Celestial Harmony: Celebrating the Millennium

Voxfire: Mystic Music from the Middle Ages & Renaissance

Samela Aird Beason, Christen Herman & Susan Judy - voice; Shira Kammen - vielle; Amy Brodo - viol; Linda Burman-Hall - organ

Voxfire, the exciting Los Angeles-based collaboration of three virtuoso Sopranos, presents exquisitely faceted jewels of sacred music in praise of angels and saints by Hildegard of Bingen and John Dunstable, and Guillaume de Machaut's hauntingly beautiful gothic praise to the Trinity, Le Lai de la fonteinne (Song of the Fountain).

Saturday, February 19, Holy Cross Church, Santa Cruz
 

II. Lux Musica: Visions of Paradise

Patrice Maginnis - soprano; Rob Diggins and David Wilson - violins

The Festival's core ensemble presents Baroque and Impressionist Perspectives on the Afterlife by two very different Parisians, featuring François Couperin's Apotheosis of Lully and the contrasting Apotheosis of Corelli, brilliant portraits of the great pageant in Heaven when angels celebrated the arrival of the founding geniuses of French and Italian Baroque music. The evening closes with ‘angelic' songs written in 1887 by visionary Impressionist Erik Satie.

Saturday, March 18, UCSC Recital Hall, Santa Cruz
 

III. Baltimore Consort: Spiritual Songs and Dances of Devotion

May Anne Ballard - viols; Custer LaRue - soprano; Ronn McFarlane - Lutes; Chris Norman - flutes, bagpipe; Mark Cudek - cittern, bass viol; Larry Lipkis - viol, recorder

The world-renowned touring ensemble famed for setting toes to tapping Returns to Santa Cruz in a program of spiritual music. From the time of Martin Luther to the present; from the melodies of Gregorian chant to old Southern folk hymns, this program plumbs the depths of that impulse which wedded religious thought with popular tunes–even dances. A bewildering variety of instrumental colors provide accompaniment.

Saturday, April 8, Holy Cross Church, Santa Cruz
 

IV. In League with the Devil: Virtuoso Violin with the Lieberman-Kroll Duo

Carol Lieberman - Baroque violin, Mark Kroll - harpsichord

Fallen angels still play the violin – how else to barter souls from Weak-minded mortals? Our night of wicked virtuosity with the Boston duo that set Europe afire ranges from Falconieri's Beelzebub to Tartini's Devil's Trill, a range of ‘diabolic' pyrotechnics that some thought could only be played by those who had sold their soul for secret knowledge. Don't be alarmed by the sparks: Biber's Sonata of the Guardian Angel will protect you.

Friday, April 28, UCSC Recital Hall, Santa Cruz
 

V. Schola Angelorum: Angel Voices from Italy

UCSC Chamber Singers, directed by Nicole Paiement; Brian Staufenbiel - tenor; Amy Brodo - violoncello; Linda Burman-Hall - keyboards

Our final concert celebrates the beginning and end of the Baroque style.  With a selection of vocal and instrumental music in praise of angels. Monteverdi's Duo Seraphim and other virtuoso works for two tenors Reflects the first flowerings of the new Baroque style, while Domenico Scarlatti's Stabat Mater, a choral masterpiece that recounts the Virgin's sorrows and ultimate elevation to Heaven, looks forward to the Style of Mozart.

Saturday, May 13, Holy Cross Church, Santa Cruz