Corelli and Neil Gow
Ruckus featuring Keir GoGwilt and Fiona Gillespie

Sláinte Mhath! January 25 is the birthday of Scottish poet Robert Burns, and each year since 1801 the event is celebrated with poetry and song. Ruckus and violin virtuoso Keir GoGwilt celebrate the legacy of Niel Gow (b. Perthshire, 1727-1807), known as ‘the Scottish Corelli’ alongside sonatas of his namesake, in this dynamic folk-Baroque feast. Weaving together Corelli’s sonatas with the jubilant, hard-driving and nostalgic tunes of Niel Gow, Ruckus and GoGwilt bring the 18th-century tradition of blending folk and art music to the present day.

“GoGwilt has…utter command of the wild rhythmic energy needed to make this repertoire sparkle, not to mention being unafraid to crunch his bow against the strings”
—Early Music America

Holiday 
Burns Night

On the Radio
10:00am, Friday, February 6
WKCR 89.9FM & online

Musicians:
Keir GoGwilt, Fiona Gillespie, Doug Balliett, Elliot Figg, Paul Holmes Morton, Jonny Allen and Clay Zeller-Townson

Concert generously sponsored by Drew Minter, Kathleen Roberts, and Howard Clyman

The Gesualdo Six and Concert Theatre Works

Following the huge international success of Secret Byrd, creator/director Bill Barclay teams up for a second collaboration with The Gesualdo Six to celebrate their namesake composer, Carlo Gesualdo (1566-1613).

Infamous for murdering his wife and her lover, Gesualdo’s tortured chromaticism anticipated musical romanticism by 200 years. His madrigals and Tenebrae – the mass he wrote for his own death – form the backbone of a new theatrical concert that superimposes his life over his music.

Haunting, vexing, and wildly fascinating, this anti-Valentine’s Day program may best befit a Friday the 13th. 

Commissioned by The Church of St Martin-in-the-Fields for its 300th birthday, The National Centre for Early Music in York, and Music Before 1800.

“Effortless Perfection.”
—The Observer, of Secret Byrd

Holiday 
Friday the 13th

Concert Stream
March 2-16

Bill Barclay artistic director
Will Tuckett choreographer
Owain Park music director

Dancers:
Doria Bramante, Thomas Brazzle, Kristin Wold, Kat Humes, Ryan Winkles, Markus Weinfurter

Virtual concert generously sponsored by Bruce Garetz

A Castrato in Ireland
Irish Baroque Orchestra with Hugh Cutting, countertenor

A rare New York performance by Ireland’s flagship period music ensemble adorns St. Patrick’s Day weekend with the story of Giusto Tenducci, superstar castrato of 1760s Dublin. Artistic Director Peter Whelan and countertenor Hugh Cutting explore the musical context of Ireland against the scandalous details of Tenducci’s story.

Featuring music by Mozart, Gluck, J.C. Bach, Fischer, Arne and Giordani, Tenducci’s titillating travails uncover a salacious chapter in Dublin’s history never before exhumed by Music Before 1800.

“The excellent Irish Baroque Orchestra play wonderfully for Whelan, who conducts with great elegance and elan.”
—The Guardian

Holiday 
St. Patrick’s Day

Director:
Peter Whelan

Concert generously sponsored by Gerald and Eleanor McGee

Co-presented by The Irish American Historical Society

 The Irish Baroque Orchestra’s performance is supported by Culture Ireland.

Crossroads of Three Faiths
Apollo’s Fire

In this musical tour of the four quarters of Old Jerusalem (Jewish, Christian, Arab, and Armenian / Byzantine), surprising cross-influences emerge.

A Sabbath prayer leads to a Sephardic ballad of a lover betrayed; selections from Monteverdi’s great Vespers of 1610 echo the rapturous singing of Jewish cantors; a classical Arabic love song leads poignantly into the wild Longa Farahfaza, an instrumental romp. This Passover and Easter, celebrate the love, singing, dancing and prayer that mark all Abrahamic religions in their spring renewal.

“Brims with energy and imagination… Programmed with real vision and beautifully performed, a mesmerising portrait of Old Jerusalem reimagined through sound.”
—BBC Music Magazine

Holiday 
Easter and Passover

Concert Stream
April 27-May 11

Conceived and Directed by
Jeannette Sorrell

Virtual concert generously sponsored by Roger and Whitney Bagnall

Didem Basar, kanun

To celebrate the Muslim festival Eid al-Adha, Turkish kanun virtuoso Didem Basar intertwines two influences: Turkish and Western classical music. The dialogue is enriched by Turkish maqams (modes), ornate rhythmic cycles and astonishing improvisation, blended with compositions that have a distinctly impressionist approach.

A quartet of artists familiar to MB1800 from the beloved Constantinople programs distinguish our series in its embrace of early musics from around the world.

Co-presented with The World Music Institute

“Continuum is the cry of all those who have died and been forgotten.”
—Didem Basar

Direction, Composition, Kanun
Didem Basar

Bass Flute and Transverse Flute
Guy Pelletier

Cello
Dominique Beauséjour-Ostiguy

Percussion
Patrick Graham (@instagramhandle, personalsite.com)