The Newberry Consort Presents ‘Four Queens and a Joker’ April 23 to 24

The Newberry Consort is pleased to announce that it is presenting “Four Queens and a Joker” April 23 and 24, a concert featuring two hilarious cantatas from the 17th and 18th centuries in which four singers, eight instrumentalists and one stage director variously sing, dance, play and recreate games from the period.

These concerts will be the final performances for husband-and-wife team Ellen Hargis and David Douglass as co-artistic directors of the Consort, who will be retiring from the Consort at the end of the season. Douglass has been performing with the Consort since it was founded in 1986, and he assumed the role of artistic director in 2007, when the Consort became independent of the Newberry Library.

Hargis, a soprano who is well-known in the early music world, joined Douglass as co-artistic director in 2009, and over their tenure, they have continued to perform rarely heard music from the medieval era to the Renaissance and beyond. Some of the highlights of their tenure include presenting a concert of music from Lincoln’s America; researching, editing and performing three programs of 17th century Mexican convent music; and putting on a staged production of Elizabethan jigs in honor of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. Their programs have been considered inspiring and innovative, as well as historically informed.

“It’s been an honor to hold this dream job, to create all these programs and to work with our stellar roster of musicians,” Hargis said. “While we will stay with the Consort in an advisory capacity, we are ready for other challenges and are delighted to pass the baton to the next generation.”

A free reception featuring wine and hors d’oeuvres will be held to celebrate Hargis and Douglass’ tenure following both performances.

In “Four Queens and a Joker,” the Consort will do what they do best — bring fun and life to rarely heard music that is centuries old. In this concert, audiences will hear three pieces by Italian composers from the 17th and 18th centuries that are all about playing games. The music will be performed by four sopranos, violin, viola, two mandolins, theorbo, harpsichord, a bass violin and a dancer.

The first piece in the concert is an intermezzo by Italian composer Virgilio Mazzocchi, which was performed as comic relief between acts of a serious opera. Titled “La Civetta,” or Little Owl, it’s about a hunting game and is also a euphemism for flirting. Although this piece has long languished in obscurity, the Consort is pleased to be collaborating with Italian scholar Aldo Roma to present the piece on stage from his recent research.

The second piece is a cantata called “Il Giuoco del Quadriglio” or The Game of Quadrille. The piece is full of snark, sass, and sarcasm, with the text set to gorgeous music with arias for sopranos with obbligato violin, recorder, and two mandolins. Both cantatas will be staged and directed by Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière, a baroque dancer and choreographer who has directed and choreographed more than 30 baroque and contemporary operas in Canada and on international stages. Lacoursière will appear onstage as three different characters, bringing her flair for commedia dell’arte to the production.

The concert also features Giovanni Sammartini’s famous sonata for baroque mandolin, which will be played by Daniel Swenberg, accompanied by Brandon Acker.

Performances are April 23 at 8 p.m. at International House at the University of Chicago and April 24 at 3 p.m. at Galvin Recital Hall at Northwestern University in Evanston. Tickets are $50.

PERFORMANCE DETAILS

Four Queens and a Joker

Saturday, April 23, 2022 at 8 p.m.
International House, University of Chicago, 1414 E. 59th St., Chicago
Tickets $50

Sunday, April 24, 2022 at 3 p.m.
Galvin Recital Hall, Northwestern University, 70 Arts Circle Dr., Evanston
Tickets $50

Free reception to follow the concert

Tickets available at https://www.newberryconsort.org.

About the Newberry Consort:
Directed by David Douglass, Newberry Musician-in-Residence, and early music diva Ellen Hargis, the Newberry Consort plumbs the Newberry Library’s vast music collection and assembles a star-studded roster of local and international artists to bring you world-class performances of music from the 13th to the 18th centuries…and occasionally beyond! Affiliated with the Newberry Library Center for Renaissance Studies, the Consort also serves as an ensemble-in-residence at Northwestern University. In addition to an annual concert series in Chicago, the Consort has an active touring schedule.