|
Please click on the headings below to "jump" to your favorite sections!
|
|
|
Get an inside look at SFEMS each week!
Recently, I've been reading a book about historical improvisation, a subfield of early music that has been gathering much momentum in recent years. From improvising sung polyphony "upon the book" to building whole compositions on the keyboard from a mere bass line, there is a wealth of knowledge that is only starting to be realized in performance with much regularity.
One recurring theme that has struck me is a reminder of how much practice and forethought are required in improvisation, which can often seem magical. In this time of continuing challenge and change, I found that very reassuring as we head towards the end of our regular season and into the Festival and workshops. We've done enough practicing in constantly adapting, and we're thinking through as many contingencies as possible. So here's to hoping that some magic will happen indeed!
|
|
|
Best,
Derek Tam, Executive Director
|
|
Join Us at BFX
June 5-12, 2022!
|
|
After so many cancellations and postponements, we at SFEMS know that you have been impatient for news about our Berkeley Festival & Exhibition (BFX), one of the largest festivals of its kind and an institution on the early music scene.
We can finally announce that main stage tickets are now available! Join us June 5–12, 2022 for the 17th biennial, in-person(!) Berkeley Festival & Exhibition. Over the course of eight days, you'll be treated to a stellar lineup of local, national, and international artists on our concert main stage.
You also won't want to miss the Exhibition & Marketplace, a three-day bazaar featuring dozens of national and international makers and sellers of historical instruments, music scores, books, and paraphernalia, as well as abundant information for all early music lovers.
We are also excited to present the Fringe, a series of independently-produced concerts by soloists and ensembles from around the world.
Exhibitors and Fringe participants, we hope to see you soon.
Among our several partners for the festival will include Early Music America, the premier service organization for historically informed performance in North America. In particular, we welcome the return of the Young Performers Festival and the Emerging Artists Showcase.
Check out berkeleyfestival.org for more information! |
|
|
|
BFX UPDATE:
Exhibition to Move to St. Mark's
|
|
The SFEMS Berkeley Festival’s Exhibition and Marketplace is moving! Come find us in St. Mark's Episcopal Church from Thursday, June 9 through Saturday, June 11, 2022. The Exhibition is where you'll find the work of instrument makers, publishers, retailers, performing and service organizations, and all others who provide materials, information, and support for the early music community—and it's free and open to the public.
We'll see you there!
EXHIBITION OPEN HOURS:
Thursday, June 9: 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Friday, June 10: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Saturday, June 11: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Parish Hall and Lions Hall
St. Mark's Episcopal Church
2300 Bancroft Way, Berkeley
More information about the Exhibition and Marketplace can be found at https://berkeleyfestival.org/exhibition-marketplace/
|
|
Two Weeks Until Debus and Morton—BUY NOW!
|
|
|
After her scintillating virtual debut with SFEMS last season, recorder sensation Tabea Debus and lutenist Paul Holmes Morton explore the mystery and history of the earworm, taking us through some of the most memorable (whether we like it or not!) pieces of the 14th through the 18th centuries.
Whether you’ve attended early music concerts for decades, or are hearing these pieces for the first time, you’ll find yourself walking out the door humming the music of George Frideric Handel, Arcangelo Corelli, Henry Purcell, John Dowland, Claudio Monteverdi, and more!
FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 8:00PM
First Presbyterian Church
1140 Cowper Street at Lincoln, Palo Alto
SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 7:30PM
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
2300 Bancroft Way, Berkeley
Please note venue change from St. John's Presbyterian, Berkeley; ticket holders who purchased before February 5 should have received a notification about seat exchanges.
SUNDAY, APRIL 10, 4:00PM
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church
1111 O’Farrell Street, San Francisco
|
|
Summer Workshops
Registration: Early Bird Deadline Extended to April 8
|
|
Join us for a celebratory return to in-person music making! As we return to summer workshops after a three-year hiatus, we are excited to bring our patented mix of music and community to you in a safe way that meets the needs of this pandemic moment. Click below to learn more about each workshop individually.
Register before March 31 to receive an early bird discount, and don't forget to check your membership status for an additional discount!
Musical Discovery Workshop/Youth Collegium: June 19–25
Midsummer Magick on the Village Green
Pacific Boychoir Academy, Oakland
Baroque Workshop: June 26–July 2
Restoration, Revival, and Regeneration
Medieval/Renaissance Workshop: July 10–16
Lovers and Labyrinths: Songs and Dances in Circles, Celebrating Love, Life, Death, and Rebirth
Recorder Workshop: July 17–23, 2022
New Beginnings: Music for Births, Coronations and Weddings
First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley and First Church Berkeley UCC (First Congregational)
Classical Workshop: August 7–13, 2022
A Tale of Two Cities
School of the Madeleine, Berkeley
***Please note that for the Baroque, Medieval/Renaissance, and Recorder Workshops, we will be unable to offer group accommodations this year because of the continued logistical challenges of the pandemic. However, we hope this transportation and accommodations document will ease your planning for this joyous reunion.***
|
|
Only One More Spring Workshop—Don't Miss It!
|
|
|
*PLEASE NOTE: THE DATE FOR THIS CLASS HAS CHANGED FROM 4/2 TO 4/9.
Please contact Stacey Helley at workshops@sfems.org with any questions.
There's only one more class left in our online Spring workshop sessions...and what luck—now you have an extra week to sign up for it!
These classes have proven phenomenally popular, and they're an easy way to expand your musical knowledge without leaving the comfort of your couch!
In a lighthearted and fun 90-minute online class, Adam Gilbert will teach you songs that are dances, and dances that are songs, from Machaut to Marco (Uccellini, that is)—and how to tell the difference. Sign up while there's still time!
- 4/9*: Adam Gilbert—Ye olde song and dance
|
|
Spring 2022
Sanctuary Salon Concert on April 23
|
|
|
After the success of our November concert, we return with another Sanctuary Salon concert showcasing some of our local artists who have made the Bay Area synonymous with early music! This one-afternoon-only concert is a unique way to sample the riches of our local scene, internationally renowned for its depth and excellence.
Nash Baroque (Vicki Melin, traverso; David Wilson, violin; Farley Pearce, cello; Katherine Heater, harpsichord) will start off the festivities with music written by two sojourners to the British Isles: George Frideric Handel and Francesco Geminiani. We then dive into a medieval fantasy land of trouvère songs and dances—a “game of drones,” if you will—with the harp and percussion duo of Cheryl Ann Fulton & Peter Maund. Finally, Musica Pacifica (Judith Linsenberg, recorder; David Wilson, violin; Alexa Haynes-Pilon, cello and viola da gamba; Katherine Heater, harpsichord) will close off the program with a “short and suite” selection of works from Johann Pachelbel, Jean-Marie Leclair, and Jean-Philippe Rameau.
We will also welcome again exceptional young musicians from the Junior Bach Festival, a Berkeley institution for seven decades.
SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 4:00PM
First Church Berkeley (First Congregational)
2345 Channing Way, Berkeley
|
|
SPOTLIGHT ON: Med/Ren Workshops
|
|
|
|
A photo from our 1987 Med/Ren workshop, including returning teacher Shira Kammen (who apparently doesn't age!), third from left
|
|
When most people think "early music," they think "Baroque"...but there's so much more to early music than just Bach and Handel—and with more being uncovered and performed every year, especially music from non-Western European sources, there's always more to learn about!
This July, come learn about even earlier early music—SFEMS’s ever-popular Medieval/Renaissance Workshop returns live with classes and concerts focusing on special songs, dances, motets, and Masses celebrating the sacred form of the circle and the endless return of love, life, and hope. In addition to a full schedule of four classes per day, you'll enjoy nightly events, including an evening lecture and concerts by students, faculty, and a visiting ensemble. Come play (early music) with us!
More about Lovers and Labyrinths: Songs and Dances in Circles, Celebrating Love, Life, Death, and Rebirth
July 10-16, 2022
First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, Geneva Hall (2420 Channing Way, Berkeley)
First Congregational Church of Berkeley, Sanctuary (2345 Channing Way, Berkeley)
|
|
UPDATED: Covid-19 Protocols for Concerts
|
|
We've updated our protocols!
Please check our website for the latest information.
Like all performing arts organizations in the Bay Area, SFEMS has been carefully monitoring the latest health and safety information coming from the state and the CDC regarding in-person events. In anticipation of our upcoming season, we have put several protocols in place to protect our staff, performers, and audiences. Please refer to our website to learn more about what we're doing to keep you safe, and be sure to check back often, as we will be updating and adjusting as we receive new information. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate these developments together!
|
|
Individual and Full Digital Season "Snapshots" Now Available!
|
|
|
For each of our main stage events in the 2021–22 season, we're producing a separate video program available soon after the live concerts featuring interviews, bonus tracks, and other exclusive insights into our artists and their music.
Please note that, in general, these are NOT full videos of the concerts themselves; instead, they provide a deeper dive into the composers, artists, and music.
We know you will want to savor these extras—concert videos, interviews, and other content not available anywhere else—and we are making them incredibly easy to purchase, at only $10–$15 per Snapshot or $60 for the entire season ($45 for members)! If you are part of a household, you’ll only need to buy one “Snapshot” package for your entire family.
Even though our full Snapshots season is an incredible deal that gives added value to our concert season (or serves as your early music fix if you can't make it to the concerts), the individual modules are the best early music deal we think you'll find anywhere—ideally priced so you can savor them anytime!
Four Snapshots—"The Mixed Style" with The Paris Quartet, our Sanctuary Salon Concert from November 21, The Aulos Ensemble, featuring an exclusive interview with oboist Marc Schachman and excerpts from Aulos' final concert, and excerpts from our January 29 concert with Profeti della Quinta—are now available for individual purchase!
Don't miss out—order yours today!
|
|
Early Music Freelancers' Relief Fund: Twenty-Fourth Round Now Open
|
|
Relief fund grant recipients may apply for a twenty-fourth grant one month after the date they turned in their twenty-third grant applications. If you have continuing need, please resubmit your application. However, there is no need to submit documentation of recently lost work, given the paucity of gigs.
First-time grant applicants, as well as repeat applicants who have received fewer than twenty-three grants, will receive priority. (You may file for a continuing grant one month after the day you turned in your previous application.)
***
SFEMS has been a leader in providing financial help to musicians. We are proud to have consistently provided grants for more than a year and a half, and we have continued to do so long after other organizations stopped providing funds to those artists so profoundly affected by the loss of work and income.
It is because of your generosity that SFEMS has been able to give these grants to our professional musicians for such an extended length of time, and we are grateful for all you have done to help them through these difficult times.
We hope that soon enough, the need for these grants will begin to alleviate.
|
|
Early Music Corner:
The Trecento
|
|
|
|
O pianta vagha (Francesco Landini), performed by members of the Sollazzo Ensemble: Carine Tinney, soprano; Roger Helou, organetto; Anna Danilevskaia, vielle.
|
|
|
Explore a different facet of the early music world each week!
|
|
The Trecento—short for "milletrecento" (1300)—refers to the fourteenth century, but more specifically to the arts in Italy: painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, and, of course, music, all flourished during this point in Italy's history. Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, and many others, including the composer featured above, Francesco Landini, were active during the Trecento period.
There was a constant interchange of ideas and musicians between Italy and France during this period: more secular songs—especially love songs, a holdover from the influence of the troubadours who came to Italy fleeing the Albigensian Crusade in the early 13th century—came into fashion. Also, while octaves and fifths were still common, to avoid parallel intervals composers began using passing tones, creating dissonances that foreshadowed the style of counterpoint used in the Renaissance, and, increasingly, three-part triads and accidentals. As an example, the under-third cadence, involving the melodic drop from the seventh to the sixth before going up again to the octave, became known as the Landini Cadence because of its frequent use in his music. It can be found in most of the music of the period, especially after him, attesting to the sharing of musical influences among composers.
In contrast to the other arts, Trecento music had a greater flowering in the latter half of the fourteenth century (and in fact is often considered to extend well into the fifteenth century, ending around 1420). But flower it did: in addition to Landini, Italy produced a number of composers whose works can still be heard today, including Niccolò da Perugia, Lorenzo da Firenze, and Donato da Cascia.
To get a taste of the Trecento, enjoy this madrigal by Francesco Landini, performed here by the Sollazzo Ensemble, whom we have the pleasure of welcoming to BFX on June 7 and June 9.
Curious? You can read a bit more about the music of the Trecento here.
* = I hope to go into more detail about this cross-pollination next week. Stay tuned!
|
|
|
Our lively Facebook community brings you the latest SFEMS updates, contests, and more! Don't miss out on making new friends, fascinating discussions, and a chance to share the joy of early music!
5,000+ likes and counting!
Thank you, as always, to our new Facebook followers.
|
|
|
Please note that this is only a summary listing—click on the button below for more information about each concert.
|
|
Saturday, April 2
Berkeley Baroque Strings: Italian Masters
Sunday, April 3
Voci Women's Vocal Ensemble: Sacred Baroque
|
|
Want your early music event featured on the SFEMS Weekly Calendar? Contact us here and online at sfems.org.
To submit a listing, email Communications Manager Heidi Waterman at communications@sfems.org. Please contact us no later than the Wednesday before the Monday publication. Listings will be edited for length and clarity.
|
|
|
|
