For Immediate Release
January 27, 2025
PRESS CONTACT
Joanna Boyle, General Manager
Musicians of the Old Post Road
781.466.6694
musicians@oldpostroad.org
PHOTOS
https://oldpostroad.org/press-room
MUSICIANS OF THE OLD POST ROAD
presents
Tall Tales
Saturday, March 8, 2025, 4:00 pm
First Parish, Wayland, MA
and live-streamed at www.oldpostroad.org
Sunday, March 9, 2025, 4:00 pm
Old South Church, Boston, MA
In-person Audience Tickets $10-$55, kids come free with an adult
Virtual Audience Tickets: $35 individual, $70 family, $10 students
Two-time winner of the Noah Greenberg Award from the American Musicological Society, Musicians of the Old Post Road returns in March for the second half of its 36th season with Tall Tales, an enchanting program highlighting storytelling through narrative chamber works by four Baroque masters. Performances will be presented on March 8 at 4 pm at First Parish in Wayland and online and March 9 at 4 pm at Old South Church in Boston.
Antonio Vivaldi’s Night Concerto for flute and strings is one of his lesser-known works, beautifully showcasing his flair for painting musical portraits. The three movements reflect the mysterious and dramatic qualities of an evening soundscape, from ominous suspense to quiet serenity to the lively activities of creatures of the night. Also featured in the program is François Couperin’s Apotheosis of Corelli, a self-invented mythological tale of the ascension of Couperin’s musical idol Corelli to the top of Mount Parnassus. The work, a trio sonata for violins and continuo with narration (read in English) preceding each movement, is playful, full of contrasts between delicacy and grandeur, concluding with a sense of elevation as though Corelli has achieved deification in the musical heavens.
Bach’s Capriccio on the Departure of a Beloved Brother is a poignant work revealing his early creativity and his ability to blend emotional depth with intricate musical forms. The piece was written as a farewell to his older brother, Johann Jacob Bach, who was moving away from their hometown. Various emotions surrounding the departure come through in this work, including grief, hope, and the anticipation of new beginnings. In the final two movements, Bach imitates the call of the post horn as the postal carriage (a typical means of transportation of the day) carries the brother away.
The concert closes with Part I of Francesco Geminiani’s rarely-performed epic composition The Enchanted Forest. This captivating work for chamber orchestra in the form of a concerto grosso invites the listener to imagine the defense of a dark, wooded forest by a sorcerer who casts spells and witches who dance in celebration.
Musicians for these concerts, all of whom will play on period instruments, include flutists Suzanne Stumpf and Vincent Canciello, violinists Sarah Darling and Jesse Irons, violist Marcia Cassidy, cellist Daniel Ryan, and harpsichordist Kelly Savage.
Single In-Person Tickets are $55 general admission, $50 seniors, $35 for under 35. Kids 18 and under are free with an adult. Day-Of-Concert Rush Tickets (students and EBT Card holders only) are $10, availability permitting. Virtual single tickets and virtual subscriptions are also available.
For more information, visit www.oldpostroad.org, email musicians@oldpostroad.org, or call 781-466-6694.
The Wayland concert is co-presented with the Wayland Museum & Historical Society (members receive a $10 discount on their ticket) and is supported in part by a grant from the Wayland Cultural Council. Programming is also supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
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 and 2023 Noah Greenberg Award from the American Musicological Society, Musicians of the Old Post Road has also received programming awards from Early Music America, 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), Roman Handel (Centaur, 2013), and Earthly Baroque (Centaur, 2017). An 8th CD entitled Into the Light, featuring music by Christoph Graupner, is planned for release in 2025.
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Press Contact:
Joanna Boyle, General Manager
Musicians of the Old Post Road
781.466.6694
musicians@oldpostroad.org
