Ensemble Chaconne Performs European Masters on Oct 11 in Cedar Rapids IA, Oct 13 in Lincoln NE

Oct. 10, 2012 - PRLog -- ENSEMBLE CHACONNE (Peter H. Bloom, baroque flute; Carol Lewis, viola da gamba; Olav Chris Henriksen, baroque lute and English guitar)
European Masters in 18th Century London
Music of Handel, Vivaldi, J.C. Bach, Giardini, Abel, and others

Thursday, October 11, 2012 at 7:30 pm
Coe College, Daehler-Kitchin Auditorium
1220 First Avenue, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402
Free Admission
Information:  319-399-8604

Saturday, October 13, 2012 at 8:00 pm
Sheldon Museum of Art, Ethel Abbott Auditorium
On the campus of University of Nebraska-Lincoln
12th Street and R Street, Lincoln, NE 68588
Tickets:  $35, $8 students (inquire about season tickets)
Information: (402) 435-5454  or http://www.sfcm.info/

Hailed for “vitality and character….style and verve,” (MusicWeb International), Ensemble Chaconne (Peter H. Bloom, baroque flute; Carol Lewis, viola da gamba; and Olav Chris Henriksen, baroque lute and English guitar) will provide a dazzling tour of chamber music treasures that captured the imagination of 18th century Londoners, performed on instruments of the period.  The concert will feature masterpieces by Handel and Vivaldi, favorites of the English aristocracy during the first half of the century, and selections by other great European composers who settled in London during the latter part of the century:  J. C. Bach, Carl Friedrich Abel (the last great viola da gamba virtuoso), famed oboist Johann Christian Fischer, illustrious violinist Felice de Giardini, and lutenist/harpsichordist Rudolf Straube, a favorite student of J.S. Bach.

The concert will showcase the English guitar (popular in 18th century London but rarely heard today), with baroque flute, viola da gamba, and baroque lute.   Repertoire will include Vivaldi’s famous D Major lute concerto, Handel’s Sonata in A minor (Hallenser Sonata #1),  Che ciascun per te sospiri by J.C. Bach,  Fantaisie for English guitar by Straube, solos for viola da gamba by Abel, Trio V in C major by Giardini, and Sonata IX by Fischer.

Founded in 1985, Ensemble Chaconne has concertized from London’s National Gallery to Atlanta’s Spivey Hall, with performances at Gainsborough’s House Museum in Sudbury (UK), the Yale Center for British Art, Indiana State University, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the 40th Annual Meeting of the Shakespeare Association of America, the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park Florida, the venerable Edison Theatre in St. Louis, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Residency at Davidson College, and many others.  In 2009, Ensemble Chaconne was named to Early Music America’s North American Touring Roster, one of only 33 ensembles to receive the honor.  The Boston Globe called Bloom’s playing “a revelation for unforced sweetness and strength,” and praised “Lewis’s fiery, incisive gamba playing,” while hailing “unabashed virtuoso Henriksen” for his stunning performance on lute.

Ensemble Chaconne records on the Americas Musicworks label.  The group’s CD, Measure for Measure: The Music of Shakespeare’s Plays (AM CD 1594) is available from www.americasmusicworks.com and on CD Baby.