Treble Viol, Guitar & Flute

Please join us on Sunday evening for a program featuring the treble viol, the fretted cousin of the viola da gamba but in soprano range. Our program begins in the early 17th-century, when the one-piece renaissance flute was still the flute of the day, with a trio for flute, treble viol and guitar by Giovanni Battista Buonamente based on the popular song of the time E tanto tempo hormai, a 2-part setting of the chanson Le rossignol plaisant & gratieux by Didier le Blanc from the late 16th century and a duo from Rimes francaises et italiennes by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, all performed on Renaissance flute. Switching to the one-keyed flute developed during the reign of Louis XIV, the above Gaillarde and other selections presumably by Jean Baptist Lully from a manuscript prepared for musicians who played for Louis XIV’s bedtime ritual will be presented alongside a Suite for treble viol and guitar by viola da gambist Louis Heudelinne. Then a suite for flute and guitar by Louis XIV’s guitar teacher Robert De Visee, music for solo guitar from 1671 by Italian lutenist and guitarist Michele Platano, and a suite for flute and treble viol by Francois Couperin. The final work on the program by Andre Cheron harkens back several decades to the music of Louis XIV with a glorious Chaconne.

We hope you’ll join Michael Freimuth from Kiel, Germany, one of the most active lutenist and guitarists in Europe, Annalissa Pappano from Cincinnati, an outstanding treble viol virtuoso, and myself to begin this year’s Salish Sea Early Music Festival.

(Suggested donation $15, $20, & $25 – 18 and under free)