Pegasus Early Music is thrilled to announce its 18th season, five concerts of early music with a variety of medieval, renaissance, baroque, and classical music. “Our season is as varied as anything we’ve done in the last 18 years”, says Artistic Director Deborah Fox. “Audiences will enjoy not only music from different eras, but also an incredible array of sounds, from the earthy clarinet-like chalumeau to the delicate lute and harp, with oboes, bassoon, violins, and harpsichord in the mix, and of course, the human voice”.
All performances will take place on Sunday afternoons at 4:00pm, at the Downtown United Presbyterian Church, 121 N. Fitzhugh Street in downtown Rochester. Free parking is ample, and the venue is ADA accessible.  Ticket information below.
The season will begin in October with Vivaldi North to South, a concert in homage to Antonio Vivaldi, with spectacular chamber concertos for oboe, chalumeau, violin, and recorder by Vivaldi and some of the many composers who strove to emulate his popular style.
Next, in December, Pegasus will present a concert of cozy renaissance consort music, An English Afternoon, for four violas da gamba, with songs by Byrd, Lanier, and others, with Rochester-favorite soprano Laura Heimes, and lutenist Deborah Fox. “This repertoire is intimate and beautiful, just the right thing as winter settles in on our community”, says Fox.
Spring 2023 concerts include, in February, The Characters of Paris, French chamber music by Rameau, who was a musician at court and an operatic composer who liked to write portraits of famous people in music. March will bring medieval music, with The Harp Speaks, visions of medieval women as seen through the literary and musical lenses of the courtly ideals, by Guillaume Machaut and other composers. Instruments in this varied program will include harp, lute, vielle, recorder, shawm, and voice. Marcella/Marcello, in April, tells the fascinating story of the composers Benedetto Marcello and his wife Rosana Scalfi, a musical marriage exposed to disapproval and scandal, with some beautiful music!
“We look forward to welcoming our roster of world-class musicians back to Rochester”, says Fox. “There will be something for everyone on these concerts: familiar music and faces, new people, unfamiliar music to be savored, exciting collaborations. Our Rochester community is so welcoming and receptive to our musicians; we couldn’t do this series anywhere else!”
In addition to its series concerts, Pegasus will present concerts in its Pegasus Rising program, a free series of young emerging early music artists. The first concert will be October 7 at 7pm at Incarnate Lutheran Church, 597 East Avenue, Rochester. It will feature young soprano Hannah dePriest with Michael Pecak, fortepiano. They will present music of Mozart and Beethoven, in a program exploring the sensational Czech soprano Josepha Duschek (1754-1824), who was known for “unit[ing] fire and energy with grace and expression” in dramatic performances. More information here.
More information and tickets at pegasusearlymusic.org.Â
Contact Deborah Fox, deb@pegasusearlymusic.org or 585-703-3990 for information on interviews, rehearsal video, etc.
Photographs here for download
Performance details:
Vivaldi North to South: October 23, 2022
Spectacular concertos for oboe, recorder, chalumeau, and violin by Vivaldi and his contemporaries, Locatelli, Zelenka, and more.
An English Afternoon: December 4, 2022
Cozy consorts and songs for singers, viols, and lute.
Characters of Paris: February 5, 2023
Jean-Philippe Rameau’s exquisite yet earthy Pièces de Clavecin en Concerts trios, played by Robert Mealy, violin; Beiliang Zhu, gamba; Leon Schelhase, harpsichord.
The Harp Speaks: March 12, 2023
Visions of medieval women, led by Christa Patton, harp
Marcella/Marcello: April 16, 2023
Cantatas and instrumental music by Benedetto Marcello and his wife Rosana Scalfi Marcello, and a fascinating story!
