The Academy of Early Music

The Academy of Early Music

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Vocal Arts Ensemble

Sunday, December 20 at 4:00 pm: "Heaven and Earth: VAE with Brass" This 28 voice chamber choir, directed by Benjamin Cohen, presents a holiday program merging the ringing sounds of voices and brass in Pinkham's Christmas Cantata, "Hodie Christus natus est" by Gabrieli, and the "Psalm 100" by Schutz. Also, traditional carols and Hanukkah music. Special musical guests: members of the Motor City Brass Ensemble. Reception to follow. Genesis of Ann Arbor, 2309 Packard. Admission $20; 65 yo and over and students, $15. Discount advance tickets and information at www.vocalartsannarbor.org or at 665-7823 or 741-7451.

Grail Singers Perform Italian Baroque Music

At 8:00 on Saturday, November 21st, the Ann Arbor Grail Singers under director Carmen Cavallaro will perform a concert of Italian convent music from the 1600s at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 306 N. Division, Ann Arbor. The program includes performances by local early musicians Debra Lonergan, cello and viola da gamba; Beth Gilford, recorders; and Deborah Friauff, organ, who will also accompany the singers.

The 16-voice women’s choir has performed in the Detroit Institute of Arts “Brunch with Bach” Series, at the Toledo Art Museum, at the University of Michigan Museum of Art, and at other venues in Michigan and Ohio. The Ann Arbor Grail Singers have been lauded for the beauty of their sound, and “their musicality, precision, balance, and intonation” (Current Magazine).

A feature of the Michigan musical scene since 1995, the Ann Arbor Grail Singers were founded and directed until her death by Lynn Malley. They are now directed by Carmen Cavallaro, who has been active in the local early music community since Ars Musica days. Carmen sang tenor with Vox early music ensemble and currently sings in the Birmingham First Chamber Choir.

About the Program

The cornerstone of the program is the dramatic Gloria from a Mass for women’s voices by Francesco Gasparini, who taught and composed in Venice, one of the few places where women were allowed to sing publicly in church services in the 1600s. Domenico Scarlatti was one of Gasparini’s students. Described as “impressive, florid and immediately appealing,” this Mass is a richly varied work that involves the entire ensemble plus solos, duets and trios.

The concert includes works by

·          Sulpitia Cesis (1577 – after 1619), composer and lutenist at the convent of San Agostino in Modena

·          Bianca Maria Meda (c. 1665 – after 1700), a Benedictine nun in the convent of San Martino del Leano in Pavia

·          Ivan Lukacic (1584 –1648), conductor and organist in the Split Cathedral; his 1620 collection Sacrae cantiones was lost during World War II and rediscovered in the 1980s in Krakow

·          Giulio Cesare Arresti (1619 – 1701), Bolognese composer who dedicated his works to Giulia Maria Vittoria Malvezzi, a nun at the monastery of Santa Maria Nuova in Bologna, praising her for her musical and instrumental skills

The program also features portions of a Mass, as well as a nativity dialog between angels and shepherds by the Benedictine nun Chiara Margarita Cozzolani, abbess of the convent of Santa Radegonda, one of the most celebrated ensembles of cloistered women musicians in 17th-century Italy.

Mark Your Calendars

The Ann Arbor Grail Singers’ concert will take place at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 21st, at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 306 North Division, Ann Arbor. Open seating tickets, available at the door from 7:30, are $15 general admission, $12 seniors, $5 students (cash or check only, please). For more information about the program and the performers, call 734-662-0631.

Three early music events are coming up at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. All are free and open to the public.

Wednesday, November 11, 8 p.m., in the Blanche Anderson Moore hall, eleven harpsichord students of Edward Parmentier will perform works from Bull and Byrd to J. S. Bach and Rameau.

Saturday, November 21, 8 p.m., in the Blanche Anderson Moore hall, the Baroque Chamber Orchestra will perform works of Handel, Schein, Scheidt, François Couperin, and Purcell.

Saturday, December 12, 4 p.m., in the Blanche Anderson Moore hall, the Early Music Ensembleperforms motets by De Wert, Palestrina and Byrd; a madrigal by Philips; and chamber music by Frescobaldi, Lawes, J. S. Bach, Leclair, François Couperin, Telemann, and Rameau.

Mark your calendars for the 2009 - 2010 concerts now, and watch this space for details about more concerts on the Academy series and from other Academy members.

St. Andrews Provides Ideal Venue for Early Music

St. Andrews’ location is 306 North Division, Ann Arbor; concertgoers have permission to park in the Community High School and Ann Arbor News parking lots, each just a block away.

(See the parking map on the Downloads page.)