The performance features Scottish, Italian, English and French music illustrating the life of Mary, Queen of Scots
PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (November 2023)- Chatham Baroque will present The Baltimore Consort’s performance “In Angel’s Wede: Music of Mary, Queen of Scots.” The concert will be held on November 18, 7:30 pm at Calvary Episcopal Church, located at 315 Shady Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15206.
The program, which features live narration by Emmy Award winning television and radio personality Robert Aubry Davis, showcases Scottish, Italian, French and English music highlighting different periods of Mary Queen of Scots’ life.
From being called to the throne just days after birth, to tumultuous and tragic marriages, to her public execution, the performance illustrates the short but dramatic life of Mary Stuart, also known as Mary, Queen of Scots. Her compelling life story has not only influenced The Baltimore Consort’s program but also numerous novels, movies, television shows and plays.
The performance begins with upbeat Scottish music that describes a garden in May. The program then transitions to French music, drawing on pieces by the great dance master Thoinot Arbeau and the infamous French poet Pierre de Ronsard. Concertgoers will also hear music by Mary’s Italian Catholic personal secretary, musician and rumored love interest, David Rizzio. The Baltimore Consort will also play a piece by Maddalena Casulena, a female composer who was the first woman to have her madrigals published and may have known Rizzio. The second half of the program opens with music by William Byrd; the text which may have been written by Edward Paston as an elegy for the executed Queen.
The talented performers in the consort include Danielle Svonavec (soprano), Mindy Rosenfield (winds), Mary Anne Ballard (viols), Larry Lipkis (viols and recorders), Mark Cudek (cittern), Ronn McFarlane (lute), and Robert Aubry Davis as narrator.
“In addition to Scottish music this program incorporates music from the French court Mary would have heard in her childhood, English music from the end of her life, and a short detour to the Italy of her murdered secretary, the lutenist David Rizzio,” said Mark Cudek, founding member of The Baltimore Consort.
Along with melodic music, the program also features narration by guest narrator Robert Aubry Davis. A Washington DC native, Davis is the creator and host of “Millenium of Music”, a nationwide radio program dedicated to celebrating music from the thousand years before the birth of Bach. Since 1986, he has also hosted the Emmy Award-winning arts program, “Around Town.” He is a frequent guest contributor to both national and international publications as well
as a lecturer for seminars and performances with organizations like the Baltimore Consort, the Smithsonian Early Music Series and the Folger Consort.
Tickets and more information about the performance can be found here: https://www.chathambaroque.org/concert/the-baltimore-consort-in-angels-wede-music-of-mary-queen-of-scots/.
About Chatham Baroque
Each year, Chatham Baroque presents a series of captivating, historically informed performances, drawing from a vast repertoire of classical music styles, eras, and locales from the Medieval Period through the early 19th Century.
As one of the country’s leading period instrument ensembles and early music presenters, each season features several concerts with the distinguished Chatham Baroque ensemble with artistic directors Andrew Fouts (violin), Patricia Halverson (viola da gamba), and Scott Pauley (theorbo and baroque guitar) as well as concerts by renowned touring ensembles specializing in music of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, and early Classical period.
Chatham Baroque concerts are performed with period instruments, which are restored or replica versions from the time when the music was written. Concerts are held in a variety of settings across Pittsburgh from churches to concert halls, and performers actively engage audiences with lively commentary and insights into the music. To learn more, please visit www.chathambaroque.org.
About The Baltimore Consort
Founded in 1980 to perform the instrumental music of Shakespeare’s time, the Baltimore Consort has explored early English, Scottish, and French popular music, focusing on the relationship between folk and art song and dance. Their interest in early music of English/Scottish heritage has also led them to delve into the rich trove of traditional music preserved in North America. Recordings on the Dorian label have earned them recognition as Top Classical-Crossover Artist of the Year (Billboard), as well as rave reviews elsewhere. Besides touring in the U.S. and abroad, they often perform on such syndicated radio broadcasts as St. Paul Sunday, Performance Today, Harmonia and the CBC’s OnStage.
