Early Music Afternoons at the Somerville Museum continues its twenty-third season on Sunday, January 29, with a program of early Renaissance music from England, featuring mezzo-soprano Pamela Dellal and El Dorado Ensemble (Carol Lewis, Mai-Lan Broekman, Paul Johnson, Janet Haas and Alice Mroszczyk, viols; Olav Chris Henriksen, lute and renaissance guitar) with special guest Wendy Gillespie, viol. The concert titled “The Tudor Consort” highlights songs, dances, fantasies and solos by English and Continental composers of the 16th and very early 17th century.
The English King Henry VIII was a true Renaissance aristocrat; his vast knowledge of everything included not only an avid interest in music, but also skills as a composer and performer. He gathered a large group of the best musicians, both singers and instrumentalists, around him at court. His daughter Elizabeth I, herself an avid dancer, continued the tradition as patron of a golden age for English music. In this concert you will hear works by some of the court favorites including Henry VIII himself, as well as the lutenist Philip van Wilder and court composers Alfonso Ferrabosco I, Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, John Johnson, Thomas Morley and others.
Mezzo-soprano Pamela Dellal is an acclaimed soloist and recitalist whose singing has been praised for her "exquisite vocal color," "musical sensitivity," and "eloquent phrasing" (Boston Globe). She performs frequently with Boston Musica Viva, Ensemble Chaconne, Blue Heron Renaissance Choir, Favella Lyrica and the Musicians of the Old Post Road; she has been a regular soloist in the Emmanuel Music Bach Cantata series for over 25 years. Viola da gambist Wendy Gillespie has performed with ensembles worldwide ranging from the English Concert to Ensemble Sequentia. She teaches early bowed strings, early music performance, and notation at the Jacobs School of Music (Indiana University). The members of El Dorado Ensemble are all active Boston-area musicians, frequently heard in concerts and recordings throughout the region.
An informal reception follows the concert.
