12 Days of TEMP Christmas: Day 12

DAY 12 TREAT (DEC. 12, 2014):

And here we are: It’s the 12th day. It’s time to talk about the Lady Greensleeves, who was 49th cousin to the beloved Mr. Green Jeans from “Captain Kangaroo.” Raise your hands if you remember Captain Kangaroo.

The earliest source of the song was a broadside ballad by Richard Jones in 1580; several more versions appeared shortly, with variants of title and text. There are references to the song in Shakespeare’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor” and by the end of the 17th century, the song had developed many variants in melody, harmony, and meter in versions by William Cobbold and John Playford. Of course, the more popular version for Christmas is “What Child is This” with lyrics by William Dix written around 1865. The version we use is The old yeare now away is fled from the mid-17th century.

There are modern versions/variations by performers as varied as Jacques Brel, Leonard Cohen, Elvis Presley, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and…well, lots more.

And it’s concert time. In a few hours. Today.
An Early Christmas in Europe.

This 12 Days of Christmas factoid-per-day thing has been fun. Please join us for our next installments: the 44 Days of Super Bowl, the 185 Days of SXSW, and the 21 Days of Halloween.

Jethro Tull - Greensleeves

12 Days of TEMP Christmas: Day 11

DAY 11 TREAT (DEC. 11, 2014):

All hail to the days that merit more praise
Than all the rest of the year…

Loreena McKennitt sings it; and it’s on virtually every Anglophile Christmas or Solstice or Winter-related recording. I know of no reason we shouldn’t do it also! This traditional tune, first known as “When Phoebus did rest,” was set and arranged by John Playford for his country dance primer, The English Dancing Master, in 1651. Related versions of it are also found in the Samuel Pepys’s collection of broadsides under the title “A pleasant Countrey new ditty: Merrily shewing how To drive the cold winter away” and a version is also found in Thomas d'Urfey’s “Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy.” It remains one of the more popular English ballads in its several incarnations.

Considering where we live, I for one am not so eager to drive the cold winter away, though I don’t have to deal with 6-foot snow-storms, either. At any rate, it’s a great song, David Lopez sounds wonderful in his solo verse, and evocative visions of hot chocolate and hot cider and maybe a hot toddy or two prevail!

Drive the Cold Winter Away, just not too quickly, ok?
An Early Christmas in Europe. In 2 Days. In Austin. It’s 63°F.

Loreena McKennitt in a haunting piece from the album "To Drive The Cold Winter Away", accompanied by chosen nature pictures. The album was recorded in The Church Of Our Lady in Guelph, Ontario, and, in Ireland, a Benedictine monastery and The Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Annaghmakerrig.

12 Days of TEMP Christmas: Day 10

DAY 10 TREAT (DEC. 10, 2014):

It’s the Christmas season, and yet I’m a mean, mean man. Or at least a mean, mean maestro.

I’m making the singers perform in all these languages for the Christmas concert: Medieval French Latin, pre-vowel shift 14th-century English, Renaissance Spanish, 17th-century German Latin, 17th-century French, 17th-century Dutch & Flemish, Italian Latin, Gaelic, and even some English.

I'm getting coal from Santa, I just know it.
An Early Christmas in Yurp in 3 Days.

12 Days of TEMP Christmas: Day 9

DAY 9 TREAT (DEC. 9, 2014):

During our Christmas concert, you might find yourself thinking, “Oh, that’s ‘He shall feed His flock’ from Messiah,” and you would be sorta right. Quando nascete ninno is one of the many songs that peasant bagpipers from the mountains played in the streets of Naples and other cities during the days before Christmas; it is thought that the young George Frideric Handel heard this during his time in Italy in 1707–1709. But don’t worry, it won't be leading into a full‑blown Messiah concert for Baroque flute and bray harp, though that would be interesting...

 An Early Christmas in Europe in 4 Days • BYO Bagpipe.

12 Days of TEMP Christmas: Days 7 & 8

DAY 7 TREAT (DEC. 7, 2014):

Christmas in Killarney

This year we'll have Dennis Day and the Jack Benny Orchestra joining us for ... wait, what's that? 

Oh, sorry, the TEMP Board tells me it’s not to be. Instead, just one of the pieces we have representing Ireland is Ye sons of men, which has become one of the mainstays of the TEMP Christmas concerts. Like most of the traditional pieces, its origins are murky. 

The poem comes from Father William Devereux’s collection of texts from 1728; the tune is probably traditional; at any rate, it was usually sung during the main mass on Christmas Day. The tradition was passed down through the Devereux family, and was transcribed from a 1980 recording sung  by Jack Devereux, who was then 80 years old. 

It’s an amazing tradition and an amazing piece.

6 more days. Be there or be on the next boat to Killarney.

DAY 8 TREAT (DEC. 8, 2014):

For this year’s Christmas concert, we’re performing an a cappella choral work for 8 parts by a composer who is new to us. Giovanni Bassano (c. 1558-1617) was the nephew of the famous Bassano family who moved from Venice to London to be musicians in the court of Henry VIII. I had been aware of him as one of the most famous cornettists in Italy and through his books detailing ornamentation and theory—references I've used in teaching Italian performance practice.

It turns out that he was also a fine composer, and we’re performing his double choir motet Angelus ad pastores in just a few days!

But: the real reason I’m telling you this is because our September performance of La Pellegrina brought a lot of new patrons to us. One of those new patrons is a member of the Bassano family, and still has ties to Italy.

It's a small world!

An Early Christmas in Europe. In 5 Days.
Be there or be on a gondola to Killarney since you missed the last trains to Venice and Clarksville. 

12 Days of TEMP Christmas: Day 6

DAY 6 TREAT (DEC. 6, 2014):

It's the 6th Day. Must be time for French music. Let’s consult The New Oxford Book of Carols, shall we?

Words and languages change. In the late Middle Ages, nouvel an indicated the New Year, the time when carols were most usually sung. That phrase became corrupted to nouel and by the 16th century to noël, and the current use of a noël as a Christmas song was established. Nouvelet can mean both ‘news’ and ‘newness.’

Noël nouvelet, meaning a newly made song for both the New Year and the newly born infant-King, will be performed in 7 days.

That’s all the nouvelet for now. Good night and good luck.
TEMP: An Early Christmas in Europe

12 Days of TEMP Christmas: Day 5

DAY 5 TREAT (DEC. 5, 2014):

It’s the 5th Day so this must be about rings. Let’s see: Three rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, seven for the Dwarf-lords…oh wait, that’s a completely different carol.

On the second day [Dec 2] we talked about Falalalanlera and today we’ll return to the concert’s Spanish repertoire. Riu, riu, chiu is based on the traditional call of Spanish shepherds and, like Falalalanlera, has a secular version as well. I recall working on this when I was in the 7th grade at Goliad Jr. High in Big Spring. Apparently, we weren’t the only ones who learned it at a young age. Remember The Monkees? Yes, it’s true! Just watch YouTube below. The harmonies are a little different, but it’s really sweet!

See ya. Eight days to go. Eight rings to … oh, no, wrong carol again.
TEMP: An Early Christmas in Europe • Be there or be on the last train to Clarksville

Uploaded by terrybrass on 2011-03-12.

12 Days of TEMP Christmas: Days 3 & 4

DAY 3 TREAT (DEC. 3, 2014):

Alright, hands up! How many remember Gaudete, the wonderfully gnarly and spirited version that the British folk-rock group Steeleye Span recorded in the 70s? Yes, their pronunciation left choral conductors and educators a little, um, exasperated, but it was mind-bending and really crossed all sorts of cultural lines. TEMP is performing it for the first time at this year’s Christmas concert. I can’t wait! Though the pronunciation will be more in line with historically informed performance, it will still be spirited and raucous.

An Early Christmas in Europe in 10 days. Except we’ll be in Austin.

DAY 4 TREAT (DEC. 4, 2014):

Our guest harpist, Therese Honey—the fabulous Therese Honey—is playing Nos galan in our Christmas concert. Great, one might think. What the heck is that? 

It possibly originated in Wales in the 16th century, but there are no remnants of the Welsh version of the words. The tune was first printed in 1784 and then became a Welsh folk carol for the New Year. The one they call “Haydn” included the melody in a vocal/piano piece, though it might have been written by one of his students.

The lyrics as we know them were first published in New York in 1881 and really have nothing to do with the original carol. Yes, it’s “Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly” but, since it’s a flashy harp solo with amazing variations, there will be no falalalalalalalas heard.

That is all. As you were. See you in 9-11 days, depending on which concert you come to!

12 Days of TEMP Christmas: Days 1 & 2

Day 1 treat (Dec. 1, 2014):

This year’s Christmas concert will include an excerpt from the opening scenes of the 12th century “Play of Herod.” I can still recall the way I felt when I first performed it with the NY Ensemble for Early Music at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in 1988. The performance venue was a historically old church with little or no AC; it was a very hot day on our premiere, and with the stage lighting it was 109°F on stage. Add to that the layers of costuming we all had, and it was downright dangerously hot for the performers. They provided a little relief for subsequent performances. The other thing I recall is that, since we were supposed to perform the parts of shepherds as well as the ‘innocents’ to be massacred at the end of the show, I was instructed to shave my beard for the show, and so I did, for the first time in about 18 years. When I showed up in NY for the first rehearsal, they were all amazed that I had actually done it because—get this—I had to then wear a fake beard for the first part of the show when I was a shepherd.

TEMP audiences: don’t fear! We promise it won’t be 109°F in the venues for the concerts and we promise that no beards will be shaven for these performances.

Join us for An Early Christmas in Europe in 12 days!

Day 2 treat (Dec. 2, 2014):

TEMP audiences who attended our Madrigal Mystery Tour concert might recall that we assiduously avoided ‘fa-la-la’ sections. The upcoming TEMP Christmas concert includes a piece that is about as close to a ‘fa-la-la’ as we’ll get this year. Falalalanlera is a 16th-c. Spanish piece that comes in two versions: a secular one that is *maybe* by Mateo Flecha and a sacred one that is *probably* by Bartomeo Cárceres. Both versions were published in different collections a few years apart, in the mid-16th century. *BUT* that’s not the important part: I was introduced to it by Jordi Savall and Montserrat Figueras at the Hesperion XX workshop in Austin in 1984—holy cow, that was 30 years ago—and I still recall Montserrat dancing in her chair while we students rehearsed it for the concert. The refrain is infectious and fun and she was not shy about letting us know that it made her happy and it made Jordi happy and, man, did that make us happy! Let us try it out on you!

Texas Early Music Project: An Early Christmas in Europe.
In 11 days!

Christmas is icumen in, lhude sing St. Nick!

I almost feel like we are a big-box store, focusing on our Christmas concert now when there is so much that happens before that: the Texas Toot workshop this weekend, then Thanksgiving, then the St. Cecilia Baroque Festival, and then our four days of rehearsals, and then our concerts. I can’t wait! And then…well, there’s much more. At any rate, we aren’t having Black Friday Sales, so I’m relieved to remember that we aren’t a big-box store! More soon!

Danny

An Early Christmas in Europe

 Friday, December 12, 2014, 8:00PM
Saturday, December 13, 2014, 8:00PM
First English Lutheran Church, 3001 Whitis Ave., Austin, TX

 Sunday, December 14, 2014, 3:00PM
First Presbyterian Church, 8001 Mesa Drive, Austin, TX

Last chance to get discounted Partial Season Subscriptions for the remaining 4 concerts of the season!

Partial Subscriptions for 4 concerts are $108 general, or $90 for seniors.
Click on the "Buy Partial Season Tickets" button below.
Single tickets can be purchased by clicking on the button below
and are also available at the door, payable with cash, check, or credit card:
$30 general, $25 senior (age 60+).
Discount prices for students with student ID are available for purchase
at the concert door for $5. 

It’s already time for another Early Christmas! Join us as we explore the mystery and intangible essence of Christmas as TEMP puts its unique stamp on joyful carols and traditional songs from Western Europe and the British Isles, where many of the musical traditions we hold dear at Christmastime originated. TEMP will perform joyful and beautiful selections from these countries and others with innovative arrangements for solo voices, small chorus, harp, violin, flute, mandolin, viols, and lute. 

The familiar theme of the Nativity from the shepherds’ perspective—their wondrous and terrifying experience with the angelic host and their subsequent gathering around the manger to adore the Christ-Child—figures prominently in most early music Christmas repertoire, as do the themes of the Mother and Child and the New Year. We will present two iconic 12th–century works from France illustrating this theme: “Orientis partibus” and excerpts from the Play of Herod.

Lively works from an anonymous Spanish composer (“Falalanlera”) and an exciting double-choir work by Giovanni Bassano illustrates the importance and the beauty of Advent and Christmas in Renaissance Spain and Italy. Not to be outdone, however, are the works of composers in the Lowlands, whose diverse, virtuosic compositions for Christmas celebrations remain unparalleled in sheer beauty. The little-known Flemish composer, Guilielmus Messaus, created mini-masterpieces in this genre, and TEMP is happy to bring these to light for our audience. We are also glad to announce the return of our favorite Dutch carol: We haven’t performed “Herders hy is geboren” in several years, and its return is long overdue.

Our Christmas concerts are never complete without a little Celtic and English influence! Our versions of the “Christ-Child Lullaby” and “Drive the cold winter away” are in the program this year, as well as other favorites from the Celtic traditions. We are proud to feature nationally-acclaimed historical harpist Therese Honey, who will play the popular 18th–century Welsh “Nos galan,” which is very similar to one of the present day’s most ubiquitous Christmas carols. Which one? Come find out!

Our featured soloists include Jenifer Thyssen, Stephanie Prewitt, Meredith Ruduski, Jenny Houghton, Cayla Cardiff, Jeffrey Jones-Ragona, David Lopez, Brian Pettey, Thann Scoggin, and Daniel Johnson. Our instrumental soloists include Bruce Colson (violin), John Walters and Jane Leggiero (viols), Marcus McGuff (flute), Susan Richter (recorders), and Scott Horton (lutes). 

 Join Texas Early Music Project for a splendid evening of music. Encompassing eight hundred years of festive creativity and beauty, this music is sure to delight your ears and warm your heart.

For more information, call 512-377-6961 and leave a message,
or email info@early-music.org.

No falalalalas for this walrus.

I think my last blog rambled on a bit about earworms from La Pellegrina. Ok, as you might expect, those have been replaced by a new, but still Italian, assortment that has taken up residence in my head: the final page from Rore’s O sonno, the recurring theme from Monteverdi’s Io mi son giovinetta, and the overwhelming passion of both Satiati amor and Italia mia, by Marenzio and Verdelot, respectively. These were all combating for my attention during breakfast, but it’s virtually a free-for-all that includes the other pieces the rest of the time. Despite being such sophisticated miniature works of art, most of them are certainly whistleable and memorable.

Here's a video teaser of Io mi son giovinetta:

"Io mi son giovinetta" by Claudio Monteverdi; Il quarto libro de madrigali, Venice, 1603

You are invited to join us on this whirlwind tour and then be in possession of your own set of earworms from 16th-century Italy. Click on the buttons below to purchase tickets. Enjoy!

 Danny

Here's an invitation...To make a reservation....

Ah, October! Though we've already had several gorgeous days, our thoughts revel in the anticipation of even more cool weather and the Fall Toot and team sports played in large coliseums and our annual concert in College Station and food and drink made with substantial amounts of pumpkin. Yay! In the midst of all that is a little trip we're taking, without the need for a passport or shots or hotel bills. Yes, that's right, it's time for our much anticipated Madrigal Mystery Tour.... concert!

Danny

 

ITALIA MIA: MADRIGAL MYSTERY TOUR

 Saturday, October 25, 2014 at 8PM
Sunday, October 26, 2014 at 3PM
First English Lutheran Church, 3001 Whitis Ave.
Arrive early for closer access parking, especially on Sunday!

Partial subscriptions for 4 concerts are still available: $108 general, or $90 for seniors.
Single tickets can be purchased by clicking on the button below
and are also available at the door, payable with cash, check, or credit card:
$30 general, $25 senior (age 60+).
Discount prices for students with student ID are available for purchase
at the concert door for $5. 

One of the primary characteristics of Italian music is the power of sudden contrasts. So here’s a contrast for you: Our first concert of the season was the largest we’ve ever had and our second is one of the smallest in recent memory, as we engage one of the most beguiling of all early music repertoires, the a cappella Italian madrigal.

The madrigal was one of the true tests of a composer’s skills in the Renaissance. The importance of depicting the emotions of the texts with ingenuity, originality, and flair increased, and composers used and improved on their best techniques; patrons had their most skilled performers to sing their works. Madrigals evolved from their humble, light-hearted beginnings into serious works of art, marked by variety, contrast, and quite a bit of humor.

TEMP's expert vocal ensemble brings to life some of these small gems, a few of which are in the Top 10 Renaissance Hits, such as Il bianco e dolce cigno by Jacques Arcadelt and Ancor che col partire by Cipriano de Rore. Many are rarely, if ever, performed locally: Luca Marenzio’s Satiati amor for 6 parts and O sonno, a bewitchingly insightful piece for 4 parts about the ‘elusiveness of sleep’ by Cipriano de Rore, are both revelatory and powerful. (There are, of course, a few pieces that were obviously meant for fun and pure entertainment, such as Orazio Vecchi’s 6-voice Tiridola, and others.)

The repertoire will come from the time-period of about 1535-1600, and will include three of Monteverdi’s many wonderful works from his Renaissance practice. And, of course, the concert would not be complete without Verdelot’s touching and moving title madrigal, Italia Mia.

Featured singers include TEMP regulars Gitanjali Mathur, Meredith Ruduski, Cayla Cardiff, Stephanie Prewitt, Paul D’Arcy, Jeffrey Jones-Ragona, David Lopez, Brett Barnes, and Thann Scoggin, with guests Ryland Angel (countertenor, New York) and Ron Downs (bass, Maryland) in his first TEMP performance. As a special treat, lutenist Scott Horton will perform a few versions of madrigals arranged for lute by the composers as well as by celebrated lutenists of the Renaissance.

The Italian madrigal in the 16th century was emotional, witty, daring, celebratory, passionate, sensual, experimental, and...gorgeous! These four-to-eight-part works are ideally suited for the intimate and lovely acoustic of First English Lutheran Church, located just north of the UT campus.

Preservare il passato.
Arricchire il presente.
Coinvolgere il futuro.
Si tratta di musica antica in una luce completamente nuova. Unisciti a noi.

For more information, call 512-377-6961 and leave a message,
or email info@early-music.org.

Earworms, Mysteries, and Memories

I sort of thought that the earworms from La Pellegrina would go away while I was deep into research for the Madrigal Mystery Tour concert. I was sort of wrong. Jenifer Thyssen’s opening aria still resonates in my head; Ryland Angel’s “Arion” aria still catches me off-guard; the final half of Meredith Ruduski’s aria from the 5th intermedio just will not take an exit bow!! Not to mention many magical moments from the choral and/or instrumental parts and the finale, especially, that still enter my consciousness … and you know what, they can all stay for as long as they’d like! It was such a thing!

La Pellegrina photographs by Cecily Johnson

But, onward! Such is the joy of my job that I’m surrounded by a whole passel of Italian madrigals for the 2nd of our Italia Mia: That’s Amore! concert season. (And, in our never-ending effort to make things more confusing, half the title of the upcoming concert is Italia Mia — tricky, eh? But you’ll know why at the concert, if you don’t already…) I’m listening, reading, deciding on parameters, choosing, scoring, formatting Italian madrigals 45/8. Or something like that. More on the concert soon; In the meantime, I'm not giving away any info on which madrigals we're doing, so it will have to remain a mystery! Get it? Madrigal Mystery Tour?

There is sad news to impart: the early music world has lost two extraordinary teachers and performers: keyboard artist and orchestra director Christopher Hogwood passed away this week in Cambridge. Earlier this summer, American lutenist and master pedagogue Patrick O’Brien passed away as well. Both of them touched countless lives through teaching, recording, and concerts.

Christopher Hogwood (1941-2014)

Patrick O'Brien (1947-2014)

RIP.

Danny

Once again — From the top!

Well, alrighty then. I, for one, would like to do our La Pellegrina concert about 10 more times in a few choice locations around the US—not to mention a few places elsewhere—but I think I would have to get some more sensible shoes if we did. Alas, I think we must be finished, because I don't see any rehearsals or concerts on my calendar. Drat. it was great fun, it was lots and lots and lots of work for the TEMP Board—good thing they're used to working hard to promote TEMP and work around problems that arise—and for Allison, Meredith, Jonathan, and Tiffany. Lots and lots of work. 

We might do this again. Who knows? But it can never again be the first time that it's been done in Austin, or in Texas, or in the U.S. [in at least 30 years and maybe longer]. That's a lot of 'first times' that the media missed, but, oh well. That's why we love Austin—there are always lots of artistic things going on. 

To all of the Board and staff and performers and supporters: A most solemn, sincere, and sacred Thank You! Grazie mille! We can all still continue to "Be a Medici - but Nicer" by supporting the arts and, of course, by not defenestrating people. 

And now on to the Madrigals. Eeeek. Only 6 weeks! 

Danny

P.S. You can pre-order the La Pellegrina CD here:
http://www.early-music.org/recordings/lapellegrina

P.P.S. Check out the Time Warner Cable News 8 Austin segment on La Pellegrina below! 

Texas Early Music Project's Opening Performance Features Music from 1500s Austinites love live music, and Sunday, they took a trip back in time to hear music at a downtown church. The Texas Early Music Project, which specializes in bringing medieval and renaissance music to life, opened its 16th season this weekend.

Ferdinando + Christine for 625 years!

Ok, we are now three weeks out from dress rehearsal for our first concert of the new season, Let’s see here, what needs to be done? Take a nap? Check. Have some coffee? Check. Maybe another nap? Nah, not really! We’re brimming with excitement (and also with activity: there is indeed so much to do!) about this Texas premiere, all the very cool friends who will be assembling here in a couple of weeks for this concert, and the fact that it’s presented by KMFA Classical 89.5! Our very own Medici patrons! And the fact that we got so much very generous support from so many folks from all over the nation (and the UK!) in our Indiegogo campaign. Thanks so much! This would not be happening without you. 

I’ll be back soon with an update or two or three. In the meantime, here’s a reminder about the concert and the details! Stay cool! Sorry, couldn’t help but have a little wishful thinking….

Danny

Our Opening Concert:

 La Pellegrina: Music for a Medici Wedding
presented by KMFA Classical 89.5

 Saturday, September 13, 2014 at 8PM
Sunday, September 14, 2014 at 3PM
St. Martin’s Lutheran Church, 606 W.15th, Austin 

Texas Early Music Project’s opening concert of the 2014-2015 season will be a unique and extraordinary event: the performance of La Pellegrina: Music for a Medici Wedding. Created by some of the greatest composers of the Italian Renaissance for the spectacular wedding celebration of Ferdinando de Medici to Christine de Lorraine in 1589 Florence, La Pellegrina consists of six musical intermedi or acts for vocal soloists, small ensembles, full chorus, and a full orchestra of Renaissance period instruments.

 Not only will this be the Texas premier of the entire work but our research shows that this will be the first U.S. performance of the complete work since at least the early 1980s, and our September performance will generate the first American CD recording of La Pellegrina. This will be a unique opportunity and experience not just for TEMP and all the artists involved, but also for classical music fans and history buffs both within and outside the Austin community. This will be of interest to students of all ages, from those in middle school and high school to those who are lifelong devotees of education, the fine arts, and cutting edge experiences.

 We have gathered a stellar ensemble of over fifty voices and early music instrumentalists from across the country and there will be a full orchestra of period instruments, including viols, cornetto, sackbuts, harps, and lutes, authentically recreating the sounds of the Italian Renaissance. We have commissioned a poetic narrative written and performed by Lawrence Rosenwald, Anne Pierce Rogers Professor of American Literature at Wellesley College, revealing the mythology behind the six stories. Sara Hessel Schneider, producer of KMFA’s Ancient Voices, will provide the pre-concert lecture for both performances.

 TEMP soloist Jenifer Thyssen (soprano) opens the concert with one of the most simultaneously haunting and acrobatic arias imaginable, and TEMP regular Meredith Ruduski (soprano) and guest soloist Ryland Angel (tenor, New York) both have show-stopping arias in the 5th intermedio. TEMP newcomer Ariadne Lih (soprano, Canada) joins Meredith Ruduski and mezzo-soprano Erin Calata (Seattle) as the Three Graces in the charming and invigorating finale. All the soloists are also among the 26 voices that comprise the ‘core’ chorus. The 21-piece, period-instrument orchestra includes special guests Stephen Escher (cornetto, California), Mary Springfels (viola da gamba, Santa Fe), Phillip Rukavina (lutes, Minnesota), Tom Zajac (recorder & percussion, Boston), and more. TEMP regulars in the orchestra include harpists Therese Honey (Houston) and Elaine Barber, organ/continuo master Keith Womer, lutenist Scott Horton, sackbut (Renaissance trombone) players Nathaniel Brickens, Blair Castle, and Steven Hendrickson, viol players Jane Leggiero, John Walters, and Stephanie Raby, violinist Bruce Colson, and more.

Experience the beauty, brilliance, innovation, and passion of some of the best composers from Italy in the late Renaissance joined with the expertise, talents, and joy of TEMP and its guests in this momentous and celebratory concert, presented by KMFA Classical 89.5.

For more information, call 377-6961 and leave a message,
or email temp@early-music.org.

TEMP's Red-Letter Day!

August 6, 2014 was a red-letter day for TEMP! We surpassed our goal of $15,890 in our Indiegogo campaign for September's season-opener,  La Pellegrina: Music for a Medici Wedding, and then we had a party at Fino's to celebrate Allison Welch and Jonathan Riemer, who got the new TEMP website operational AND beautiful --- in fact, this very website you're looking at right now!

More soon! Really!

Danny

Fall is in the Air

Ah, October! My fave! Occasional hints of cooler weather, there are pumpkins at the grocery stores, there are pumpkin flavored drinks everywhere, the pumpkin bread tastes fresher, pumpkin pies are baking in the oven, and someone has at least hinted that she will bring some pumpkin beer bread to one of rehearsals this week?

Yes, in addition to ubiquitous pumpkin sightings (UPS) and it being my fave month, we have more yummy action: TEMP’s Sephardic concerts at First Presbyterian and Congregation Agudas Achim! Annette Bauer is here during her two-week hiatus from Cirque de Soleil and Peter Maund, Therese Honey, and Kit Robberson will all be arriving Thursday to join forces with all the Austin-based TEMP musicians for our first Sephardic concerts since May, 2011.

We hope to see you there!

See http://early-music.org/index.html for more info and tickets!

Danny

Danny Johnson Bares All!

As we work through our week of rehearsals for TEMP Goes the Full Monteverdi, I recognize a familiar bifurcated feeling:

It’s our last concert of the season, so I’m happy that we enjoyed a good season, got to work with splendid musicians performing splendid music, and seem to have pleased the audiences!

But: It’s our last concert of the season, so we won’t get to experience the excitement of concert week again for four and a half months!

But: It’s our last concert of the season, so in addition to summer workshops, I’ll be spending lots of time researching, picking music for 2012-2013, inputting the winning music into my computer (yay Sibelius!), and enjoying other music nerd things. I admit it. [n.b. Sibelius is a music editing software, not just a composer!]

So, you see, it’s a confusing time of the year! I am very much looking forward to our Monteverdi concert, though. It’s such wonderful music, exhibiting the full palette of emotional colors. It’s fun for performers and audience alike!

And speaking of fun, here are some questions that the office elf Janey submitted to me about this concert and the answers I cribbed off someone else’s paper….

>  What's your favorite piece on the program?

There are about 10 of my very favorite pieces on this concert! "Lamento della ninfa" and "Zefiro torna" are probably in the upper tier...

>Why those?

Those were among the very first pieces of Monteverdi that really knocked my socks off when I was a sophomore in college. We performed those and others in the Collegium Musicum at Texas Tech. Unforgettable. My love affair with the passacaglia bass line of the “lamento” began immediately and hasn’t waned in all these decades!

>What pieces by Monteverdi do people know that might be on the program?  Or that might remind them of pieces on the program?

Most will probably recognize "Lamento della ninfa" and "Zefiro torna" and "Beatus vir" - but the thing that they will recognize about "Beatus vir" is that it sounds like some other piece they heard in Music Appreciation class: "Chiome d'oro". That trickster!

>Why do a Monteverdi retrospective like this?

Partly because of Monteverdi's ability to live in two eras, so it's not just a concert of Renaissance madrigals or Baroque continuo songs, but is inclusive of just about every important and lasting aspect of both eras.

>What does the audience get out of it that they wouldn't get out of a wider spread of composers?

Concerts with repertoire by a variety of composers are equally valid, of course, to represent a particular "school" of composition or national or linguistic aspects of creative art, [but] witnessing the progress and process of one genius/master/creator is a powerful experience.

We hope to see you and fifteen of your best friends at one of the two performances this weekend! Or come to both of them!

You can purchase tickets here in advance, or at the door on concert day!

Photographs by Cecily Johnson

Changes to Annual "Laurie Young Stevens and Friends" Performance

Oh my gosh, it’s February.

We’ve been preparing for our two concerts this month and now they are really upon us. Here’s a little extra info about the first of the two.

This weekend is the annual (since 2006) concert by “Laurie Young Stevens and Friends” (aka Fleurs-de LYS) with guest stars from Europe and the US. This year’s guests include German violin virtuoso Henning Vater, founder of the Göttingen Baroque Orchestra, and Dutch recorder maestro Paul Leenhouts, now director of Early Music Studies at University of North Texas in Denton.

We are very sad to announce that, due to an injury, Laurie Young Stevens will not be able to perform this weekend. She’s following doctor’s orders and giving it time to heal, but she will be at the concerts as chief MC. In her stead, prize-winning violin and viola player Veronika Vassileva, from Bulgaria and Germany will be our third special guest artist.

Austin’s stellar Jenifer Thyssen, soprano, heads up the cast of the remaining ensemble members, who come from around the US.

If you were at the concert in 2010, you might remember the encore. There’s a *chance* you could hear it again this weekend. (Here’s a hint for those who weren’t there: coming to our concert on Friday night won’t completely deprive you of hearing music by Andrea Bocelli.)

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PERFORMANCES

‣ Friday, February 10, 8PM, St. Mary Cathedral

‣ Sunday, February 12, 3PM, St. Michael’s Episcopal Church

Friday night parking at St Mary’s: concert patrons will be able to park in the garage immediately to the south of St Mary Cathedral. Access to the garage is from San Jacinto St. Concert patrons can exit the garage for free between 9:45-10:30. After 10:30, please see Daniel Johnson for tokens.

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TICKETS

For this & other TEMP performances

 ‣ purchase online

‣ by phone (512) 377-6961

‣ or at the door.

See you there!

See http://www.early-music.org/index.html for more concert info.

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More (very) soon about our second February concert!

Danny

more.

Danny Johnson's Takeaway: Holidays, Memories & Montserrat Figueras

December is but a few hours away so as I rush to finish this episode of the blog, I realize that I approach December, more than any other month, like a puzzle—a puzzle that provides much delight when finished properly but that is tricky to maneuver when in motion. And it’s in constant motion.

There are three Texas Early Music Project performances to rehearse and present; a variety of services and concerts at St. Mary Cathedral (including the famed “Celtic Christmas at the Cathedral”); the St. Cecilia Baroque Festival at First Presbyterian Church in which I am performing; and, if possible, I might even catch a concert presented by other friends.

As we enter the next phase of the TEMP Christmas performances (the phase in which the performers study their music in preparation for next week’s rehearsals), I can reflect on the pieces that I chose (while mentally writing the concert program notes) and think about the many pieces I opted not to include this time around. I also reflect on the performers I get to work with and the mentors who helped me get to this moment in time. One of the biggest influences on my artistic ventures passed away last week.

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Montserrat Figueras, married to viola da gamba master and conductor Jordi Savall for more than 40 years, was one of the most important figures in the “early music” movement in the 1970s and 80s. Because of her and others like her, early music hasn’t been a “movement” for quite some time; instead, it is a sophisticated, diverse, and lively art form, that transitioned from being a movement to being essential.

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Montserrat, Jordi and other members of their ensemble Hesperion XX were in Austin for two weeks in the summer of 1984 for a workshop masterminded by the late Dr. Robert Snow and Dr. Douglas Kirk. It was an exhausting experience, but Jordi and Montserrat were exquisite professionals: friendly but demanding, encouraging but not too-easily swayed. The attention they gave to the students was spontaneous, human, and life-changing for more than a few of the attendees. The touching thing was that it was also important for Jordi and Montserrat: they made a few lifelong friends through that workshop. Kit Robberson took them to Barton Springs for an afternoon in preparation for the second week of classes and they bubbled for days after that.

I don’t want to dwell on these memories too much, but through that experience I became more aware of the living energy of early music, the endless sources for inspiration, and the necessity of making it available for my generation and those that follow. One of my fondest memories is going to a chamber concert Jordi and Montserrat did in Oxford in 1986 or ’87; they were so surprised and thrilled to see two Texans in the audience they had a hard time suppressing smiles while they were performing. Afterwards, we talked outside the church (I had a train to catch) and they introduced me to their daughter, Arianna, and son, Ferran, who was still a baby. Arianna and Ferran are now both respected performers in Europe. It is difficult not to see or hear Montserrat in their timbres and gestures; in fact, it is reassuring.

Thank you, Montserrat.

And thank you for following along here—I hope to see you at our Christmas concerts! See early-music.org  for more info or just look at our blogspace here at texasearlymusic.wordpress.com.

Peace!

Danny