El Dorado Ensemble
Giardino Musicale: A garden of 17th-century music from Rome and Venice

Come and hear a consort of five viols and theorbo perform gems of the 17th-century Italian repertoire, including a passamezzo pavan by Cavaccio, a chromatic ricercar by Quagliati, dances by Rossi, Allegri and Kapsberger, Baroque lute pieces by Pierre Gaultier, and many other remarkable works, including two seldom-heard canzonas by the Polish composer Cherubino Waesich. There will even be a "Battaglia", with many special "battle" effects!

Janet Haas, Paul Johnson, Carol Lewis and Alice Mroszczyk, viols;Mai-Lan Broekman, viol and violone; Olav Chris Henriksen, theorbo and Baroque lute

Cut Circle
Dueling Masters

Cut Circle's latest program juxtaposes the L'homme armé masses of two Renaissance masters: Josquin des Prez and his extraordinary contemporary Marbrianus de Orto. Both masses are technical and aesthetic tours de force, with Josquin's mass (super voces musicales) serving as a competitive response to de Orto's. Come see Cut Circle revive a 500-year-old "duel" featuring some of the most spectacular music ever written.

Carolann Buff, Marc J. DeMille, Eric Peché Esparza, Mary Gerbi,
Bradford Gleim, Timothy Morton, Steven Soph, and Erik Sumner, voices; Jesse Rodin, Director.

Sprezzatura
Cor Mio: madrigals of love and regret

Boston's exciting new vocal ensemble, Sprezzatura, breathes new life into the intricate madrigals of Claudio Monteverdi's 4th and 5th books, published in the early years of the 17th century and representing the beginning of a transition from Renaissance to Baroque aesthetics. These passionate and deeply involved madrigals will be contrasted with the lighter canzonette of Orazio Vecchi and John Ward in a rich program of Italian and Italian-insprired vocal music.

Michael Barrett, tenor and director; Elizabeth Baber, soprano; Lydia Brotherton, soprano; Martin Near, countertenor; Darrick Yee, bass

La Donna Musicale
VENEZIA! Women composers in 17th and 18th-century Venice

A program featuring captivating and powerful songs, arias and laments by Barbara Strozzi and her younger contemporary, Antonia Bembo. Educated in Venice, both women found distinctive ways to create extraordinarily passionate music. Anna Bon, also educated in Venice, presents a contrast with her elegant and buoyant music in the rococo style.

Youngmi Kim and Elizabeth Baber, sopranos; Annalisa Pappano, pardessus de viole; Laury Gutierrez, viola da gamba; Sang Joon Park, flute; Margaret Angelini, keyboards