Club Free Time Blog

An Early Music Spring

Notes and flower

Gail Wein
April 02, 2018

According to the organization Early Music America, March is Early Music Month. But there are so many excellent Baroque programs happening in April, I think that we have an entire season – Early Music Spring – going on in New York City.

For early music in New York, look no further than the Music Before 1800 series. Their offerings this month celebrate the 16th century Spanish composer Tomás Luis de Victoria. On April 8, the vocal group Stile Antico performs Victoria’s motets, and on April 22, the Choir of Corpus Christi Church performs Victoria’s “Missa O magnum mysterium” and sacred works by Guerrero and Morales. Both concerts are at Corpus Christi Church near Columbia University.

Another go-to spot for music from the Baroque era is the Morgan Library and Museum They are hosting the harpsichordist Jean Rondeau performing Bach’s Goldberg Variations on April 19, and New York Baroque Incorporated performing music for viols in a “rush hour” concert on April 24.

The long-lived group Four Nations Ensemble brings a series of intriguing programs to Merkin. On April 9, they’re joined by pianist Spencer Myer in a program of music inspired by the art of Antoine Watteau by Couperin, Rameau, Debussy, Ravel and others.

The Juilliard School has an outstanding Historical Performance program, and this month they present Rameau’s first opera, "Hippolyte et Aricie." Performances are on April 17, 19 and 21 at Sharp Theater at Juilliard.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art brings us early music programs in two very appropriate spaces this month, as part of their Met Live Arts series. "Missa Papae Marcelli" by Palestrina will be performed by The Clarion Choir and Brass Consort from The Clarion Orchestra at the Met's reverberant Medieval Sculpture Hall on April 6. And on April 15, there is a program designed specifically for the Unicorn Tapestries Room at The Met Cloisters. The concert on April 15 features the counter tenor José Lemos accompanied by lute, harp, flute and vielle. Songs by twelfth-century troubadours intertwine with Renaissance court music that dates from the time of the tapestries.

For other early music concerts this month and throughout the year in New York, check out the Gotham Early Music Scene (GEMS) website.

In addition to this abundance of early music performances, I have to also mention a few “unmissable” events this month. The Los Angeles Philharmonic comes to Lincoln Center for two programs conducted by Gustavo Dudamel on April 27 and 29. The cellist Yo-Yo Ma with the Silk Road Ensemble is worth the short trip over the river to NJPAC on April 8, and Kremerata Baltica with pianist Daniil Trifonov come to Carnegie Hall on April 25 and 26.

Happy listening!