Acclaimed period vocal group Armonia Celeste to perform at the MTSU School of Music on Sunday, Feb. 3
EVENT: Armonia Celeste
Estelí Gomex, Sarah Grifiths, sopranos
Dianna Grabowski, mezzo-soprano
Paula Fagerberg, Baroque triple harp
Lyle Nordstrom, lutes, theorbo, and Baroque guitar
DATE and TIME: Sunday, February 3, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.
PLACE: Hinton Music Hall, Wright Music Building on the MTSU campus
TICKETS: Free admission
Program: The Rebel Queen: Christina’s Swedish Court in Rome
Vocal and instrumental music from 17th Century Rome
by Mazzocchi, Rossi, Pasquini, Carissimi, Pasqualini, Calvi, and Cesti
SUMMARY: The acclaimed period vocal and instrumental ensemble Armonia Celeste will perform music from 17th Century Rome at the MTSU School of Music on Sunday, February 3 at 7:00 p.m. in Hinton Music Hall, in the Wright Music Building, 1439 Faulkinberry Dr., on the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro. Admission is free.
THE ENSEMBLE: Armonia Celeste specializes in rarely heard repertoire from the Italian Renaissance and early Baroque. The group is one of the hottest emerging ensembles in early music, having been a finalist in last year’s Naxos/Early Music America contest that promotes new groups in the field by awarding them a CD produced by Naxos and concerts at major performance venues. The ensemble is comprised of three singers, Estelí Gomez, Dianna Grabowski, and Sarah Griffiths, accompanied by period plucked-string instruments played by Lyle Nordstrom (lute, theorbo, Baroque guitar) and Paula Fagerberg (the rare Baroque triple harp). As a special treat, Paula Fagerberg will be playing on a rare copy of the c. 1630 Barberini Baroque triple harp for this concert. Together the musicians create an unforgettable combination of dramatic expressiveness, florid ornamentation, varied vocal and instrumental colors, and joyous passion.
The concert program, entitled “The Rebel Queen: Christina’s Swedish Court in Rome,” reflects the artistic life of Queen Christina of Sweden, a gender-bending, controversial figure in her time who abdicated the Swedish throne in 1654, shocking contemporary Europe. She became a major musical patron after moving to Rome (becoming a Catholic in the process, also a shocking act for the time). Armonia Celeste’s concert features exquisite sacred music from Christina’s chapels and as well as surprisingly accessible secular pieces from her courts. Music written by such luminaries of the time such as Giacomo Carissimi and Luigi Rossi will be featured. The plucked-string, improvised instrumental accompaniment supports the lovely voices of three women entwining in close harmony—somewhat reminiscent of the Andrews sisters, had they been active 300 years earlier—in trios, duets, and solos, interspersed with instrumental selections, to transport the listener back in time to an age of gilded splendor and political intrigue.
In-depth details about Queen Christina and Armonia Celeste’s concert program may be found at www.armoniaceleste.wordpress.com.
Armonia Celeste--Passionate Performances of Early Baroque Music
Website: www.armoniaceleste.com
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