Masterful Madames

October 29 (Sudbury) and October 30 (Boston)

The program celebrates three fabulous forgotten female composers: Princess Anna Amalia of Prussia, Wilhelmine of Prussia, and Anna Bon. Featured works include the expressive Flute Sonata in F Major by Anna Amalia, the only surviving multi-movement work by this gifted little-known composer. A sister of Frederick the Great and a patron of the arts, she devoted herself to music and amassed an important music library. 

The concert also includes the brilliant Harpsichord Concerto in G Minor by Wilhelmine of Prussia, one of the earliest surviving works in this genre. Another sister of Frederick the Great, she was the Margravine of Bayreuth and an accomplished lutinist. The ensemble will also perform an evocative trio sonata by Anna Bon. Bon was in the service of Wilhelmine and her family at the court in Bayreuth. She was a talented singer and composer who received her early training at the orphanage for girls in Venice where Vivaldi taught.

Rounding out the program are trio sonatas by Frederick the Great’s court composers Franz Benda, J.J. Quantz, and Christoph Schaffrath.

Suzanne Stumpf, traverso
Sarah Darling and Jesse Irons, violins
Marcia Cassidy, viola
Daniel Ryan, cello
Michael Sponseller, harpsichord

 

American Originals

December 10 (Boston) and December 11 (Worcester)

For Moravian immigrants to the American colonies in the mid-1700s, music was an essential part of everyday life. In their tight-knit communities in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, opportunities were given to all to learn music and contribute to the music of religious services, resulting in a nearly universal level of musical literacy of its members, an extraordinary aspect of this society. Their passion for music-making and dedication to composing resulted in a rich archive from which the ensemble constructed the program to celebrate the holiday season. 

In addition to vocal solos, duets, and instrumental works penned by the Moravians themselves, the ensemble will include lively and sublime instrumental selections by J.C.F. Bach, Graun, and Quantz that were meticulously preserved in their collections. Many of the program selections will receive their modern-day premieres for these concerts!

Jessica Petrus, soprano
Hilary Anne Walker, mezzo-soprano 
Suzanne Stumpf and Wendy Rolfe, traversi
Sarah Darling and Jesse Irons, violins
Marcia Cassidy, viola
Sarah Freiburg, cello
Michael Beattie, organ

 

Baroque Diva 

March 11 (Wayland) and March 12 (Boston)

Soprano Faustina Bordoni was one of Europe's first superstar performers; she performed throughout Europe for over 30 years, from her native Italy to the musically vibrant Dresden court to cosmopolitan London, where Handel wrote some of his greatest operas with her unique singing and acting ability in mind. 

Despite her incredible life and career, Faustina is not widely known today outside of niche musical circles. In their ongoing quest to shed light on overlooked musicians and works, Musicians of the Old Post Road presents a program featuring several arias and a cantata that were inspired by her immense talent, written specifically with her skill in mind, as well as instrumental selections by composers who played important roles in her musical career. 

Grammy-nominated Teresa Wakim will be featured as the guest vocalist, performing outstanding and virtuosic arias by Pietro Torri ("Senti ti voglio ancor trafiggere quel cor") and Jan Dismas Zelenka ("La sua disperazione"). The program will also include two arias by Handel written for Faustina from his opera Admeto ("Luce Cara" and "Io son qual Fenice"). A tribute to Faustina would not be complete without a work by her husband, the outstanding composer Johann Adolph Hasse, so the ensemble will be performing what will likely be a regional modern-day premiere of his cantata “Pallido il volto.” Instrumental selections include the Flute Concerto in A Minor by Francesco Gasparini (which the ensemble originally revived in 2011), overtures by Handel and Hasse, and a trio sonata by Nicolo Porpora, who penned many arias with Faustina as his muse.

 

Into the Light

April 29 (Worcester) and April 30 (Boston)

Thrill to the unveiling of lost works by Christoph Graupner, an unsung German composer who was as legendary in his day as his contemporaries Bach and Telemann. He turned down the appointment in Leipzig for which he was chosen over J.S. Bach in order to continue his work leading a creative coteries of musicians at the Darmstadt court.

Unseen for centuries, his compositions are gradually coming to light. We introduce you one of his many inventive flute concertos, his Trio Sonata in B Minor for flute, violin, and continuo, his quartet in G Minor for strings and continuo, and his Sonata in G major for flute and obbligato harpsichord. The program also includes a suite for strings and continuo by his Darmstadt patron Count Ernst-Louis, a quartet for flute, two violas, and continuo by his talented student Johann Fasch, and a quartet for flute, strings and continuo by his good friend Telemann. 

Suzanne Stumpf, traverso
Sarah Darling and Jesse Irons, violins
Marcia Cassidy, viola
Daniel Ryan, cello
Michael Sponseller, harpsichord