Connecticut Early Music Festival takes place virtually Friday-Sunday
Jun. 10—Traditionally, the Connecticut Early Music Festival meant New Londoners might see folks in early June toting strangely-shaped instrument cases around the Connecticut College campus. The visiting artists are virtuosi on lutes, harpsichords, recorders and other such things that enable them to perform exquisite works from the Baroque, Renaissance and Early Classical eras,.
The good news? The fest is back! The not-so-good news? It's taking place virtually this year as per the realities of scheduling the events at the height of the pandemic. But what an excellent lineup of concerts and artists.
The schedule:
5 p.m. Friday — "Games and Grounds" with musical versions of Aesop's timeless fables featuring ground bass variations by Jean-Féry Rebel, Marin Marais and Jean-Philippe Rameau. Also with tenor Jason McStoots and soprano Elena Mullins presenting a new choreography for Rebel's Caractères de la danse.
5 p.m. Saturday — "Sea Interludes" features Norwich native and Yale School of Music graduate Sarah Yanovitch singing Music to The Tempest by Matthew Locke, 17th c. songs by Purcell and contemporaries and Purcell's Suite from Abdelazer. Artistic Director Ian Watson conducts the Connecticut Early Music Festival Ensemble.
5 p.m. Sunday — "The Italian Connection: Two Masters of the Baroque" is a program of violin sinfonias, sonatas and concertos by Bach and Vivaldi, recorded at the George Kent Performance Hall in Westerly. The musicians are violinists Aisslinn Nosky, Emily Dahl Irons, Jesse Irons and Maureen Murchie.
Tickets are $25 for each concert or $60 for a subscription to all three. Student tickets are available at $5 each. Links to each concert video will be provided by 3 p.m. the day of the performance and can be viewed until 30 June.
Connecticut Early Music Festival, 5 p.m. Fri.-Sun.,virtual concerts; $25 each or $60 for all three, $5 students per concert; ctearlymusic.org or (860) 333-8504.
