Early Music Now (EMN) begins its 26th season with the spicy dance rhythms of Ensemble Caprice’s “Salsa Baroque,” a program of music by Latin American and Spanish Baroque composers. The Montréal-based ensemble will perform on period recorders, flutes, guitar, violoncello and percussion.

“Salsa Baroque” features music drawn from the Collection Flores de Música (1706-1709) and the Collection Truxillo del Perú II (c. 1780). Some of the named composers on the program include Domenico Zipoli (1688-1726), G. Fernandes (c. 1570-1629) and J. de Araujo (1648-1712).

Ensemble Caprice has received national and international acclaim for their performances of early music. The ensemble has appeared in several major festivals in Europe and North America, such as London’s Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music, the Regensburg Early Music Festival, the Handel Festival (Halle, Germany) and the Boston Early Music Festival. Under the artistic direction of Matthias Maute and Sophie Larivière, Ensemble Caprice maintains a busy touring schedule, visiting concert halls in England, Germany, Israel, the United States and throughout Canada within the past year.

“This program represents a different approach to Baroque music,” says EMN Artistic Director Charles Q. Sullivan. “Audience members familiar with the harpsichord/cello basso continuo combination will instead be treated to the alternate twist of hearing Ensemble Caprice’s guitar/cello realization.”

The performance takes place 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6, at UW-Milwaukee’s Helene Zelazo Center, with a pre-concert lecture at 4 p.m. Program excerpts will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5, at St. Matthias Episcopal Church in Waukesha.

 

Season Preview

Here is a look at the rest of the Early Music Now season:

New on the early music scene, the New York-based ALBA Consort brings Medieval and early Renaissance music from Spain and the Iberian Peninsula to Milwaukee audiences. Specialists in Mediterranean and European early music, ALBA strives to illuminate the spirit of the beautiful melodies and improvisation that are a major part of this musical tradition (Nov. 17, Wisconsin Lutheran College).

The Boston Camerata joins forces with the Milwaukee Choral Artists for “A Medieval Christmas,” a program that features music from early holiday celebrations interwoven with music from Christian Christmas traditions. In addition to the Camerata, this is a chance to see one of Milwaukee’s most respected ensembles, the Milwaukee Choral Artists (MCA), under the direction of Sharon Hansen in the winter holiday performance of MCA’s final season (Dec. 8, St. Joseph Center Chapel).

Masques, Montréal’s conductor-less Baroque chamber ensemble, is comprised of musicians from Canada’s younger generation. Audiences will experience Masques’ “The Entertainment of Louis XV,” a program featuring music brought to the French court by the king’s mistress Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, the Marquise de Pompadour. The Marquise surrounded herself with prominent writers, painters and composers and took pleasure in sponsoring concerts. The program includes music by Jean-Philippe Rameau, Antoine Dauvergne, and Jean-Joseph Cassan (Feb. 16, 2013, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church).

In March, the famed early music duo Ellen Hargis and Paul O’Dette will perform music for soprano and chitarrone from 17th-century Venice and Rome. The program includes cantatas and chitarrone solos by Barbara Strozzi, Antonio Cesti, Alessandro Scarlatti and others (March 16, 2013, UWM Helene Zelazo Center).

The Rose Ensemble returns to Milwaukee with Slavic Wonders: Feasts and Saints in Early Russia, Poland and Bohemia. The St. Paul, Minn.-based ensemble performs 12-part Baroque motets from the Russian Orthodox tradition, medieval Latin chants for Slavic saints and double chorus works from the Polish Renaissance (April 20, Basilica of St. Josaphat).

Joel K. Boyd is a composer, arranger and classical music editor at Hal Leonard Corp.