Florestan Recital Project: Championing the Art of the Song Recital

Past Seasons & Programs

2007-2008 Season

Songs of the British Isles
From a land of kings and queens, poets and playwrights, politics and courtly love, comes a wealth of songs spanning hundreds of years—songs heard in the Queen’s chambers, in Victorian parlours, and in concert halls around the globe. Britain’s great poets have been set to music by Britain’s most beloved composers throughout the ages, from John Dowland and Henry Purcell to Ralph Vaughan Williams and Benjamin Britten. Join the Florestan Recital Project for the next two seasons as it dives deep into the world of songs from the British Isles.

A Taste of the Highlands
Sunday, January 27, 2008 at 2:00 p.m.
The Boston Conservatory, Concert Room, Boston, MA (view program)
Friday, February 1, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. (view program)
Rubendall Recital Hall, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA

Celebrate Robbie Burns Day with a concert of Scottish music! Burns’s poems and songs have long been icons of Scotland’s musical and literary legacy, inspiring settings and arrangements by composers including Britten, Ravel, Robert and Clara Schumann, and John Greer. In addition to these songs and duets, this program features two unique dramatic works: Banquo’s Buried by Alison Bauld, a setting of Lady Macbeth’s mad scene from Shakespeare’s Scottish tragedy, Macbeth, and Judith Weir’s King Harald’s Saga, a scene for unaccompanied soprano that tells the tale of a failed 1066 invasion. Join us for an afternoon of warm wit and Scottish storytelling. Featuring Elizabeth Keusch, soprano; Joe Dan Harper, tenor and Alison d’Amato, piano.

The Land of Lost Content: Settings of A.E. Housman
Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 2:00 p.m.
The Boston Conservatory, Concert Room, Boston, MA
Friday, April 4 2008 at 7:00 p.m. (view program)
Rubendall Recital Hall, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA (view program)

Housman’s earthy poems of unrequited love, fleeting youth, grief, death, and patriotism, stem from the soul of a troubled young man. These poems and the myriad songs they inspired have had lasting popularity precisely because of that which they lament: war. Please join us as we consider the modern-day social relevance of Housman’s words. Artists perform settings by Britain’s greatest composers of the 20th century alongside world premiere songs by Ned Rorem and others. Featuring Joe Dan Harper, tenor; Anne Kissel Harper, piano and guest artists to be announced.

Wolf Benefit Concert Series
Sunday, April 6, 2008 at 4:00 p.m.
All Newton Music School, Newton, MA
(view program)

Join Florestan for a performance on the Andrew Wolf Benefit Concert Series held at the All Newton Music School. This concert is an ideal survey of song repertoire for someone new to our spirited and eclectic song recitals! For further information, please visit the All Newton Music School on the web at: www.allnewtonmusicschool.com. Featuring Shiela Kibbe, piano; Sarah Pelletier, soprano and Aaron Engebreth, baritone.

Tickets $25.00

Songs for the Queen: A Mother’s Day Bouquet of English Ayres
Sunday, May 11, 2008 at 2:00 p.m.
The Boston Conservatory, Concert Room, Boston, MA
(view program)

Celebrate Mother’s Day with England’s eclectic early court composers—some of England’s finest music-makers, whose reputations range in fame from Henry Purcell and William Byrd to the lesser-known Robert Hales and John Jenkins. Charged to compose music fit for the Queen, these artists indeed contributed beautiful courtly offerings. But while the Queen was often flattered with the musical gifts of the court, she was mostly unaware of the crass lyrics and bawdy tunes ringing in the pubs down the street. Treat your own Mother like the royalty she is this Mother’s Day, and see why these composers were sometimes revered and other times banished from the Kingdom. But be warned: these devoted subjects had a wicked and infectiously naughty streak! Featuring Catherine Liddell, theorbo; Jane Hershey, viola da gamba; Michael Sponseller, harpsichord; Jason McStoots, tenor and Susan Consoli, soprano.

TICKETS
All Boston concerts:
FREE to The Boston Conservatory Community
General Admission $12 • Students and Seniors $5
All Dickinson Programs are free and open to the public
For ticket inquiries and further details or email info@florestanproject.org

Season Extras

Evidence of Things Not Seen
Wednesday, September 22
Rubendall Recital Hall at Dickinson College
(view program)