston Early Music and to purchase tickets and subscriptions, please visit www.HoustonEarlyMusic.org or call 713-432-1744.

CALENDAR EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: 

What:              LA MORRA, Swiss early music ensemble, on its first U.S. tour

Program:          “Lacrime di Leo (Tears of a Lion): A Secret Concert for Pope Leo X,”

Where:             Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, 6221 Main St., Houston TX 77030

When:              Friday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m. | Pre-concert talk with La Morra at 6:45 p.m.

Tickets:           $35 general admission | $30 Seniors (60+) | $10 (students w/ student ID)

                        Available online at www.HoustonEarlyMusic.org or by calling 713-432-1744.

Presented by:  HOUSTON EARLY MUSIC

Description:    Swiss early music ensemble La Morra will visit Houston as part of its first U.S. tour. Houston Early Music presents the ensemble in a program titled “Lacrime di Leo (Tears of a Lion): A Secret Concert for Pope Leo X.”

HOUSTON EARLY MUSIC presents the world’s finest period ensembles and soloists who bring to life music from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance to the Baroque and Classical periods. One of the country’s leading early-music organizations, it is the city’s only presenting organization dedicated to covering the large historical span of early music in all of its forms. The nonprofit provides performance opportunities for up-and-coming and major early music artists from around the world in an annual concert series, and their educational outreach program introduces a future generation to a broad range of music. Houston Early Music is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance and by the Texas Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, visit www.HoustonEarlyMusic.org.

###

Attached Photo: La Morra

Photo credit: Susanna Drescher

Media contact:

Susan Love Fitts

936-597-8825

susan@susanlovefitts.com

http://classical895.wordpress.com/2011/12/22/all-i-want-for-christmas-is-a-sackbut-sara-hessel-kmfa-music-director/ 

…I couldn’t believe my luck when I heard that the UK-based Dufay Collective would be performing in Houston! I’ve been a fan of their spirited performances for years, and have played their excellent recordings on Ancient Voices many times. Their program of 16th- and 17th-century English music was sheer joy to listen to. Vocalist Vivien Ellis seemed to have stepped right out of one of Henry VIII’s Christmas revels with her clarion tone, excellent diction and storyteller’s sense. Especially memorable was an anonymous ballad called “To drive the cold winter away,” and the very moving “Thys endere nyghyt,” gorgeously arranged by director William Lyons. It was fascinating to watch the players switch effortlessly from one instrument to another: Mr. Lyons played flute, recorder, curtal (an ancestor of the bassoon) and bagpipes!…

Houston Early Music to feature harpsichordist Richard Egarr, February 3

 HOUSTON, TX – December 19, 2011 – Houston Early Music continues its 2011-2012 season with a performance by British harpsichordist and conductor Richard Egarr on Friday, Feb. 3. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 5200 Fannin in Houston, TX 77004. Egarr will also offer a pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m.

 For the program, entitled The Harpsichord’s Golden Century, Egarr will present a fresh look at works of 17^th century composers Louis Couperin and Johann Jakob Froberger, who were known to be great friends and colleagues.

 “The two geniuses inspired each other to create some of the most wonderful creations for the harpsichord,” Egarr said.

He will also examine the work of John Blow and Henry Purcell, which, he said, “add a bit of English quirkiness to the mix.”

 Egarr said he is particularly inspired by 17^th century composers, because he believes the greatest music for harpsichord was written during this time.

 “This is the century of real musical barrier breaking and exploration, as well as the time of the harpsichord’s greatest importance,” he said. “I am a proud music addict and love to communicate my passion and enthusiasm for music to everyone I come into contact with.”

 Egarr currently serves as music director of the Academy of Ancient Music, is increasingly sought after as a conductor by non-period chamber and symphony orchestras and performs with period ensembles such as the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston, Tafelmusik and Portland Baroque.

 Egarr began his musical training as a choir boy at York Minster, at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, and as organ scholar at Clare College Cambridge. His studies with Gustav and Marie Leonhardt further inspired his work in the field of historical performance.

Exploring history through music is a Houston Early Music hallmark. The group follows music from the Middle Ages through the 18th century, providing unique programming and world-class concerts performed with historical instruments and styles true to the period.

 Tickets

Mini-Pass subscriptions include any three concerts for $100 general admission and $85 for seniors. Individual tickets are $35 for general admission, $30 for seniors, and $10 for students with ID. Free admission is available for children under 15.

Subscriptions and individual tickets are available online and can also be purchased by mail. To purchase tickets, visit www.HoustonEarlyMusic.org or call 713-432-1744.

SUMMARY:

 Friday, February 3, 2012

RICHARD EGARR, Harpsichord

The Harpsichord’s Golden Century

First Unitarian Universalist Church, 7:30 p.m.

5200 Fannin, Houston, TX 77004

Pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m.

Richard Egarr

NEXT CONCERTS:

Friday, March 2, 2012

LA MORRA

Tears of a Lion: A Secret Concert for Pope Leo X

Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, 7:30 p.m.

6221 Main Street, Houston, TX 77030

Pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m.

La Morra ensemble members

Friday, May 4, 2012

TRIO SETTECENTO

The Scottish Play – Scottish music of the Baroque era

Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, 7:30 p.m.

6221 Main Street, Houston, TX 77030

Pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m.

John Mark Rozendaal

ABOUT HOUSTON EARLY MUSIC

Houston Early Music presents the world’s finest period ensembles and soloists who bring to life music from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance to the Baroque and Classical periods.

 One of the country’s leading early-music organizations, it is the city’s only presenting organization dedicated to covering early music in all of its forms. Houston Early Music epitomizes a movement that has swept the world of classical music. Incorporated in 1969, the nonprofit provides performance opportunities for both emerging and major early music artists from around the world in an annual concert series.

 A successful and growing educational outreach program introduces a future generation to a broad range of music. Houston Early Music is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance and by the Texas Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, visit www.HoustonEarlyMusic.org.

Harpsichord superstar Richard Egarr will perform The Harpsichord’s Golden Century, Houston Early Music’s third concert of the season. The not-to-be-missed event is Friday, February 3 at the First Unitarian Universalist Church. Egarr, who serves as music director of the Academy of Ancient Music, takes a fresh, compelling look at the virtuosic works of composers of the 17^th century, a time when there were no restrictions and eccentricity was the standard. For tickets, visit www.HoustonEarlyMusic.org or call 713-432-1744. 

Media contact:

Susan Love Fitts, 936-597-8825

susan@susanlovefitts.com

You may order the subscriptions below. As you check out, please put the name and email  address, and physical address of your gift recipient in the “notes” box. We will email them a notice of the gift and mail physical tickets to their address at the time we mail season subscription tickets (normally in August). If you leave it blank we will mail the tickets to you.

To order, select the type of ticket in the drop-down box below. Then click Add to Cart and you will be taken to your shopping cart on another webpage. Enter the number of tickets desired, and click Update.  When you are finished, click Check Out to complete the purchase. 

If you have any questions or difficulty with this order please email info@HoustonEarlyMusic.org

FULL SEASON (all concerts)

• General Admission $160
• Senior Admission $135

Type

General Admission $160.00 USD Senior Admission $135.00 USD

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By COLIN EATOCK

Published 10:46 a.m., Friday, December 9, 2011

England’s Dufay Collective has been exploring Medieval and Renaissance music since 1987. In those years, they’ve released 10 recordings and have performed all over the world, from Morocco to Australia – but never before in Texas.

That will change Sunday when Houston Early Music brings the group to town to present To Drive the Cold Winter Away – Christmas Revelry in Renaissance England at Christ Church Cathedral.

Earlier this week, Dufay Collective artistic director William Lyons spoke from London about his ensemble, the program they’ll present in Houston – and his experiences in the film business.

Q:What can you say about the music you’ll be performing?

continue reading at: 

http://www.chron.com/life/article/Dufay-brings-music-from-the-past-to-the-present-2391786.php#photo-1920576