Feb. 13: Unaccompanied Cello Repertoire: Origins through J. S. Bach by Daniel Ryan
Feb. 27: Journey of the Transverse Flute by Suzanne Stumpf
New this season, Musicians of the Old Post Road offers its Delving Deeper series which explores the artistic evolution of period instruments through three one-hour presentation-performances by its core members. These intimate concert-talks afford audiences the opportunity to be introduced to beautiful, rediscovered repertoire as well as to learn more about the history and characteristics of historical instruments. In this Delving Deeper series, audiences will have the opportunity to become acquainted with the musicians on a more personal level in addition to experiencing the featured repertoire and instruments. Each event takes place on a Saturday at 7:30pm EDT, with live Zoom reception Q & A sessions to follow.
On February 13, Daniel Ryan explores some of the earliest known works for solo cello. Each of these selections makes use of an historical early tuning of the cello that gives the instrument even deeper and richer sonority and reveals variety in instrument construction. Entitled Unaccompanied Cello Repertoire: Origins through J. S. Bach, works to be performed include little-known gems by Gabrielli and Degli Antonii, along with J. S. Bach’s beloved Suite No. 5 in C Minor.
For the final presentation of this series on February 27, Suzanne Stumpf takes viewers on the Journey of the Transverse Flute through three centuries to experience its development from one-keyed Baroque flutes to a wide variety of old system multi-keyed flutes to the present-day modern flute. Colorful, contrasting qualities in the instruments will be showcased in works by Hotteterre, Telemann, Quantz, Tromlitz, Kuhlau, Debussy, and others. Stumpf will be performing on seven different flutes.
Tickets prices range from $10 student tickets to $50 for families. All Delving Deeper series concerts are free for premiere subscription subscribers. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.oldpostroad.org, or call 781.466.6694.
The program is supported, in part, by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
ABOUT MUSICIANS OF THE OLD POST ROAD
Musicians of the Old Post Road takes its name from its acclaimed concert series that brings period instrument performances of music of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries to beautiful historic buildings along New England’s fabled Old Post Road, the first thoroughfare to connect Boston and New York City in the late 17th century.
Winner of the 1998 Noah Greenberg Award from the American Musicological Society, Musicians of the Old Post Road has also received programming awards from Chamber Music America and the US-Mexico Fund for Culture. The ensemble has toured in Germany, Austria, and Mexico, and has appeared at festivals and on concert series in the US, including the Indianapolis Early Music Festival, the Boston Early Music Festival Concert Series, the Castle Hill Festival, the Artists Series at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, and the Connecticut Early Music Festival. The ensemble has held a residency at Dartmouth College and was featured on WCVB television’s “Chronicle” program and 99.5 All Classical radio’s “Live from Fraser” program.
The ensemble’s discography includes seven recordings that have each been praised in the US and abroad. They include: The Virtuoso Double Bass (Titanic, 1994), Trios and Scottish Song Settings of J. N. Hummel (Meridian, 1999), Galant with an Attitude: Music of Juan and José Pla (Meridian, 2000), Quartets of Telemann and Bodinus (Meridian, 2004), Feliz Navidad: Christmas from Spain and New Spain (Meridian, 2008), and Roman Handel (Centaur, 2013). The ensemble’s 7th CD, Earthly Baroque, was released by Centaur in 2017.
