Friday April 23, 2010
English Music by Simpson, Locke, and Jenkins
Hallifax & Jeffrey, viols
with Gilbert Martinez, chamber organ
On Friday April 23, 2010, Barefoot will present Hallifax & Jeffrey (Peter Hallifax and Julie Jeffrey, viols) with Gilbert Martinez, chamber organ, playing a concert of English music for 2 viols.
Violists Hallifax & Jeffrey are well known for their performances of French high baroque music. In this program, they explore a new and rarely-heard repertoire, the virtuoso chamber music of the English composers of the mid 17th century. John Jenkins, Matthew Locke, and Christopher Simpson were household names in their time. However, their music is not so often heard today partly because they wrote more for viols than violins or cellos. The music is rich, complex, and varied. It combines the ornamented virtuoso “division” writing style with the melodic style of dance movements and also pure counterpoint from the renaissance. At this period in history composers were still experimenting with instrumental chamber music. The results are as varied as they are masterly. The Tudor courts had given rise to a rich tradition of music composition and performance, and subsequently England in the 17th century became the international center for viol making, playing, and composition.
In the perfect wooden acoustic of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Parish Hall, this music will open your ears to a new world of sound.
To order tickets, go to www.BrownPaperTicket.com/event/80804
St Mark's Spiscopal Church, Parish Hall
2300 Bancroft Way, Berkeley
6 p.m.
$15 at the door (students, seniors and SFEMS members $13)
18 and under admitted free
$3 discount for online orders