Friday, April 12, 7:30 PM
Congregational Church of Birmingham
Saturday, April 13, 7:30 PM
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
Songs to the Lute & Viol: Courtly Ayres, Songs from Shakespeare, Historic Ballads, plus Instrumental Fancies and Dances
Music from the world of Queen Elizabeth I and William Shakespeare, including popular continental favorites—French courtly airs and Italian dances, as well as traditional Appalachian ballads rooted in the British Isles. Works of John Dowland, Thomas Campion, Pierre de Ronsard, Clément Janequin, Shakespeare himself, and the always fascinating “Anonymous.”
Pre-concert talk begins at 6:45 pm.
Ronn McFarlane, lute
Danielle Svonavec, soprano
Mary Anne Ballard, viola da gamba
MEMBER BIOS
Ronn McFarlane has released over 40 CDs on Dorian and Sono Luminus, including lute solo collections, lute songs, lute duets, music for flute & lute, viola da gamba & lute, the complete lute music of Vivaldi, and Baltimore Consort albums. In the tradition of the lutenist/composers of past centuries, Ronn has composed new music for the lute. These original compositions are the focus of his solo CD, Indigo Road, which received a Grammy Award Nomination. Other CD releases, One Morning, and Barley Moon, feature “Ayreheart,” an ensemble brought together to perform Ronn’s original music. Ronn’s most recent solo album, The Celtic Lute, features his arrangements of traditional Scottish and Irish music from the 17th and 18th centuries. Visit www.ronnmcfarlane.com.
Danielle Svonavec, soprano, holds degrees in Mathematics and voice from the University of Notre Dame. While still a student, she stepped in on short notice as soloist for the Baltimore Consort’s nine-concert 1999 Christmas tour. Since then she has toured with the Consort and appeared with the Smithsonian Chamber Players, Pomerium, the South Bend Chamber Orchestra, and the South Bend Symphony. She currently serves as a Cantor at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame, and teaches choral music at the Bethany Christian School in Goshen, Indiana.
Mary Anne Ballard researches many of The Baltimore Consort’s programs. She also plays with Galileo’s Daughters, Mr. Jefferson’s Musicians, the Oberlin Consort of Viols, and Fleur de Lys. Formerly, she directed or coached early music at the Peabody Conservatory, Princeton University, and the University of Pennsylvania, where she founded the Collegium Musicum and produced medieval music drama. She is now on the faculty of Oberlin’s summer Baroque Performance Institute. A resident of Indiana and New York City, she music-directed the Play of Daniel for 75th Anniversary of the opening of The Cloisters Museum in New York and at Trinity Wall Street Church in New York.
