Happy May Day!
After a vigorous morning of dancing around the maypole, why not catch your breath and enjoy another Noontime Concert on The Classical Network – a recital of German lieder featuring Amy Bartram. Bartram is a soprano with local connections. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in vocal pedagogy at Westminster Choir College. Bartram will perform works by Haydn, Mozart, and Schubert. At the fortepiano will be Dongsok Shin, a longtime member of Rebel: Ensemble for Baroque Music.
The concert comes our way courtesy of Gotham Early Music Scene (GEMS). The program was presented on October 26, 2017 at St. Bartholomew’s Church, 50th Street and Park Avenue, in Midtown Manhattan, where free concerts are held every Thursday at 1:15 p.m. This Thursday, The Franklin Quartet will present “Northern Lights,” a program of rarely-heard music by Scandinavian composers, including Joseph Martin Kraus, sometimes referred to as “the Swedish Mozart,” and Johan Wikmanson, admired by Haydn. To see a complete schedule of lunchtime performances, look online at midtownconcerts.org.
GEMS also hosts evening concerts. On Thursday at 8 p.m., the Choir of St. Luke in the Fields will perform “The Glorious Mysteries: Music of Biber and Lassus,” at the Church of St. Luke-in-the-Fields, 487 Hudson Street (just south of Christopher Street) in Manhattan. The Repast Baroque Ensemble will present “Bohemian Fantasy,” music by Bohemian virtuosi, including Biber and Schmelzer, on Friday at 8 p.m., at McKinney Chapel, First Unitarian Church, 116 Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn Heights, and on Saturday at 8 p.m, at Advent Lutheran Church, 2504 Broadway at 93rd Street in Manhattan. Amor Artis Chorus will perform Monteverdi’s “Vespers of 1610” at Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church, West 82nd Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue) in Manhattan, on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. On Sunday at 4 p.m., Parthenia Viol Consort will explore “Purcell’s Roots: Jacobean Fantasies for Six Viols,” at the Church of St. Luke-in-the-Fields (at the address above).
Gotham Early Music Scene is a non-profit corporation that supports and promotes artists and organizations in New York City devoted to early music – music of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, and early Classical periods. For more information and GEMS’ events calendar, look online at gemsny.org.
Then, after the concert, around 1 p.m., it’s back to celebrating the summer to come. Get ready for an afternoon of Morris Dancers, Jack in the Green, Hobby Horse, Jill-All-Alone, Robin and Marian, and Queen of the May. Now is the month of maying! We’ll be festooned in bells and ribbons, from 12 to 4 p.m. EDT on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.