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Concert Review (NYC): The Sebastians with the Yale Voxtet – ‘Voices of...
I wish more people knew how fun Baroque music can be. Classical music audiences seem to expect stillness and sobriety in the concert hall, at least until it’s time to applaud. That holds true even...
View ArticleCathedral of St. John the Divine to host Arvo Pärt’s ‘Passio,’ Orthodox...
Arvo Pärt’s Passion setting Passio has been fairly described as “monumental.” What better setting for it than the world’s largest Gothic cathedral? The Experiential Orchestra (EXO) with solo singers...
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Music is Life: Aspect Chamber Music Series to Present Baroque Love Songs,...
Love and loss ignite the first two 2024 concerts in New York City’s Aspect Chamber Music Series. First up, on February 8, the early music ensemble A Golden Wire featuring soprano Nola Richardson and...
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Concert Review: Experiential Orchestra, Artefact Ensemble – Arvo Pärt...
A sound both ghostly and towering emerged from the rear of the tremendous house: The a cappella choir Artefact Ensemble had begun to sing. Led by Benedict Sheehan, the group performed a series of...
View ArticleConcert Review: A Golden Wire, Nola Richardson, Kevin Payne – Baroque English...
“Love makes us crazy,” writes Parker Ramsay in his program notes to Thursday night’s Aspect Chamber Music concert, “and leads us to do crazy things.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer put it even more...
View ArticleConcert Review (NYC): The Gesualdo Six Turn Grief Inside Out with ‘Lux Aeterna’
Last year the Gesualdo Six commemorated the 400th anniversary of the death of composer William Byrd with a concert program of English motets. On Feb. 17 the British a cappella choir returned to the...
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Reviews: Jordi Savall and Hespèrion XXI – Carnegie Hall Concert, New Album...
Seeing Jordi Savall, perhaps the world’s foremost early music popularizer, with his group Hespèrion XXI is a time-travel experience – in a way, a circular one. Classical audiences aren’t accustomed to...
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Music Review: Pianist Julius Asal – ‘Scriabin – Scarlatti’
When Deutsche Grammophon announced its signing of 26-year-old pianist Julius Asal in October 2023, the label observed (among other plaudits) that Asal was “blessed with a rare talent for programme...
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Concert Review: Clarion Choir and Orchestra – Music of Johannes Ockeghem (c....
The Clarion Choir has become my favorite NYC-area vocal ensemble not only because of their great skill but because of the vast range of repertoire they plumb and make their own. Under the leadership...
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Music Review: Ensemble Gilles Binchois – ‘Timor Mortis’
Excavating and performing early music often involves a kind of detective work we might call cultural archeology. Ensemble Gilles Binchois, an eight-member choir from France led by tenor Dominique...
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Review: Les Arts Florissants – Henry Purcell’s ‘The Fairy Queen’ at Caramoor
Saturday’s staging by Les Arts Florissants of Henry Purcell’s 1692 masque The Fairy Queen at Caramoor in Katonah, New York was a summer dream to remember. With a loose connection to Shakespeare’s A...
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