Murder & Mayhem: William Lawes & the Broadside Ballads of the English Civil War
$30 – cash or check at the door (students age 18 & under free)
- Danielle Reutter-Harrah, soprano
- Tekla Cunningham, baroque violin
- Maxine Eilander, baroque harp
- Stephen Stubbs, lute
- David Morris, viola da gamba
The years leading up to the English Civil War in 1642 were full of riotous discord, reflected in the popular Broadside Ballads. At the same moment, William Lawes (1602-1645), the greatest English musical genius between Dowland and Purcell, was producing vocal and instrumental music of unparalleled beauty. His life was cut short in battle, but his legacy of musical jewels, including the unique Harp Consorts, remains for our discovery today.
The performers for this most unusual concert are all artists from Pacific MusicWorks, a Seattle-based musical nonprofit focused primarily on the presentation of vocal chamber music and operatic works of the 17th and 18th Centuries. Performers include Danielle Reutter-Harrah, soprano; Tekla Cunningham, baroque violin; Maxine Eilander, baroque harp; Stephen Stubbs, lute; and David Morris, viola da gamba.
About Anacortes Early Music Concert Series
The Anacortes Early Music Concert Series has brought historically informed performances featuring world-renowned musicians and rising stars to Anacortes for over a decade. Historically informed performance (period performance) is an approach in Western music which adheres to the knowledge, as it is currently known, of the instruments and performance practice of the period in which the music was conceived. Access to examples of earlier musical instruments and historical treatises are the basis on which period performance is formed. Instruments corresponding to the period of the music being performed are used, as well as technique and aesthetics of the period. Anacortes Early Music is a project of the Anacortes Arts Foundation.
https://www.anacortesartsfoundation.org/events.htmlAbout Danielle Reutter-Harrah, soprano
https://pacificmusicworks.org/profile/danielle-reutter-harrah/
About Tekla Cunningham, baroque violin
Baroque violinist Tekla Cunningham delights in bringing the music of the baroque, classical and romantic eras to life with vivid and expressive historically informed performances.
Praised as "a consummate musician whose flowing solos and musical gestures are a joy to watch", her performances have been described as "ravishingly beautiful" and "stellar". Her greatest musical love is music of the baroque and chamber music of all stripes, though she can’t seem to quit Johannes Brahms. She is co-artistic director of Pacific MusicWorks in Seattle, artist-in-residence at the University of Washington and founder and director of the Whidbey Island Music Festival.
Tekla plays regularly as concertmaster and principal player with the American Bach Soloists. Her new release 'Stylus Phantasticus' with Pacific MusicWorks is delighting critics. "Tekla is a marvel…an endlessly songful bird". Early Music America describes the recording as "played with verve, the music presented here reaffirms the old notion that instrumental music can have the flair of any theatrical spectacle. … a stellar vessel for the boldest showmanship".
Tekla plays on a violin made by Sanctus Seraphin in Venice in 1746.
http://www.teklacunningham.com/About Maxine Eilander, baroque harp
http://www.pacificmusicworks.org/team_member/maxine-eilander/