(Un)veiling Conference at UM

The University of Michigan The Rhetorics and Rituals of (Un)veiling
in Early Modern Europe

Venus {un} Veiled

Ellen Hargis - soprano
Judith Malafronte - mezzo soprano
Paul O'Dette - baroque guitar, theorbo
Pat O'Brien - baroque guitar
Andrew Lawrence-King - baroque harp, director

Songs from 17th-century Spain - Dances from Africa & Mexico - Opera from Peru

THE HARP CONSORT (Director Andrew Lawrence-King) reveals the vibrant colours of Spanish Baroque music: secular songs of love, desire, triumph and tragedy, the tonos humanos; elegant and passionate poetry set as sacred cantatas; exotic and sensual dance-music for those typically Hispanic continuo instruments, double harp and the baroque guitar; and scenes from the first New-World opera, La púrpura de la rosa.

17th-century Hispanic music has until recently languished behind a veil, heard dimly as the precursor of the high Baroque of the 18th century or as a local variant of the international italianate style. New research, in particular the information on performance practice concealed within Ribayaz's 1677 collection of Spanish dances, Luz y Norte, has restored the characteristic rhythmic swing and the rich expressiveness, the true ayre or mood, to the compositions of such neglected masters as Hidalgo, Durón and Murcia.

If the fresh, energetic rhythms of Hispanic dance and the transparent tone-colours of harp and guitar unveil the colours and passions of this repertoire, the subtlety and complexity of the poetry cloaks the texts with rich layers of imagery and allusion. Divine love is veiled in the language of human desire, religious adoration of the Holy Sacrament is expressed in the metaphors of the Song of Solomon; Venus's illicit love for Adonis is both disguised and revealed by the sensual beat of forbidden dances; earthy South American zarabandas are decently clothed in the guise of a French Sarabande; and the wild gyrations of the folías are softened in noble variations over Les Folies d'Espagne. Above all, the improvised harmonies and spontaneous ornamentation of the accompanying continuo instruments swathe the music in richly varied tones, decorating the bare outline of the written music and exposing the inner meaning of the poetic texts.

Songs from 17th-century Spain
Dances from Africa & Mexico - Opera from Peru
Saturday October 4, 1997 at 8:00 p.m.
University Reformed Church, 1001 East Huron, Ann Arbor, MI

Pre-concert lecture by Professor Louise K. Stein at 7:15 p.m.
"Hearing Venus: the Rhetoric of (Un)Veiling and Seduction in 17th-century Hispanic Songs."
University Reformed Church

Presented by the Conference on
The Rhetorics and Rituals of (Un)veiling in Early Modern Europe
University of Michigan.

Tickets $20 ($15 students) can be purchased: in town at SKR Classical, Tower Records, Warehouse Records, and Hudsons; Ticket-Master charge by phone (810) 645-6666; or at the door.

The Harp Consort

The Harp Consort is a group of musicians who specialise in improvisation within the various styles of baroque, renaissance and medieval music. The original Harp Consort was created in 17th-century England at the court of Charles I: unlike the string orchestra (also formed at this time) in which many musicians played the same kind of instrument, the Consorte brought together diverse types of solo instruments to create new sounds, following the italianate fashion for colourful combinations of harp, lutes, keyboards and strings.

Like the 17th-century Consorte, The Harp Consort is formed around the accompanying instruments of the basso continuo, bringing together a rich variety of timbres and an international team of musicians. Although continuo-players have a written bass-line, they must improvise harmonies and melodic figures on different instruments and in the appropriate style for the period and country. The Harp Consort takes continuo as a model for all kinds of performance, combining the spontaneity of improvisation with careful attention to the particular colours of each repertoire.

The Harp Consort's repertoire ranges from solo songs to baroque opera, from medieval drama to new music for early instruments, from the delicacy of instrumental chamber music to the exuberance of Irish dance. The ensemble's debut CD Luz y Norte (17th-century dance-music from Spain, Italy, South America and Africa) was eleased on DHM in 1995. Since then the ensemble has released recordings of William Lawes (Berlin Classics) and Henry Purcell (Astree Auvidis) and a programme of Baroque Irish music, Carolan's Harp. Forthcoming records include concertos by Bach, Handel and Vivaldi, The Italian Concerto; the medieval Play of Daniel and Vivaldi's Four Seasons as well as the first New World opera, La púrpura de la rosa. This season's touring programme takes Andrew Lawrence-King and The Harp Consort around Europe and Scandinavia, to Japan, to the USA (six seperate concert tours), and for the second year running to the Sydney Opera House.

Venus {un} Veiled

The Harp Consort

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