Early music festivals throughout the world have many similarities, yet no two are exactly alike. In fact, no one is exactly like itself from one year to the next, as the theme changes from year to year. Themes may be very open, such as “Telescopic Vistas: Music of the Spheres,” or quite narrow, like “Handel’s Journey: From Germany to England via Italy.”
While themes may vary, most festivals share the common purpose of bringing artists together to celebrate, share, and introduce early music to a greater audience and feature acclaimed artists and ensembles using period instruments (though some also use modern instruments). They offer lectures and discussions about a variety of musical and historical topics, as well as workshops or other types of hands-on opportunities for amateurs and professionals to learn and practice early music techniques and repertoire. Many include exhibitions and networking for early music specialists, publishers, and instrument makers, and some include a “fringe.” Fringe concerts are generally self-produced by soloists and ensembles from around the world, with varying degrees of aid (like publicity) from the parent festival.
The following sampling of early music festivals is intended to provide a little insight into a few specific festivals. Individual websites provide information about how to get involved.
Indianapolis Early Music Festival
June – July, 2011
Annually in Indianapolis, Indiana
www.emindy.org
Sample Concert: El Mundo presents “¡Zarzuela y Mas!: An Evening of Spanish Opera”
Established in 1966, this is the oldest continuous early music series in the United States. Performances include solo vocal and choral music and solo instrumental and ensemble music, as well as court and folk dance and ballet. Student-performers get specialized training through IEM summer performances, and audiences get a preview of up-and-coming superstars. IEM offers workshops in early music and dance, has presented a symposium and exposition of historical musical instruments, and has sponsored the Collegiate Virtuoso Competition. Informal, post-concert receptions provide opportunities for audiences to interact with performers.
Berkeley Festival & Exhibition
June 4 – 11, 2012
Biennially in Berkeley, California
bfx.berkeley.edu
Sample Concert: Magnificat performs “Motets by Chiara Margarita Cozzolani” (a nun recognized during her lifetime as one of the finest composers in Italy)
“The Berkeley Festival & Exhibition has become a remarkable institution on the American musical scene,” proclaims the New York Times. BFX Ten marked the festival’s 20th anniversary, offering 60 concerts between the festival series and the fringe. It was a presentation of the San Francisco Early Music Society, www.sfems.org, in association with (among others) Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and Early Music America, who made it the site for their conference commemorating Monteverdi’s “400 Years of Vespers.” Barefoot Chamber Concerts presented an all-day Marais-a-thon where local and international talent played Marais “all day or until the cake runs out.” Start planning for 2012.
Boston Early Music Festival
June 12 – 19, 2011
Biennially in Boston, Massachusetts
www.bemf.org
Sample Concert: Dialogos, dir. by Katarina Livljanić, presents Judith (a Biblical Story from Renaissance Croatia)
In operation since 1980, with the intention of promoting historical performance in the United States, BEMF has earned its reputation as “The world’s leading festival of early music,” as reported by the Times of London. The centerpiece of each festival is a truly spectacular opera, the likes of which can be seen nowhere else. In 2011 it will be the North American premiere of Niobe, Queen of Thebes by Agostino Steffani (1654-1728). Performers include international operatic superstars and musicians.
BEMF’s previous opera recordings have garnered Grammy nominations. Additionally, there is the impressive concert series, lectures, masterclasses, symposia, a family day, and the world-famous exhibition. There are also organ and keyboard mini-festivals and a to-die-for fringe, having previously included ensembles like the King’s Noyse, Quicksilver, and Bimbetta. BEMF also produces an annual concert series and chamber opera series in Boston as well as performances at the Morgan Library and Museum in New York City.
Montreal Baroque Music Festival
June 23 – 27, 2011
Annually in Montreal, Quebec, Canada
www.montrealbaroque.com
Sample Concert: Viva BiancaLuna presents “Fermate il Passo” (a stunning epic of love and war with Italy’s violetta bastarda virtuoso, singer, and story-teller)
Under the leadership of cellist/gambist, Susie Napper (a 2002 “Musical Personality of the Year” nominee by the Quebec Music Council), music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is presented in traditional and innovative settings. Join in the Grand Parade by downloading the music from the website, picking up a portable instrument, and hitting the narrow streets of Old Montreal with local and international celebrities and (in 2010) giant puppets. Lectures and informal discussions in 2010 included topics in dance, social history, and improvisation. Enjoy street performances as well as concerts in some of the most beautiful, historic sites, like the crypt of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours. The charm and architectural ambiance of Old Montreal (founded in 1642) create the perfect backdrop for some of the finest musicians in the field, on their home turf, who infuse masterful performances with originality, passion, and fun.
Amherst Early Music Festival
July 10 – 24, 2011
Annually in New London, Connecticut
www.amherstearlymusic.org
Sample (Free!) Concert: Musica Nuova presents “Sibling Rivalry” (“Through airs de cours and the dramatic French cantatas of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, two sisters bicker about the pains and pleasures of love.”)
Claiming the title of the “largest presenter of early music workshops in North America,” Amherst comes very highly recommended in early music circles and would be a great “first” early music festival experience. There are a number of free events, concerts, and an exhibition. The “Workshop Program” offers week-long classes with studies in Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music and dance, with no audition required. The “Intensive Program” is designed for accomplished amateurs, pre-professionals, and professional performers and includes the Baroque Opera Project (Julianne Baird, voice faculty), the French Medieval Song Project (Anne Azéma, director) and Baroque Ballet (Kaspar D. Mainz and Dorothy Olsson). The 2011 festival will feature the music of Italy and Spain. The summer festival takes place on the campus of Connecticut College in New London. Workshops are offered in various locations, in Connecticut and beyond, throughout the year.
Madison Early Music Festival
July 9-16, 2011
Annually at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
www.madisonearlymusic.org
Sample Concert: Benjamin Bagby presents Beowulf
MEMF began in 2000 as a means for the exchange of information and ideas about Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music through performances and lectures by early music scholars, and to provide performance opportunities for amateurs. This happens during five days of workshops, filled with beginner to advanced masterclasses and consorts, including topics on technique, historical performance practices, specific early music repertoires, and historical dance.
Seven concerts and pre-concert lectures comprise the Festival Concert Series, including performances by ensembles-in-residence; a Faculty Concert, where faculty collaborate beyond their regular ensembles to create exciting new programs; the no-cost Participant Concert, featuring workshop attendees; and the much anticipated culmination of the festival, the All-Festival Concert. MEMF collaborates with other early music performers and presenters such as Early Music Now (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) to host visiting ensembles year-round. Past performers have included Piffaro, Marion Verbruggen, Tempesta di Mare, Baltimore Consort, and Cecilia’s Circle. Next year’s festival’s focus will be “Musical Treasures of the Spanish New World.”
Carmel Bach Festival
July 16 – 30, 2011
Annually in Carmel-by-the-Sea and Pebble Beach, California
www.bachfestival.org
Sample Concert: “From Bach to Broadway” (featuring music of J.S. Bach, P.D.Q. Bach, and Cole Porter, among others)
For 73 years, the Carmel Bach Festival has been pursuing its goal “to celebrate the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, his contemporaries, and musical heirs.” In so doing, the festival has intertwined a dedication to community service with its dedication to artistic excellence. One of the oldest music festivals in the West and the most important American Bach festival, offerings are not restricted to a specific historical era. The festival takes place on the Monterey Peninsula at Carmel-by-the-Sea and Pebble Beach, but outreach concerts are held in Monterey, Salinas, Seaside, and King City, at senior centers and church services. The Festival Chorale includes 28 North American singers with promising careers in vocal performance.
Four exceptional emerging professional vocalists are selected each year to study Baroque vocal repertoire with the festival’s solo artists through the Virginia Best Adams Vocal Master Class Program. These artists participate in the Festival Chorale in addition to open masterclasses and a showcase. Audiences can get further involved with behind-the-scenes events which include seating on the stage and free access via large-screen video for lectures and demonstrations. There are also open rehearsals which include Q&A periods and a film series. CBF offers internships in arts administration, marketing, event coordination, photography, hospitality, and development.
Vancouver Early Music Festival
July 24 – August 13, 2011
Annually in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
www.earlymusic.bc.ca
Sample Concert: The Whole Noyse and EMV’s Baroque Festival Players and Singers present “Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610” (soloists: Ellen Hargis, Suzie LeBlanc, Matthew White, Debi Wong, Colin Balzer, Charles Daniels, Tyler Duncan, Sumner Thompson, Paul Grindlay, and Tony Funk; music director: Alexander Weimann)
Seven fabulous evening concerts feature faculty from the summer courses as well as local and visiting artists. Week-long workshops are available, by audition, for accomplished vocalists (“The Compleat Singer”) and instrumentalists (“The Legacy of the Baroque”). Early Music Vancouver (the organization that produces the festival) provides opportunities for local and regional musicians to work with internationally acclaimed experts throughout the year by presenting concert series, workshops, masterclasses, and educational programs. They believe that “music of any period is best understood when performed according to appropriate traditions and on appropriate instruments,” and they have amassed a collection of replicas of historical instruments. Their Assistance Programme helps young musicians organize and promote self-sponsored early music events.
Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht
August 26 – September 5, 2011
Annually in Utrecht, Netherlands
www.oudemuziek.nl
Sample Concert: “Le Concert Spirituel: Campra’s comedy, Le carnaval de Venise” (director: Hervé Niquet; soloists: Carolyn Sampson, Stéphanie d’Oustrac, et al)
The most expert early music researchers, musicians, authors, and dancers from all over the world look forward to this annual gathering in beautiful Utrecht. Audiences enjoy dozens of concerts, workshops, and lectures as well as a three-day symposium relevant to the annual theme. The 2010 festival was centered on Louis XIV and the Grand Siècle, and the symposium explored “the art of gesture in French Baroque theatre, opera, and dance.” Student tickets never exceed the price of €10 for a concert. Visit the website to learn how to perform in the fringe. The theme for 2011 is “Rome: The eternal city throughout the ages, with an emphasis on the Middle Ages,” and for 2012 it is “Sweelinck to Bach: An (early) Baroque arc from Sweelinck, via the German states, to Bach.”
