Taxes, Cornetti, & Sackbuts: Oh my!

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Tax season: so fun, beautiful, and revelatory! The answer to life! Yep, working on taxes always puts me in such a calm and reflective mood, especially during Easter week, when church-singers pretty much live at their respective churches. 

Also fun, beautiful, and revelatory: the Notre-Dame concert from late March. The guys did great (even when given a starting pitch that was a minor 3rd too high—way to use that technique, basses!) Many, many, many kudos and thanks to Dr. Rebecca Baltzer for her suggestions, guidance, and music transcriptions. We hope to revisit this rep soon. Or something similar. Machaut? Stay tuned!

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But, you know, sometimes you just have to pause and take a look in the mirror and think calmly to yourself, "Holy moly! We're doing the Monteverdi Vespers in 3 weeks!!! Batten down the hatches! All hands on deck! Trim the mainsail! Find a can-opener! 

As Schroeder exclaims, "Monteverdi is IT, clear and simple!" The Vespero della Beata Vergine of 1610 is amazing and monumental and I'm thrilled that TEMP is in a position to take on such a stupendous project! We have several distinguished guests joining the equally wonderful core group for this concert. Cornetti, sackbuts, strings, 3 theorbos, harp, organ, and more! And this will mark cornettist Douglas Kirk's (former Clearlight Waites and UT Early Music Ensemble director's) first concert with TEMP in a decade. Cornetti? What are they, you ask?  Watch Meredith's informative and fun video about the cornetto! 

Have I mentioned that it's gonna be a doozy to celebrate Monteverdi's 450th birthday? (He was born May 9, so we'll be a few days late...) This is the last doozy of the season and the wise concert goer should get tickets soon!

Oh, and there's this raffle thing! Check it out! Invite TEMP to perform for your private event!

Read more about the Vespers below...with audio teasers....Holy moly!!
-Danny

Monteverdi 1610

Saturday, May 13, 2017 at 7PM, with pre-concert lecture at 6PM
Sunday, May 14, 2017 at 3PM, with pre-concert lecture at 2PM
Both performances at Northwest Hills United Methodist Church
7050 Village Center Drive, Austin, TX 78731

Admission $30 general; $25 seniors (60+); $5 students (at the door only)
Tickets available in advance online or by cash, check, or credit card at the door.

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

TEMP rounds out its season of musical transition and innovation with the monumental Monteverdi Vespero della Beata Vergine of 1610 and it’s just in time to celebrate the composer's 450th birthday—May 9, 1567.

Claudio Monteverdi was a major power in the transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque, and his Vespers of 1610 includes elements of both musical eras. The Vespers is a powerhouse of widely diverse styles from beginning to end, ranging from virtuosic solos and duets to exuberant double-choir pieces in a glorious fusion of late Renaissance and early Baroque styles. Enjoy these audio teasers from the Andrew Parrott/Taverner Consort recording:

The 27-voice chorus includes guest soloists tenor Ryland Angel, bass Peter Walker, and tenor Temmo Korisheli. The rest of the many soloists are part of TEMP’s core singers, including Gitanjali Mathur, Jenifer Thyssen, Cayla Cardiff, Brett Barnes, and others.

The expanded early Baroque orchestra includes 3 cornetti, 3 early trombones, bowed strings, and an amazing continuo section of 3 theorbos, harp, portative organ, and harpsichord.

Don’t miss the pre-concert lecture 1 hour before each concert by KMFA's Sara Schneider!

Come celebrate Monteverdi's 450th birthday with a concert that would have lit all the candles on his birthday cake!

Click on the image to purchase tickets now!

Amplify the Notre-Dame doozy while re-setting your clocks

I don't know if it was the invitation to watch kolaches being cooked in Meredith's kitchen or what, exactly—but we exceeded our $7500 goal for Amplify Austin by more than $800!! Thanks to all who donated, of course, and thanks to the team that helped with publicizing and working to get this together, not only in the TEMP team but also the Amplify team! Please watch our thank-you video on our Gallery page! You're brilliant! The funds will go to the Monteverdi 1610 Vespers concert and it will be a doozy!

But first—a more subtle, relaxed, transparent doozy. (That's a technical term I learned in musicology classes: If something is really good and special, no matter the size of the event, it's a doozy!) The Notre Dame concert coming up on March 25 & 26 is one that we present with pride and joy, partly because no one else in this area does this rep, but also because we get the joy of collaborating with Dr. Rebecca Baltzer, renowned scholar and musicologist who has uncovered many doozies from the Notre Dame repertoire as well as much more. By the by, the acclaimed ensemble Anonymous 4 profited manyfold by collaborating with her. We're lucky because she's right here in Austin and comes to our concerts as well as concerts by other local groups. She raises the bar on how to be a supporter of real 'live' early music, right here in the Violet Crown. 

And the music? It's a beautifully transcendent [sometimes rousing] experience. Doozy to the max! There are toe tappers—don't worry! Learn more about our Notre Dame concert below and listen to some audio teasers!

More soon. Change your clocks this Sunday morning. . .
-Danny

Notre Dame Cathedral, c. 1200

Saturday, March 25, 2017 at 8PM
St. Mary Cathedral, 203 East 10th Street

Sunday, March 26, 2017 at 3PM
First Presbyterian Church, 8001 Mesa

Admission $30 general; $25 seniors (60+); $5 students (at the door only)
Tickets available in advance online or by cash, check, or credit card at the door.

Special note about parking for St. Mary Cathedral on Saturday, March 25:
Where: Capital Towers parking garage immediately behind (south of) the church. The entry is on San Jacinto Street. The other option is metered street parking.
Details:
* Take a ticket to park. Keep your parking ticket with you!
* Take the elevator to LEVEL 2 (also labeled PG).
* Validate your ticket at the table with the self-serve validation machine. 
* Follow signs to the church entrance at the front of the Cathedral on 10th St.
* Enjoy the concert!
* As you leave the parking garage, insert validated ticket at the garage exit.

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

From meditative chant to rousing polyphony, TEMP explores the groundbreaking music of Léonin and Pérotin of the 12th-century School of Notre-Dame, whose musical innovations are the foundation for almost all the music we enjoy today in the Western world. TEMP is proud to collaborate with Dr. Rebecca Baltzer, recognized worldwide as an expert on the music of Notre-Dame Cathedral during the Middle Ages.

Though solemn, a sense of joy and celebration permeate this music, echoing the ecstasy of the Marian movement during the 12th and 13th centuries. Rhythmically complex polyphonic pieces known as organum act as a wonderful complement to the dance-like conductus and the even older plainchant. Enjoy these audio teasers:

We also include a few works that reveal the lighter sides of the lives of the monks with semi-secular works featuring vielle player, Mary Springfels, and harpist, Therese Honey.

Our a cappella choir of fifteen male voices perform in the beautifully renovated St. Mary Cathedral and the quietly intimate space of First Presbyterian. Guest artists Temmo Korisheli (California) and Ryland Angel (New York) join some of Austin’s best singers, including Jeffrey Jones-Ragona, Steve Olivares, David Lopez, Tim O’Brien, and others.

Join us in celebration of early polyphonic music that provided the impetus for generations of composers to come.

Click on the image to purchase tickets now!