We've received much praise for our innovative concert programs, which are often quite a bit more than just an hour or two of beautiful and interesting music. We believe that music can help to bring history to life, and that conversely, getting a feel for the social and historical context of a piece can increase our audience's enjoyment of the music. With that in mind, here are synopses of some of our critically acclaimed programs:
Pilgrims’
Progress: Music For the Plimoth Colony Settlers (PDF
of concert program)
Most Americans are taught that their earliest English forefathers were a small
group of pioneers who came to the New World seeking religious freedom, built
a thriving and harmonious colony in Massachusetts, and celebrated the first
Thanksgiving with the help of friendly Native American allies. In reality,
the “Pilgrims” were a diverse and sometimes fractious group of
Puritans and Anglicans, religious zealots and irreverent opportunists, many
of whom had lived in the Netherlands prior to their emigration, and some of
whom were Dutch. They brought with them a repertoire of music as diverse as
their reasons for coming to the New World, and the Plimoth Colony heard not
just solemn English psalms, but also catches, ballads, dance tunes, Dutch
divisions, and occasionally the rarefied music of the English court. One of
the Plimoth Colony settlers was even banished to what is now Maine for his
no-holds-barred music parties, where men danced with women (!) and the Wampanoag
drank beer and rum with their English neighbors (perhaps the closest thing
to a real “Thanksgiving” that colonial Massachusetts ever experienced).
This program features music from Thomas Morley, Robert Johnson, Thomas Ravenscroft,
the Dutch collection ‘t Uitnement Kabinet, the Bay Psalm Book, and John
Playford’s Dancing Master.
The
World Turn’d Upside Down: The English Civil War (PDF
of concert program)
The tumultuous years of the English Civil War and Interregnum (1640-1660)
produced music that resonated deeply for both commoners and nobility throughout
the British Isles. The royalist Cavaliers and Cromwell’s “roundheads”
both had active propaganda machines, and each side produced ballads and songs
that satirized the opposition and promoted their own views, or glorified martial
heroes such as the dashing Prince Rupert of the Rhine. The court of Charles
I also contained many notable musicians, including the viol player and composer
William Lawes; he gave his life for the Royalist cause, but not before composing
some of the most sublime and bizarre consort music of the 17th century. This
program features music from Lawes, Locke, Alfonso Ferrabosco the Younger,
The Division Violin, and original Seven Times Salt settings of Civil War ballads
and songs.
Fortune
My Foe: The English Expatriates (PDF
of concert program)
Some of the finest composers in 17th-century England spent most of their careers
in other countries; for some, this was purely a professional consideration,
and for others, they were avoiding religious discrimination or even the long
arm of the law! The most famous of these is probably John Dowland, the melancholy
lutenist who became England’s foremost musical ambassador to northern
Europe; however, there were many others, including the keyboardist John Bull,
the viol player (and mercenary soldier) Tobias Hume, and the violinists Thomas
Simpson and William Brade. These English expatriates informed a whole generation
of Continental composers, and eventually some of them even gained recognition
in their native land. This program features music by Dowland, Hume, Brade,
Simpson, Peter Phillips, and original arrangements for broken consort of keyboard
works by John Bull.
A
Brave Barrel of Oysters: Music of Samuel Pepys' London (PDF
of concert program)
Perhaps the English language's most famous diarist, Pepys was a prosperous
civil servant and "man-about-town" in Restoration London, and the
diaries that he kept fastidiously from 1660-1668 provide a revealing glimpse
into the life of a middle-class bon vivant under the reign of the "merry
monarch" Charles II. S.P. was an enthusiastic amateur musician who sang
and played the lute, viol, and flageolet; his diaries chronicle (among other
adventures) his experiences making convivial music with both the best and
the worst musicians that London had to offer. Playing on the very instruments
that Pepys favored, STS brings Pepys' bustling, bewigged, and sometimes bawdy
London to life with dramatic readings from the diaries and selections by Hume,
Humfrey, Blagrave, Young, and Locke (all of whom were friends of Pepys).
Good
Ale and True: Tunes for the Winter Solstice (PDF
of concert program)
Some of the most popular Renaissance music was written for the Christmas season;
many of these pieces are still popular today, and some are little-known gems.
This concert brings together devotional, poignant, celebratory, and sometimes
humorous music celebrating the pagan and Christian traditions of bringing
light and warmth to the midwinter cold. This program, soon to be released
on CD, features original Seven Times Salt arrangements of holiday music from
England, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands.
Sufficient
Grounds (PDF
of concert program)
Ground basses and repeated harmonic patterns form the basis of some of the
most memorable instrumental music from the 17th century—English consort
music, Italian dance music and songs, Spanish divisions, and many other genres
relied on grounds as a common currency. In a program ranging from the rarefied
to the ridiculous, STS explores the many guises of the ground bass, from “Greensleeves”
to “La Follia”. This program, originally premiered as a collaboration
between Seven Times Salt and David Douglass, features music by Michael Farinel,
Marco Uccellini, Henry Purcell, Gasparo Zanetti, and many others, as well
as pieces from The Division Violin, Playford’s Dancing Master, and original
compositions by David Douglass.
For more information about any of these programs,
feel free to contact us directly.