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5-6:30 pm | European Gallery Viewing and Public Reception
6:30 pm | Pre-concert Talk by Eric Rice, Chair, Department of Music at University of Connecticut & Director of Ensemble Origo
7:30 pm | Concert by Ensemble Origo in Morgan Great Hall
In 1568 Duke Wilhelm V of Bavaria married Renata of Lorraine, and the ensuing celebration occupied the Munich court for nearly a week. The renowned composer Orlando di Lasso was charged with planning the music and theater for the occasion, including a series of commedia dell’arte presentations. His 1581 Libro di Villanelle contains a number of works whose texts are associated with the commedia dell’arte, and Massimo Troiano’s 1658 Dialoghi relates many details of the proceedings. Taken together, these works allow for a reconstruction of some of the elaborate music that followed the wedding, including several madrigals and six moresche, carnivalesque Neapolitan dance-songs that represent the speech of African slaves. The music—performed by singers, recorders, sackbuts, and violas da gamba—invites us to consider race relations, commerce, and their effects on the culture of early modern Naples and Munich.
Ensemble Origo is an early music ensemble directed by Connecticut-based musicologist and conductor Eric Rice. Its aim is to present vibrant performances of early music (from the Middle Ages through the Baroque) that reflect the context in which the repertory was originally produced and heard. The ensemble draws on a roster of professional musicians from Connecticut as well as Boston and New York.
Seating will be limited!
This program is sponsored by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.