Hesperion XXI: Teares of the Muses

Consort Music of the Tudor Dynasty

From Henry VIII to Elizabeth I

Friday, November 9, 2012, 8:00 p.m.
Trinity Parish Church Sanctuary
609 8th Avenue, Seattle

Doors open at 7:00 p.m.
Festival Seating

Program
English consort music for violas da gamba was brought to its highest level during the Tudor period (1485-1603). Jordi Savall leads an ensemble of five viols, lute, and percussion in variation sets and dances from England’s most expansive and optimistic age. The consort performs works by King Henry VIII, William Byrd, Anthony Holborne, Alfonzo Ferrabosco II, John Dowland, and others.

Hesperion XXI ~ United by a common goal – the study and interpretation of ancient music according to new, modern criteria – and fascinated by the immense richness of the Hispanic and European musical repertoire before 1800, in 1974 Jordi Savall, Montserrat Figueras, Lorenzo Alpert and Hopkinson Smith founded the ensemble Hesperion XX. In its thirty years of existence, the group has, in collaboration with other outstanding performers, rescued numerous works and programs from oblivion, thus contributing to a major reappraisal of the fundamental aspects of the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque repertoires.

At the beginning of the new millennium, Hesperion XX continues to be a front-line tool for musical research, in 2000 reflecting the advent of the new century by changing its name to Hesperion XXI. The ensemble has been characterized by its eclectic approach to the process of artistic decision-making: as 21st century musicians, its members’ objectives are grounded in the search for a dynamic synthesis of musical expression, stylistic and historical research and creative imagination. The fascinating task of reconstructing the rich exuberance of music from other ages, specifically music composed from the 10th to the 18th century, has breathed new life into current musical thinking.

Watch Jordi Savall and Hesperion XXI perform music by Innocenzio Alberti on this program.

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