Early Music

CAL PERFORMANCES ENSEMBLE DEBUT

Twelfth Night

Handel’s Aminta e Fillide

Sun, Nov 9, 3pm, Hertz Hall

David Belkovski and Rachell Ellen Wong, direction

Nicoletta Berry, soprano (Aminta)*

Megan Moore, mezzo-soprano (Fillide)*

The exciting next-generation period-instrument ensemble Twelfth Night makes its Berkeley debut with a lively concert performance of Handel’s romantic comedy Aminta e Fillide. Founded by violinist Rachell Ellen Wong and harpsichordist David Belkovski (who made their explosive Cal Performances debuts with cellist Coleman Itzkoff in the 2022–23 season) the group has been praised for its "sensitivity and virtuosity" and "impeccable playing" (New York Classical Review). As the shepherd Aminta, soprano Nicoletta Berry sings the beloved aria "Se vago rio fra sassi"; and as the nymph Fillide, mezzo-soprano Megan Moore gives us "Fiamma bella ch’al ciel s’invia." Excerpts from Vivaldi’s opera Il Giustino showcase the ensemble’s fiery instrumentalists.

*Cal Performances debut

WATCH: An excerpt from Aminta e Fillide

The English Concert

Handel’s Hercules

Harry Bicket, conductor

Sun, Mar 8, 3pm, Zellerbach Hall

The Clarion Choir
Steven Fox, artistic director
Ann Hallenberg, mezzo-soprano (Dejanira)
William Guanbo Su, bass (Hercules)*
Hilary Cronin, soprano (Iole)*
Alexander Chance, countertenor (Lichas)*

Britain’s extraordinary early-music ensemble visits with another exquisite concert performance of a Handel masterwork in what has become an eagerly anticipated highlight of each Cal Performances season. Hercules is a fine showcase for the richly expressive mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg, who sings the demanding role of the hero’s wife Dejanira, evolving from impatience to rage to despair as her jealousy leads her to murder and madness. Sung in English, Hercules also features some of Handel’s most gorgeous choral writing, showcasing the crystalline voices of New York City’s Clarion Choir. "A certain magic occurs when Bicket gives the down beat: the players unleash gleaming rays of sound" (The New York Times).

Patron Sponsors: The Lynne LaMarca Heinrich and Dwight M. Jaffee Fund, The Estate of Ross E. Armstrong, Anonymous

*Cal Performances debut

Théotime Langlois de Swarte, violin
Justin Taylor, harpsichord

Sun, Mar 22, 3pm, Hertz Hall

Charismatic and accomplished violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte returns to Berkeley with his ensemble partner from Le Consort, harpsichordist Justin Taylor, for a thrilling program of Baroque showpieces.

In Bach’s sonatas, the keyboard rises to equal partner with the violin, as the two parts swirl and spar in buoyant counterpoint. The duo also performs an arrangement of Vivaldi’s Op. 3 violin concerto in D major and programs Bach’s solo keyboard arrangement of that work as a fascinating complement.

Works by Vivaldi, Bach, Biber, and Vitali

SEE FULL PROGRAM

They move as one breathing, feeling body, and it’s spellbinding…"

— The Guardian

Jordi Savall, Hespèrion XXI, La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Tembembe Ensamble Continuo

Un Mar de Músicas (A Sea of Music)

Tue, Apr 21, 7:30pm, Zellerbach Hall

Catalan viol virtuoso Jordi Savall returns with the follow-up to his compelling Routes of Slavery program honoring the more than 25 million people enslaved by Western nations over close to four centuries. Savall is joined by nearly three dozen musicians, including his celebrated ensembles Hespèrion XXI and La Capella Reial de Catalunya, the Mexican group Tembembe Ensamble Continuo, and special guest performers from Canada, Guinea, Guadeloupe, Mali, Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, and Venezuela who place their rich musical traditions in dialogue with Spanish and European forms.

An Illuminations: "Exile & Sanctuary" event.

[Savall] illustrates with striking detail the way that music served as an unbroken thread that traversed the Atlantic, a cultural fabric that flourishes to this day"

— San Francisco Chronicle

The Tallis Scholars

Mysteries and Miracles

Fri, Apr 24, 8pm, First Congregational Church

The exquisite singers of the Tallis Scholars visit with an Easter season program featuring works inspired by miraculous events in the biblical story of Jesus’ life. Victoria’s Missa O magnum mysterium, celebrating the miracle of the virgin birth, is the concert’s centerpiece, amplified by motets by Tallis, de Wert, and Slovenian composer Jacobus Gallus exploring Christian themes of wonder and awe. Estonian composer Arvo Pärt illuminates Christ’s teachings in his Tribute to Caesar, and marvels at the appearance of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Virgencita.

Works by Tallis, de Wert, Gallus, Victoria, Gabrieli, and Pärt

SEE FULL PROGRAM

These ten singers displayed the floating silkiness, light without seeming insubstantial, that has been Tallis’s trademark over its remarkable career"

— The New York Times

Which character are you most excited to hear in The English Concert’s performance of Handel's Hercules?

Dejanira
Hercules
Iole
Lichas
All of them!

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