30th Anniversary SoHIP Summer Concert Series

New venues this season! - St. Anne's in-the-Field, Lincoln & First Lutheran Church, Boston -
in addition to the Chapel at West Parish, Andover.

June 21-23 Meravelha
Uncivil Discourse: Political Songs for Election Year

The quest for political power has changed little over the centuries. Kings and Presidents, popes and senators all have their partisans, their detractors, their scandals and their victories. Long before today's 24-hour news cycle, the propaganda machine ran on verse. These songs decry corrupt clergy, lament the loss of a beloved monarch, or toe the party line for whoever is footing the bill. With political polemics from across the eurozone complemented by readings from late antique and medieval writers, Uncivil Discourse provides a colorful picture of political life in the Middle Ages.

Teri Kowiak (director & voice), Karen Burciaga (vielle & hurdy-gurdy), Barbara Allen Hill (voice & recorder), Jaya Lakshminarayanan (voice & harp), Daniel Meyers (voice, winds & percussion), & Ari Nieh (voice)

June 28-30 Colla Parte
17th-Century German Music for Trombones and Voices

Music was an integral part of the Lutheran service long before Bach composed his timeless masterpieces. Seventeenth Century Germany had its own wellspring of inspired works of grandeur and intimacy, beauty and poignancy. This program includes works for trombone ensemble and voices by Heinrich Schutz, Samuel Scheidt, Andreas Hammerschmidt, and Bach's predecessor in Leipzig, Johann Hermann Schein.

Barbara Allen Hill, Elise Groves, Clare McNamara, & Jacob Cooper (voices), Motoaki Kashino, Garrett Lahr, Liza Malamut & Bodie Pfost (trombones), & Francis Conover Fitch (organ)

July 5-7 Cavalier Consort
Music from Court and College: A musick meeting from Oxford

In the 1640s, the city of Oxford hosted the royal court - and its musical establishment - as tensions between king and parliament became too great for Charles to remain in London.  Twenty years later, after stability and the monarchy were restored, Oxford was once again a musical center. The school of music hosted regular meetings where a mixed group of professional and highly skilled amateur musicians met to play the intricate and exciting new music by luminaries such as Christopher Gibbons, Christopher Simpson, and Matthew Locke. This musick meeting explores both of these Oxfordian styles - the airs and dances for royal entertainment, and the abstract works of the university players. 

Chelsey Belt & Karen Burciaga (violins), Nathaniel Cox (theorbo), Carol Lewis (bass viol), Vivian Montgomery (organ), & James Williamson (bass viol & cello)

July 12-14 Ensemble ad Libitum
The Clarinet Collaboration

The clarinet was the last of the woodwind instruments to join the orchestra as a permanent member and thus the last woodwind instrument to come into its own as a solo and chamber music participant. Virtuoso clarinetist Thomas Carroll showcases the ease with which this instrumental newcomer found a home in chamber music. The broad lyricism of Mozart's Quartet K.378 contrasts with the raw virtuosity of Crusell's Quartet in Eb Major, and Vanhal's Bb Major Trio presents the clarinet as an equal to the violin. Demonstrating the ability of the clarinet to both complement and rise above the string sound, this program foreshadow the works of Weber and Brahms to come.

Thomas Carroll (clarinet), Go Yamamoto (violin), Zoe Kemmerling (viola), & Denise Fan (violoncello)

July 19-21 Gold and Glitter
Crossing Borders: 18th Century Masterpieces from Germany and France

From the canals of Venice and music salons in German courts to the bright candlelit halls of Versailles, the early music ensemble Gold and Glitter shines a new light on the masterpieces of the Baroque. With a focus on composers who reach across borders to compose music with international flavor, this program includes Couperin's La Piemontoise from Les Nations, Telemann's D Major Paris Quartet, and a trio sonata from that great German composer writing Italian music in London, George Frideric Handel.

Sang Joon Park (flute), Daniel Lee (violin), Martha McGaughey (viola da gamba), & Arthur Haas (harpsichord)

July 26-28 Zweikampf
Sehnsucht: All the Feels of the Late Baroque

Crafted for the over-stimulated souls of today, this program explores the intense emotions and sensitive spirits of the last great era of decadence before the Enlightenment took the fun out of things. From the 'Empfindsamer Stil' - sensitive style - of W.F. Bach to the drastic mood changes of Hypochondria, this program explores all aspects of the 'true and natural feelings', the emotional response so valued for both performer and listener. Featuring works by Zelenka, Rameau, and W.F. Bach, this program will have you reaching for the smelling salts. 

Faythe Vollrath & Stephen Gamboa (harpsichords)