2020–2021 Concerts

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WELCOME TO OUR 2020-2021 INTERNATIONAL CONCERT SERIES

UR 39TH SEASON CELEBRATES BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS.

We regret that the fall concerts had to be canceled. We hope to reschedule them for some time in the future. For the AEMS contribution to the Tucson Desert Song Festival on January 24, 2021, we present TENET—Jolle Greenleaf, Molly Quinn, and Virginia Kelsey Warnken— bringing to life vocal music by and for women composers and performers of the early Italian Baroque.

On Valentine's Day, February 14, 2021, we celebrate courtly love with music of the 13th-century trouvères performed by the new ensemble Alkemie in song and dance.

On April 21, 2021, we are proud to present the premier early music vocal ensemble The Tallis Scholars with Peter Phillips in a program including works by Josquin, Gesualdo, and Fayrfax entitled “The Armed Man and the Virgin.” To close the season, on May 23, 2021, we say goodbye to The Aulos Ensemble on its final tour. They will perform the highlights of the French Baroque that made them justly famous. We bring you the best and we hope you will enjoy it as much as we do!

Front cover: St Cecilia Playing a Lute, Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–c.1656). Galleria Spada, Rome.

About the Arizona Early Music Society

The Arizona Early Music Society is dedicated to enriching contemporary life with the music of the past. Our concert series is internationally known for presenting excellent historically informed performances and brilliant musicians from around the world. We are fortunate to bring you some of the best performers in early music today in our 39th season. If you love the music we present, please consider making a donation or volunteering. AEMS is an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

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TENET Vocal Artists THE SECRET LOVER Women in 17th-century Italy Sunday, January 24, 2021 at 3:00 p.m.

Presented with the generous support of the Tucson Desert Song Festival.

Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church | 2331 E. Adams St.

Featuring music by and for Italy’s first professional women composers and performers, Jolle Greenleaf, Molly Quinn, and Virginia Kelsey Warnken and their instrumental counterparts bring to life the history of this repertoire.

At a time when women were subservient and little accepted as composers and performers, they were writing and singing unforgettably sensuous and expressive music. The concerto delle donne, an all-female ensemble established by the Duke of Ferrara to perform in secret to a select circle of nobles, excelled at the late Renaissance ideal of sprezzatura—the artful performance of highly difficult music with apparent ease. Their gifts inspired composers to write extraordinarily florid and virtuosic music for them. Among the most important women composers of the time were Barbara Strozzi, Francesca Caccini, Antonia Bembo, Isabella Leonarda, and Chiara Margarita Cozzolani. Whether composing and performing for court or convent, they enriched the musical life of their time and of ours.

“The music had casually florid, poised

performers…whose voices, delicate individually, rose to more than the sum of their parts in richness and

eloquence when combined. Trading off the verses in ‘L’Amante Segreto’

by Barbara Strozzi, a groundbreaking female composer from the tail end of the concerto delle donne period, they gave a sense of both this repertory’s

restraint and its freedom.” —The New York Times

Alkemie LOVE TO MY LIKING Refrains of Desire in Gothic France Sunday, February 14, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. St. Philip’s In The Hills Episcopal Church | 4440 N. Campbell Ave.

Like the troubadours in the South, the trouvères of Northern France wrote some of the most captivating vocal music of the 13th century. In an age long before YouTube, these poet- composers penned the music they wanted to perform, hear, and share. Their songs of public and private adoration wove together allusions both sacred and secular, creating mystical and spicy meditations on love and longing. For this program, Alkemie has also created choreographies based on contemporary sources, adding visual counterpoint to the bright melodies of vigorous popular tunes and courtly estampies.

Philip Ricketts

The Tallis Scholars THE ARMED MAN AND THE VIRGIN Wednesday, April 21, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church | 2331 E. Adams St.

Whoever the Armed Man (L’homme armé) was, he clearly left a deep impression on late medieval European society. Over twenty mass settings alone were based on the secular “L’homme armé” tune, and the Tallis Scholars will present the most famous one, by Josquin. The second half of the program celebrates music in praise of the Virgin Mary. Gesualdo— having arranged the murder of his wife and baby—may have sought redemption, but in Fayrfax’s “Eterne laudis lilium,” an uncomplicated devotion concludes with the most beautiful “Amen” in the repertoire. Widely considered to be the preeminent performers of Renaissance sacred music in the world, and revered for its breathtaking sound and uncanny vocal blend, The Tallis Scholars completes its 45th season with a year of world-wide touring. Over four decades of performing on every continent except Antarctica, and with a catalogue of award-winning recordings for Gimell, Peter Phillips and The Tallis Scholars have done more than any other group to establish sacred vocal music of the Renaissance as one of the great repertoires of Western classical music.

The Aulos Ensemble THE FINAL TOUR Sunday, May 23, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church | 2331 E. Adams St.

In 1973, fresh from the Juilliard School, the members of The Aulos Ensemble began a collaboration that ushered in the original instrument movement in America. With a discography on Musical Heritage Society and Centaur Records, Aulos is the most recorded American chamber group in its field. After 48 years of concerts, the ensemble will celebrate its final season in 2020/2021. A long-time favorite of Tucson audiences, Aulos is delighted to return as part of its farewell tour. The program features highlights of the French Baroque that have delighted past AEMS audiences and brought the ensemble international critical acclaim.

“…authentic Baroque performance at its best” —The New York Times

“Thanks to groups such as Aulos, performances on early instruments no longer seem exotic or experimental.” —The Washington Post

Donation (see box on next page) $

Grand Total $

Ticket Order Form

Subscriptions and single tickets may be purchased by credit card on our website, www.azearlymusic.org. Orders received after September 15, 2020, will be held at the door. Subscriptions are offered with discounted pricing on all concerts.

Tickets for individuals age 30 and under are $5 cash, available only at the door.

Please select your subscription and/or single tickets below and complete the Grand Total amount at the bottom.

SERIES SUBSCRIPTIONS SINGLE TICKETS

NUMBER OF TICKETS TOTAL

4 Concerts @ $100 $ (includes General seating

at The Tallis Scholars)

4 Concerts @ $120 $ (includes Front seating at

The Tallis Scholars)

NUMBER OF TICKETS TOTAL

Individual donors at $5000+ will receive four reserved seats for all concerts. Donors at $2000+

will receive two reserved seats at The Tallis Scholars.

Concert Postponed from 2019–2020 Season

“Sweet! Chocolate and French Music” featuring Ensemble Caprice will be held on March 14, 2021. Tickets will be available at the door

for $25 for anyone not already holding a ticket from last season.

Please complete your contact information on the next page.

TENET (1/24) ____ @ $30 $ ______

Alkemie (2/14) ____ @ $30 $ ______

Tallis Scholars (4/21) General ____ @ $30 $ ______

Tallis Scholars (4/21) Front ____ @ $45 $ ______

The Aulos Ensemble (5/23) ____ @ $30 $ ______

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SUPPORT EARLY MUSIC

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Cherub $5,000+ Archangel $2,000+ Angel $1,000+ Sustainer $500+

Patron $250+ Benefactor $100+ Supporter $50+ Friend $20+

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The performance of music of “Bach and before” requires scholarship,

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instrumental mastery, and superb musicianship. Your contributions to AEMS are critical if we are to continue providing this unique music to our community. Ticket sales do not cover the costs of presenting concerts. Our volunteer Board asks you to consider making a donation to help us continue to bring the best early music to Tucson audiences.

We also have many opportunities for volunteers.

I am interested in volunteering. Please call me.

If you wish your donation to go to the endowment fund, named for founder James Anthony, please write “Anthony

Fund” at the bottom of your check. If you work for a matching-gift employer, please remember to

inform them of your gift to AEMS.

All checks should be made payable to Arizona Early Music Society (or AEMS).

Please return this order form with your check to Arizona Early Music Society, PO Box 44172, Tucson, AZ 85733-4172.

Olman Alfaro John Anderson Christina Jarvis Jamie King Mariana Mevans Chris Zerendow

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

SUBSCRIPTION AND TICKET INFORMATION Season subscribers receive discounted pricing on all concerts and may exchange tickets to a different concert in the same season. Tickets for individuals age 30 and under are $5 cash, available only at the door. CONCERT LOCATIONS

Scott Mason, President John Munier, Vice President

Dorothy Fitch, Secretary Laurie Camm, Treasurer

Please note that the venues for the different concerts; venue names and addresses will be printed on the tickets. BOX OFFICE The box office for all concerts will open 45 minutes before

Our 2020–2021 season is supported by the Arizona Commission on the Arts, which receives support from the State of Arizona and

the National Endowment for the Arts, by the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona funded by the City of Tucson

and Pima County, by the Tucson Desert Song Festival, and by our generous individual, corporate, and foundation contributors.

AEMS wishes to thank St. Philip’s In The Hills Episcopal Church for its many years of gracious support.

the performance begins. Tickets may be purchased at the table inside the door with cash, check, or credit card. Tickets are also available in advance by credit card at azearlymusic.org. PRE-CONCERT TALK The artists or guest lecturers will present an informal discussion before each concert. These pre-concert talks begin 30 minutes before the performance and last 15–20 minutes. Dates, performers, repertoire, and venues are subject to change.

THE ARIZONA EARLY MUSIC SOCIETY PO BOX 44172 TUCSON, AZ 85733-4172

NONPROFIT ORG

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

TUCSON, AZ PERMIT 541

2020–2021 Concerts

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http://www.azearlymusic.org/