2023
Dido & Aeneas
Catch live and in-person Camerata’s new and staged production of Purcell’s only true opera. Artistic Director Anne Azéma leads a stellar cast, with Tahanee Aluwihare as Dido, Luke Scott as Aeneas, Camila Parias as Dido’s sister Belinda, and Jordan Weatherston Pitts as the Sorcerer, with Peter Torpey’s evocative lighting and media elements.
Pre-Concert Talk: Prof. Ellen T. Harris, MIT
Location TBA, Kansas City, MO
2022
Carols at Midnight
A cornucopia of French Christmas music for voices, viols, harp and organ. Serene liturgies from the Burgundian court mingle with late Renaissance and early Baroque carols and dances. A candlelit performance of Charpentier’s beloved Messe de Minuit is the centerpiece of our evening. A Medieval Christmas:
Hodie Christus Natus Est
Experience our newest Harmonia Mundi CD release live and in-person! Transcendent Christmas music, featuring a superb all-female ensemble of voices and instruments. A glimpse of Christmas spirituality from Medieval France, Italy, England, and Provence, including music of the church and songs of private devotion around the joyous theme of the Nativity. Included are songs to the Virgin Mary, processionals from Saint Martial of Limoges, hymns, lyrics, and miracle ballads sung in Latin, Old French, Old Provençal, and Saxon, interlaced with Medieval English texts of the Nativity.
Les Miracles de Notre Dame
Medieval Paris was not only a center of learning, debate, art, and architecture: it was also a capital of musical creation and innovation, the most important in Europe. You will hear the magnificent vocal music sung within the walls of the great cathedral, as well as miracle tales, student songs, and minstrel turns performed in Notre Dame’s shadow, on either bank of the steadily flowing Seine. A feast!
This performance is a collaboration between Camerata, the Harvard Choral Fellows directed by Edward Elwyn Jones, and Longy School of Music of Bard College.
Pre-Concert Talks by Prof. Thomas F. Kelly, Harvard University
and by Prof. Caroline Bruzelius, Duke University
We’ll Be There!
The Camerata continues its trailblazing exploration of the American spiritual tradition, with folk hymns derived from English and Celtic folklore, African-derived call-and-shout group songs, links in the Black tradition to the experience of slavery, reminiscences of the Civil War, and shared celebrations of striving, freedom, and salvation.
Corpus Christi Church, 529 West 121st Street, New York, NY
Douce Dame Jolie:
Guillaume de Machaut’s Last Affair
About two years before he composed his famous Mass, the aging master and churchman Guillaume de Machaut fell in love with the too-young noblewoman Péronne d’Armentière, poetess, dancer, and musician, and an unconditional admirer of the older genius and his works. Their bittersweet story, told in the words of both Machaut and Péronne, and sung to the accompaniment of harps, lutes, and vielles, comprises some of the most beautiful and touching love music of the late Middle Ages, including many songs composed and dedicated by the two lovers to each other in the course of their impossible affair.
Streaming, On-Demand
* show info
* show info
Cancelled!
The music is ravishing, and the cast performed with energy and conviction…but there is a major, unresolved issue.
For reasons still undetermined, we are unable to deliver high-quality sound worthy of Machaut’s music, and of the May 7 performance. The timbres of voices and instruments are poorly rendered in the soundtrack, and do not fairly represent the musicians’ fine work.
We can’t, therefore, present you the video as we planned. Our disappointment is deep, as, surely, is yours. close
First Church in Boston, 66 Marlborough St., Boston, MA
* show info
* show info
A Boston première! From the years of pandemic in medieval France, the touching, bittersweet story of Machaut and his impossible romance with an admiring poetess.
Also available for on-demand streaming starting May 20.
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Songs to the Lute
A summit meeting in Renaissance and early Baroque song as Anne Azéma (voice) and Nigel North (lutes) explore intimate and sensual French repertoires.
Grace and Holy Trinity Church, Kansas City, MO
Douce Dame Jolie:
Guillaume de Machaut’s Last Affair
About two years before he composed his famous Mass, the aging master and churchman Guillaume de Machaut fell in love with the too-young noblewoman Péronne d’Armentière, poetess, dancer, and musician, and an unconditional admirer of the older genius and his works. Their bittersweet story, told in the words of both Machaut and Péronne, and sung to the accompaniment of harps, lutes, and vielles, comprises some of the most beautiful and touching love music of the late Middle Ages, including many songs composed and dedicated by the two lovers to each other in the course of their impossible affair.
Pickman Concert Hall, Longy School of Music, 27 Garden St., Cambridge, MA
* show info
* show info
A Boston première! From the years of pandemic in medieval France, the touching, bittersweet story of Machaut and his impossible romance with an admiring poetess.
Also available for online viewing – details to be announced. close
2021
A Medieval Christmas:
Hodie Christus Natus Est
Experience our newest Harmonia Mundi CD release live and in-person! Transcendent Christmas music, featuring a superb all-female ensemble of voices and instruments. A glimpse of Christmas spirituality from Medieval France, Italy, England, and Provence, including music of the church and songs of private devotion around the joyous theme of the Nativity. Included are songs to the Virgin Mary, processionals from Saint Martial of Limoges, hymns, lyrics, and miracle ballads sung in Latin, Old French, Old Provençal, and Saxon, interlaced with Medieval English texts of the Nativity.
Streaming, On-Demand
First Church in Cambridge, 11 Garden St, Cambridge, MA
* show info
* show info
Transcendent Christmas music, featuring a superb all-female ensemble of voices and instruments. Experience our newest Harmonia Mundi CD release live and in-person! close
Follen Church, 755 Massachusetts Ave, Lexington, MA
* show info
* show info
Transcendent Christmas music, featuring a superb all-female ensemble of voices and instruments. Experience our newest Harmonia Mundi CD release live and in-person! close
We’ll Be There
The Camerata continues its trailblazing exploration of the American spiritual tradition, with folk hymns derived from English and Celtic folklore, African-derived call-and-shout group songs, links in the Black tradition to the experience of slavery, reminiscences of the Civil War, and shared celebrations of striving, freedom, and salvation.
Online, Streaming
* show info
* show info
The performance will be available for on-demand streaming from November 10-28 – choose the “Online” ticket option. close
Dido & Aeneas:
An Opera for Distanced Lovers
This new production of Purcell’s only true opera features live performance and media elements conceived by Peter Torpey, all stitched together to be viewed from the safety and comfort of your home.
Artistic Director Anne Azéma leads a stellar cast, with Tahanee Aluwihare as Dido, Luke Scott as Aeneas, Camila Parias as Dido’s sister Belinda, and Jordan Weatherston Pitts as the Sorcerer, assisted by students from Longy School of Music of Bard College. View the program book.
Our trailer was created by Peter Torpey featuring music from the 1979 Boston Camerata recording of Dido and Aeneas.
Online, Streaming
* show info
* show info
This production will be recorded live, post-produced to include remote elements, and released on the Camerata website.
You’ll receive an email shortly before the premiere which will contain links to the pre-concert talk and the show itself.
For more info, go to bostoncamerata.org/online-events. close
6:00pm
Streaming, On-Demand
* show info
* show info
This production will be recorded live, post-produced to include remote elements, and released on the Camerata website.
You’ll receive an email shortly before the premiere which will contain links to the pre-concert talk and the show itself.
For more info, go to /online-events. close
Songs to the Lute
A summit meeting in Renaissance and early Baroque song as Anne Azéma (voice) and Nigel North (lutes) explore intimate and sensual French repertoires.
Online, Streaming
* show info
* show info
Available for streaming at any time between the above dates. There is no limit on the number of times you can watch the program during its specified period. You will receive an email containing the link to the video when it is ready to view.
close
close
6:00pm
Streaming, On-Demand
* show info
* show info
Available for streaming at any time between the above dates. There is no limit on the number of times you can watch the program during its specified period. You will receive an email containing the link to the video when it is ready to view.
close
close
Bridges to Spring:
Sacred Music of the Three Abrahamic Religions
Music of renewal and hope, from Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions, as our planet emerges from trying months. A performance plus a conversation with Anne Azéma and Joel Cohen.
Online, Streaming
* show info
* show info
Available for streaming at any time between the above dates. There is no limit on the number of times you can watch the program during its specified period. You will receive an email containing the link to the video when it is ready to view. close
6:00pm
Streaming, On-Demand
* show info
* show info
Available for streaming at any time between the above dates. There is no limit on the number of times you can watch the program during its specified period. You will receive an email containing the link to the video when it is ready to view. close
To the Distant Beloved
How music and poetry, across the centuries, expresses feelings of separation and reunion.
Words and music from Artistic Director Anne Azéma. The Boston Camerata’s offering for International Early Music Day.
Online, Streaming
* show info
* show info
Available for streaming at any time between the above dates. There is no limit on the number of times you can watch the program during its specified period. You will receive an email containing the link to the video when it is ready to view. close
6:00pm
Streaming, On-Demand
* show info
* show info
Available for streaming at any time between the above dates. There is no limit on the number of times you can watch the program during its specified period. You will receive an email containing the link to the video when it is ready to view. close
Douce Dame Jolie:
Guillaume de Machaut’s Last Affair
About two years before he composed his famous Mass, the aging master and churchman Guillaume de Machaut fell in love with the too-young noblewoman Péronne d’Armentière, poetess, dancer, and musician, and an unconditional admirer of the older genius and his works. Their bittersweet story, told in the words of both Machaut and Péronne, and sung to the accompaniment of harps, lutes, and vielles, comprises some of the most beautiful and touching love music of the late Middle Ages, including many songs composed and dedicated by the two lovers to each other in the course of their impossible affair.
Pickman Concert Hall, Longy School of Music, 27 Garden St., Cambridge, MA
* show info
* show info
Postponed!
A Boston Premiere! close
2020
An American Christmas
From the early years of the American republic, and from a wide range of early tune books and manuscripts, a generous selection of carols, New England anthems, Southern folk hymns and religious ballads for the season.
Online, Streaming
* show info
* show info
Since we cannot gather in concert halls this holiday season, the Boston Camerata will come to you with a newly-produced streaming version of An American Christmas.
Filmed at Boston’s historic Old North Church, the performance features inspiring early American music, in a program reimagined specifically for this unique and challenging year. Artistic Director Anne Azéma comments: “This glorious music from a young and hopeful nation will give us all the kind of boost we wish for at the present moment.”
Available online December 25th through January 10th! close
4:00pm
Streaming, On-Demand
* show info
* show info
Since we cannot gather in concert halls this holiday season, the Boston Camerata will come to you with a newly-produced streaming version of An American Christmas.
Filmed at Boston’s historic Old North Church, the performance features inspiring early American music, in a program reimagined specifically for this unique and challenging year. Artistic Director Anne Azéma comments: “This glorious music from a young and hopeful nation will give us all the kind of boost we wish for at the present moment.”
Available online December 25th through January 10th! close
Dido & Aeneas:
An Opera for Distanced Lovers
This new production of Purcell’s only true opera features live performance and media elements conceived by Peter Torpey, all stitched together to be viewed from the safety and comfort of your home.
Artistic Director Anne Azéma leads a stellar cast, with Tahanee Aluwihare as Dido, Luke Scott as Aeneas, Camila Parias as Dido’s sister Belinda, and Jordan Weatherston Pitts as the Sorcerer, assisted by students from Longy School of Music of Bard College. View the program book.
Our trailer was created by Peter Torpey featuring music from the 1979 Boston Camerata recording of Dido and Aeneas.
Online, Streaming
* show info
* show info
This production will be recorded live, post-produced to include remote elements, and released on the Camerata website.
You’ll receive an email shortly before the premiere (6:00pm EST on Saturday, November 14, 2020) which will contain links to the pre-concert talk and the show itself.
For more info, go to bostoncamerata.org/online-events. close
6:00pm
Streaming, On-Demand
* show info
* show info
This production will be recorded live, post-produced to include remote elements, and released on the Camerata website.
You’ll receive an email shortly before the premiere (6:00pm EST on Saturday, November 14, 2020) which will contain links to the pre-concert talk and the show itself. close
The Three Sisters:
Songs of Love and Passion, ca 1300
Camerata’s offering to the spirit of spring: a conversation, via fabulous, age-old music and poetry, and very much from the female point of view, around the always-contemporary themes of desire, yearning, and fulfillment. These songs will be performed by a virtuoso consort of women in love (or not); Anne Azéma, joined by Camila Parias, Clare McNamara, voices, and Susanne Ansorg, vielle and guittern.
The Night’s Tale:
A Tournament of Love
Le Tournoi de Chauvency, written circa 1285 by the French poet Jacques Bretel, is a narration of a courtly celebration in the Lorraine region of France, and the inspiration for “The Night’s Tale”. Our performance evokes a day’s festivities at the chateau of Chauvency. Daylight is the domain of men, who joust and fight in ritual encounters; when night falls, women converse in music and dance, far from the masculine violence of the daytime. Mutual desire aroused during the day culminates in the evening’s rites — aggressive and courtly, passionate and playful.
Daniel:
A Medieval Masterpiece Revisited
The fiery prophecies of Daniel, young captive in corrupt Babylon, ring forth again. This stunning, contemporary new production by Anne Azéma of the greatest musical play from the French Middle Ages involves lights, movement, urgent poetry, and a sterling cast including seasoned professionals, children, and Boston City Singers and Longy School of Music of Bard College students, to make 1310 happen again, in 2020. Our singers and musicians are supported by Peter Torpey’s deeply evocative lighting and special effects.
Central Lutheran Church, 1857 Potter St, Eugene, OR
* show info
* show info
A collaboration between the Boston Camerata and the UO School of Music and Dance.
University of Oregon residency and performance 3-8 Feb, Anne Azéma, Trotter Visiting Professor close
St. Mark’s Cathedral, 1245 10th Avenue E, Seattle, WA
* show info
* show info
The Boston Camerata is joined by the children of Saint Mark’s Cathedral Choir School under the direction of Rebekah Gilmore. close
2019
La Estrella:
A Hispanic Christmas
This exuberant, vivacious program celebrates Christmas with music from the Spanish speaking parts of the globe: Renaissance Iberia, and the Hispanic settlements of the New World. Encounters among indigenous Americans, the Spaniards, and West Africans produced some extraordinary musical results — unusual vocal colors, soulful melodies, and irresistible rhythms, sustained in our production by winds, keyboard, gamba, baroque guitar, and Iberian harp. The exceptional singers and instrumentalists of the Camerata are joined by local choirs, including the marvelous Fleurs des Caraïbes.
First Parish Church, Cambridge, 1446 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA
Puer Natus Est:
A Medieval Christmas
A glimpse of Christmas spirituality from Medieval France, Italy, England, and Provence, including music of the church and songs of private devotion around the joyous theme of the Nativity. Included are songs to the Virgin Mary, processionals from Saint Martial of Limoges, hymns, lyrics, and miracle ballads sung in Latin, Old French, Old Provençal, and Saxon, interlaced with Medieval English texts of the Nativity. Our cast features an extraordinary trio of women’s voices with harp and vielle. Anne Azéma, Camila Parias, Deborah Rentz-Moore, voices; Christa Patton, winds, harp; Allison Monroe, vielle
UVM Recital Hall, Southwick Music Building, 384 South Prospect Street, Burlington, VT
* show info
* show info
Sold Out!
with special guests The UVM Catamount Singers, David Neiweem, Director.
Tickets are currently unavailable for this show. Please continue to check back, as we may be able to open up seats in the future. close
Tickets are currently unavailable for this show. Please continue to check back, as we may be able to open up seats in the future. close
Free America!
Early Songs of Resistance and Rebellion (1790-1860)
This program explores, during a time when American ideals are undergoing such deep challenges, the vital and life-affirming sounds of the young Republic as its citizens sang and played forth their love of freedom and their rejection of tyranny. The rough-hewn sounds of citizen-composers, such as the Boston tanner Billings or the Vermont tavern-keeper Ingalls, still ring true and strong today. And Liberty’s early attendants — feminists, abolitionists, freed slaves, Boston rascals and the insolent scallywags of “Yankee Doodle” all remind us that in our musical roots lies our true strength. Exhilarating part songs, marches, anthems, jigs, and ballads from early prints and manuscript sources in a program first commissioned by the Paris Philharmonie and first performed there last fall 2018 and now the subject of a new Harmonia Mundi CD.
A Comforting Promise:
Music Celebrating Donald Wilkinson
Please join the Camerata and Friends for a concert to benefit the newly founded Donald R. Wilkinson Young Singers Fund. Thanks to the generosity of Katharina Radlberger, a reception will immediately follow the concert at 279 Nahant Road.
All donations will support the Fund and will include a ticket to the concert and reception, as well as a mention in the program at these levels:
Friend – $100
Patron – $250
Benefactor – $500+
Seating is limited to 75 people; minimum donation $100.
Patron – $250
Benefactor – $500+
Seating is limited to 75 people; minimum donation $100.
Contributions are tax-deductible. Please make checks payable to Town of Nahant with a note designating the donation for the Wilkinson Concert, and send by October 5th to:
Nahant Cultural Council
c/o Jim Walsh
33 High St
Nahant, MA 01908
c/o Jim Walsh
33 High St
Nahant, MA 01908
or email nahantculturalcouncil@gmail.com to make a pledge and reserve tickets.
The Ellingwood Chapel @ Greenlawn Cemetery, 195 Nahant Rd, Nahant, MA
* show info
Please join the Camerata and Friends for a concert to benefit the newly founded Donald R. Wilkinson Young Singers Fund. close
* show info
Please join the Camerata and Friends for a concert to benefit the newly founded Donald R. Wilkinson Young Singers Fund. close
Free America!
Early Songs of Resistance and Rebellion (1790-1860)
This program explores, during a time when American ideals are undergoing such deep challenges, the vital and life-affirming sounds of the young Republic as its citizens sang and played forth their love of freedom and their rejection of tyranny. The rough-hewn sounds of citizen-composers, such as the Boston tanner Billings or the Vermont tavern-keeper Ingalls, still ring true and strong today. And Liberty’s early attendants — feminists, abolitionists, freed slaves, Boston rascals and the insolent scallywags of “Yankee Doodle” all remind us that in our musical roots lies our true strength. Exhilarating part songs, marches, anthems, jigs, and ballads from early prints and manuscript sources in a program first commissioned by the Paris Philharmonie and first performed there last fall 2018 and now the subject of a new Harmonia Mundi CD.
Auditorium Cassin at Palais de la Musique et des Congrès, Rue Richard Strauss, 67000, Strasbourg, France
* show info
Tickets are free courtesy of the City of Strasbourg in celebration of its 60 year sister-city relationship with the City of Boston. Although free, tickets are limited and may be obtained at the Palais de la Musique et des Congrès prior to the concert. close
* show info
Tickets are free courtesy of the City of Strasbourg in celebration of its 60 year sister-city relationship with the City of Boston. Although free, tickets are limited and may be obtained at the Palais de la Musique et des Congrès prior to the concert. close
Les Miracles de Notre-Dame
The emotions raised by the fire that devastated Notre-Dame Cathedral of Paris, earlier this year, remind us of the profound cultural ties which exist between France and America.
To celebrate this common heritage, the Consulate General of France in Boston presents a concert of arias composed and first performed at Paris Notre Dame in the late 12th century, interpreted by the Boston Camerata Ensemble, together with the Choral Fellows of Harvard Memorial Church.
This concert will be introduced by a presentation of the current reconstruction efforts by Mr. Michel Picaud, President of the Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris. Prominent Harvard Professors will also share their views on the cultural and historic significance of Notre-Dame in Europe and America.
Harvard Memorial Church, One Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA
* show info
* show info
Under the direction of The Boston Camerata’s Artistic Director Anne Azéma, the performers include:
- Camila Parias, soprano
- Agnes Coakley, soprano
- Anne Azéma, mezzo soprano
- Deborah Rentz Moore, contralto
- Michael Barrett, tenor
- Craig Juricka, baritone
- Lawson Daves, baritone
- Luke Scott, bass-baritone
La Reina Joiosa
Anne Azéma performs joyful regal music from France and Provence in Monk Hall
Klingenmünster Benedictine Monastery, 76889 Klingenmünster, Klingenmünster, Weinstraße, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
City on the Hill:
Early Hymns and Spirituals of New England
On this fascinating and inspiring concert, Camerata will perform songs by the many religious groups that came to Boston and New England, beginning with the Puritans in 1640, to the hymn and anthem-singing Congregationalists and Universalists of the eighteenth century, to the utopian Shakers of Maine and Massachusetts, whose enormous production of spirituals and dance songs reveal themselves as central to the American dream of the Shining City.
Solemn and virtuous hymn singing contrasts with the barroom ballads that became religious songs. Carefully ordered worship contrasts with inspired dancing, joyful revelation, and hope for a better world.
The Parish of All Saints, Ashmont, 209 Ashmont Street, Dorchester, MA
* show info
* show info
The Camerata will be performing at the Association of Anglican Musicians annual conference.
email: aamboston2019@gmail.com close
Songes et Mençonges:
Medieval visions and dreams of prophecy, love and folly
Songes et Mençonges: Dreams and Deceptions
The Boston Camerata
Anne Azéma, voice, hurdy gurdy, harp, direction
Shira Kammen, vielle, harp
Timothy Leigh Evans, Michael Barrett, John Taylor Ward, voice
Anne Azéma, understands how to give to her songs the tragic intensity and dramatic power that are too often missing from academic recreations of medieval music.– Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Magic sensuality. It may well alter the way we look at the Middle Ages.
– The Boston Globe
New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough Street, Boston, MA
* show info
* show info
Join us in Boston for eight days of award-winning opera, celebrated concerts, the world-famous Exhibition, and more—JUNE 9–16, 2019! BEMF’s 20th BIENNIAL FESTIVAL, featuring the theme of “Dreams & Madness,” brings the world of Early Music together in Boston for a weeklong celebration. close
City on the Hill:
Early Hymns and Spirituals of New England
On this fascinating and inspiring concert, Camerata will perform songs by the many religious groups that came to Boston and New England, beginning with the Puritans in 1640, to the hymn and anthem-singing Congregationalists and Universalists of the eighteenth century, to the utopian Shakers of Maine and Massachusetts, whose enormous production of spirituals and dance songs reveal themselves as central to the American dream of the Shining City.
Solemn and virtuous hymn singing contrasts with the barroom ballads that became religious songs. Carefully ordered worship contrasts with inspired dancing, joyful revelation, and hope for a better world.
First Church in Cambridge, 11 Garden St, Cambridge, MA
* show info
* show info
Cast:
Anne Azéma, mezzo-soprano, direction
Camila Parias, soprano
Deborah Rentz-Moore, alto
Daniel Hershey, tenor
Michael Barrett, tenor
Luke Scott, bass-baritone
Jesse Lepkoff, flutes, guitar
Eric Martin, violin
Reinmar Seidler, cello close
Anne Azéma, mezzo-soprano, direction
Camila Parias, soprano
Deborah Rentz-Moore, alto
Daniel Hershey, tenor
Michael Barrett, tenor
Luke Scott, bass-baritone
Jesse Lepkoff, flutes, guitar
Eric Martin, violin
Reinmar Seidler, cello close
2018
Gloria!
An Italian Christmas
A joyful celebration of the season, with virtuoso voices and instruments performing magnificent Italian works of the Renaissance and early Baroque. Music ranging from intimate simplicity to sumptuous splendor including sacred songs of devotion, instrumental fantasias, and resplendent choral masterpieces of Venice’s Golden Age. Music of Monteverdi, Gabrieli, Cipriano, Marenzio and many more performed by voices, cornetto, viola da gamba, harp, brass and organ. A Camerata premiere not be missed! Puer Natus Est:
A Medieval Christmas
A glimpse of Christmas spirituality from Medieval France, Italy, England, and Provence, including music of the church and songs of private devotion around the joyous theme of the Nativity. Included are songs to the Virgin Mary, processionals from Saint Martial of Limoges, hymns, lyrics, and miracle ballads sung in Latin, Old French, Old Provençal, and Saxon, interlaced with Medieval English texts of the Nativity. Our cast features an extraordinary trio of women’s voices with harp and vielle. Anne Azéma, Camila Parias, Deborah Rentz-Moore, voices; Christa Patton, winds, harp; Allison Monroe, vielle
Gordon Chapel at Old South Church, 645 Boylston St., Boston, MA
3:00pm
First Unitarian Church of Providence, 1 Benevolent Street, Providence, RI
* show info
* show info
Part of the RISD Museum Concert Series close
The Tale of Fauvel:
A Political Fable from Medieval France
See and hear the orange creature gallop towards NowhereLand! The malevolent animal Fauvel is the protagonist of this acerbic and witty fable satirizing religious and political life in the fourteenth century and laden with implications for our own time and place. Watch Fauvel woo the Goddess Fortune, and resist his attempt to take over fair France! Our semi-staged production offers a generous selection of music, text, and visual stimulation from one of the most famous of all medieval manuscripts.
First Church in Boston, 66 Marlborough St., Boston, MA
* show info
* show info
Anne Azéma, Timothy Leigh Evans, Michael Barrett, voices
Shira Kammen, vielle
Steven Lundahl, winds
Joel Cohen, narrator close
Shira Kammen, vielle
Steven Lundahl, winds
Joel Cohen, narrator close
City on the Hill:
Early Hymns and Spirituals of New England
On this fascinating and inspiring concert, Camerata will perform songs by the many religious groups that came to Boston and New England, beginning with the Puritans in 1640, to the hymn and anthem-singing Congregationalists and Universalists of the eighteenth century, to the utopian Shakers of Maine and Massachusetts, whose enormous production of spirituals and dance songs reveal themselves as central to the American dream of the Shining City.
Solemn and virtuous hymn singing contrasts with the barroom ballads that became religious songs. Carefully ordered worship contrasts with inspired dancing, joyful revelation, and hope for a better world.
Le Studio – Philharmonie, 221, avenue Jean-Jaurès, Paris, France
* show info
* show info
The choir of the American Cathedral in Paris (Zach Ullery, director) joins us. close
Liberty Tree:
Early Music for the American Soul
The Camerata brings the soul of the American founding generation to life through hymns, polyphonic songs, and ballads. This concert will explores the vital and life-affirming sounds of the young Republic as its citizens sang and played forth their love of freedom and their rejection of tyranny. The rough-hewn works of citizen-composers, such as Boston tanner William Billings or Vermont tavern-keeper Jeremiah Ingalls, still ring true to our contemporary ears.
Tristan & Iseult:
A Medieval Romance in Poetry and Music
Since its creation in 1986, our retelling of the Tristan and Iseult legend using original medieval music and poetry has won numerous awards and distinctions and has toured around the globe. Now, in 2018, Anne Azéma brings this immortal lovers’ tale back to life, directing an all-star cast in Joel Cohen’s powerful scenario, complemented by her stunning new stage design.
Camerata’s most honored production of recent seasons was originally conceived as a recording project. At the request of Erato records, intense literary and musical research took place during winter and spring 1987. The recording sessions were held in September, 1987 at the Church of the Covenant, Boston.
Read more about the recording.
Daniel:
A Medieval Masterpiece Revisited
The fiery prophecies of Daniel, young captive in corrupt Babylon, ring forth again. This stunning, contemporary new production by Anne Azéma of the greatest musical play from the French Middle Ages involves lights, movement, urgent poetry, and a sterling cast including seasoned professionals, children, and Boston City Singers and Longy School of Music of Bard College students, to make 1310 happen again, in 2020. Our singers and musicians are supported by Peter Torpey’s deeply evocative lighting and special effects.
Rockefeller Chapel, Chicago, IL
* show info
* show info
With the Rockefeller Chapel Choir and the Trebles of the Choir of St. Luke’s, Evanston close
Grace and Holy Trinity Church, Kansas City, MO
* show info
* show info
With Te Deum Antiqua and the Lawrence Children’s Choir. close
2017
Carols at Midnight:
French Christmas Music 1550-1700
A cornucopia of French Christmas music for voices, viols, harp and organ. Serene liturgies from the Burgundian court mingle with late Renaissance and early Baroque carols and dances. A candlelit performance of Charpentier’s beloved Messe de Minuit is the centerpiece of our evening. A Mediterranean Christmas
The Christmas narrative retold using songs, chants, and instrumental pieces from the countries of the Mediterranean basin: Spain, Italy, and southern France, as well as north Africa and the Holy Land. Works are drawn from medieval manuscripts and more recent, though still archaic, folklore and oral traditions. With voices, early instruments of Europe and the Middle East, and readings of the Christmas story. We are joined by SHARQ Arabic Ensemble.
Bourgie Hall, Montreal, QC, Canada
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For their first concert in Montreal since their creation in 1954, the renowned Boston Camerata has joined forces with the Arabic music ensemble SHARQ to introduce us to traditional Christmas carols from the Mediterranean basin. From northern Africa to southern Europe, different cultures, languages and traditions come together in a great message of love and hope. close
First Parish Church of Newbury, 20 High Rd., Newbury, MA
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With SHARQ Arabic Ensemble. close
First Lutheran Church, 299 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA
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With SHARQ Arabic Ensemble. close
Liberty Tree:
Early Music for the American Soul
The Camerata brings the soul of the American founding generation to life through hymns, polyphonic songs, and ballads. This concert will explores the vital and life-affirming sounds of the young Republic as its citizens sang and played forth their love of freedom and their rejection of tyranny. The rough-hewn works of citizen-composers, such as Boston tanner William Billings or Vermont tavern-keeper Jeremiah Ingalls, still ring true to our contemporary ears.
Harvard Memorial Church, One Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA
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Harvard’s glorious Memorial Church will resound with partsongs, marches, anthems, jigs, and ballads from the young Republic, a time when citizens sang their rejection of tyranny! Rousing works by citizen-composers such as Boston tanner William Billings and Vermont tavern-keeper Jeremiah Ingalls still ring true today. WIth the Choral Fellows of Harvard University (Edward Jones, dir.) young professionals from Longy School of Music of Bard College, and Middlesex County Volunteers Fifes and Drums. close
Treasures of Devotion:
Spiritual Song in Northern Europe 1500-1540
Music of personal devotion in the early Renaissance reflects the spirituality of homes and small chapels in an age of intense religious renewal. Prayers, songs, and chants accompany music for the Virgin, meditations on the cross, and astonishing reworkings of the day’s popular melodies set to sacred texts.
Anne Azéma, voice, hurdy gurdy
Michael Barrett, voice, lute
Daniel Hershey, voice
Joel Frederiksen, voice, lute
Andrew Arceci, viola da gamba
Shira Kammen, vielle, harp
Carol Lewis, viola da gamba
Michael Barrett, voice, lute
Daniel Hershey, voice
Joel Frederiksen, voice, lute
Andrew Arceci, viola da gamba
Shira Kammen, vielle, harp
Carol Lewis, viola da gamba
Rijksmuseum, Museumstraat 1, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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A series of short popup concerts in the museum’s Philipsvleugel (Phillips Wing). Presented in association with the “Small Wonders” exhibit on view through September 17. Free with museum admission. close
Songes et Mençonges:
Medieval visions and dreams of prophecy, love and folly
Songes et Mençonges: Dreams and Deceptions
The Boston Camerata
Anne Azéma, voice, hurdy gurdy, harp, direction
Shira Kammen, vielle, harp
Timothy Leigh Evans, Michael Barrett, John Taylor Ward, voice
Anne Azéma, understands how to give to her songs the tragic intensity and dramatic power that are too often missing from academic recreations of medieval music.– Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Magic sensuality. It may well alter the way we look at the Middle Ages.
– The Boston Globe
Martinskirche, Basel, Switzerland
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The Boston Camerata makes its long awaited debut in Switzerland. Anne Azéma and her colleagues will open the Basel Early Music Festival with a newly commissioned program of songs from the Middle Ages, exploring the themes of sleep and dreams, including works by the visionary Hildegard of Bingen. close
Liberty and Love:
A Summer Sampler
We offer a summer buffet of music for our Maine friends, plus a sneak preview of our 2017-18 season! An opening set of love songs, chants, and spirituals from medieval France is followed by a feast of home-cooked ballads, Revolutionary partsongs, and paeans to American heroes, including pieces from the earliest Maine songbooks.
Anne Azéma, director, voice
Michael Barrett, Lawson Daves, Daniel Hershey, Camila Parias, Deborah Rentz-Moore, voices
Joel Cohen, voice, guitar
Michael Barrett, Lawson Daves, Daniel Hershey, Camila Parias, Deborah Rentz-Moore, voices
Joel Cohen, voice, guitar
Head Tide Church, Head Tide Church Road, Alna, ME
* show info
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We offer a summer buffet of music for our Maine friends, plus a sneak preview of Boston Camerata’s 2017-18 season! An opening set of love songs, chants, and spirituals from medieval France is followed by a feast of home-cooked ballads, Revolutionary partsongs, and paeans to American heroes, including pieces from the earliest Maine songbooks. close
Tristan & Iseult:
A Medieval Romance in Poetry and Music
Since its creation in 1986, our retelling of the Tristan and Iseult legend using original medieval music and poetry has won numerous awards and distinctions and has toured around the globe. Now, in 2018, Anne Azéma brings this immortal lovers’ tale back to life, directing an all-star cast in Joel Cohen’s powerful scenario, complemented by her stunning new stage design.
Camerata’s most honored production of recent seasons was originally conceived as a recording project. At the request of Erato records, intense literary and musical research took place during winter and spring 1987. The recording sessions were held in September, 1987 at the Church of the Covenant, Boston.
Read more about the recording.
Shalin Liu Performance Center, 37 Main St., Rockport, MA
* show info
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Rockport Chamber Music Festival presents Camerata’s groundbreaking telling of the Tristan and Iseult legend. Based on the original 12th-century sources, this medieval romance with narration weaves original elements together with staging and light for a truly unique concert experience.
Anne Azéma as Iseult
Sumner Thompson as Tristan
Clare McNamara as Brangane
Jason McStoots as Mark
Joel Cohen as the Narrator
with Susanne Ansorg, vielle
lighting design by Peter Torpey. close
Treasures of Devotion:
Spiritual Song in Northern Europe 1500-1540
Music of personal devotion in the early Renaissance reflects the spirituality of homes and small chapels in an age of intense religious renewal. Prayers, songs, and chants accompany music for the Virgin, meditations on the cross, and astonishing reworkings of the day’s popular melodies set to sacred texts.
Anne Azéma, voice, hurdy gurdy
Michael Barrett, voice, lute
Daniel Hershey, voice
Joel Frederiksen, voice, lute
Andrew Arceci, viola da gamba
Shira Kammen, vielle, harp
Carol Lewis, viola da gamba
Michael Barrett, voice, lute
Daniel Hershey, voice
Joel Frederiksen, voice, lute
Andrew Arceci, viola da gamba
Shira Kammen, vielle, harp
Carol Lewis, viola da gamba
The Cloisters, New York, NY
* show info
* show info
Music of personal devotion from the early Renaissance, reflecting the spirituality of homes, family circles, and small chapels in an age of intense religious renewal. Prayers, songs, chants, including music for the Virgin, meditations on the cross, and astonishing reworkings of the day’s popular melodies to sacred texts by Josquin, Agricola, Compère, Senfl, Clemens non Papa, and others. Anne Azéma, director, voice; Michael Barrett, voice, lute; Daniel Hershey, voice; Joel Frederiksen, voice, lute; Shira Kammen, vielle, harp; Andrew Arceci and Carol Lewis, violas da gamba. close
Marsh Chapel, 735 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA
* show info
Music of personal devotion from the early Renaissance, reflecting the spirituality of homes, family circles, and small chapels in an age of intense religious renewal. Prayers, songs, chants, including music for the Virgin, meditations on the cross, and astonishing reworkings of the day’s popular melodies to sacred texts by Josquin, Agricola, Compère, Senfl, Clemens non Papa, and others. Presented in collaboration with Boston University. Anne Azéma, director, voice; Michael Barrett, voice, lute; Daniel Hershey, voice; Joel Frederiksen, voice, lute; Shira Kammen, vielle, harp; Andrew Arceci and Carol Lewis, violas da gamba. close
* show info
Music of personal devotion from the early Renaissance, reflecting the spirituality of homes, family circles, and small chapels in an age of intense religious renewal. Prayers, songs, chants, including music for the Virgin, meditations on the cross, and astonishing reworkings of the day’s popular melodies to sacred texts by Josquin, Agricola, Compère, Senfl, Clemens non Papa, and others. Presented in collaboration with Boston University. Anne Azéma, director, voice; Michael Barrett, voice, lute; Daniel Hershey, voice; Joel Frederiksen, voice, lute; Shira Kammen, vielle, harp; Andrew Arceci and Carol Lewis, violas da gamba. close
Daniel:
A Medieval Masterpiece Revisited
The fiery prophecies of Daniel, young captive in corrupt Babylon, ring forth again. This stunning, contemporary new production by Anne Azéma of the greatest musical play from the French Middle Ages involves lights, movement, urgent poetry, and a sterling cast including seasoned professionals, children, and Boston City Singers and Longy School of Music of Bard College students, to make 1310 happen again, in 2020. Our singers and musicians are supported by Peter Torpey’s deeply evocative lighting and special effects.
Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
* show info
* show info
This powerful, highly-praised production returns to Boston in 2017 as part of a national tour. The themes of justice, and of truth spoken to power, are once again front and center as the Jewish captive Daniel confronts the tyrannical Belshazzar. The magnificent musical play of Daniel, composed eight centuries ago in Beauvais, France was newly transcribed from the original manuscript source and powerfully staged for modern audiences by Anne Azéma, it was premiered in Boston in 2014 to critical and public acclaim. Presented in collaboration with Trinity Church; with the Trinity Choristers, Boston City Singers, and Longy School of Music of Bard College. close
Trinity Church, 206 Clarendon St, Boston, MA
* show info
This powerful, highly-praised production returns to Boston in 2017 as part of a national tour. The themes of justice, and of truth spoken to power, are once again front and center as the Jewish captive Daniel confronts the tyrannical Belshazzar. The magnificent musical play of Daniel, composed eight centuries ago in Beauvais, France was newly transcribed from the original manuscript source and powerfully staged for modern audiences by Anne Azéma, it was premiered in Boston in 2014 to critical and public acclaim. Presented in collaboration with Trinity Church; with the Trinity Choristers, Boston City Singers, and Longy School of Music of Bard College. close
* show info
This powerful, highly-praised production returns to Boston in 2017 as part of a national tour. The themes of justice, and of truth spoken to power, are once again front and center as the Jewish captive Daniel confronts the tyrannical Belshazzar. The magnificent musical play of Daniel, composed eight centuries ago in Beauvais, France was newly transcribed from the original manuscript source and powerfully staged for modern audiences by Anne Azéma, it was premiered in Boston in 2014 to critical and public acclaim. Presented in collaboration with Trinity Church; with the Trinity Choristers, Boston City Singers, and Longy School of Music of Bard College. close
St. Paul’s School, Concord, NH
* show info
* show info
This powerful, highly-praised production returns to Boston in 2017 as part of a national tour. The themes of justice, and of truth spoken to power, are once again front and center as the Jewish captive Daniel confronts the tyrannical Belshazzar. The magnificent musical play of Daniel, composed eight centuries ago in Beauvais, France was newly transcribed from the original manuscript source and powerfully staged for modern audiences by Anne Azéma, it was premiered in Boston in 2014 to critical and public acclaim. close
Treasures of Devotion:
Spiritual Song in Northern Europe 1500-1540
Music of personal devotion in the early Renaissance reflects the spirituality of homes and small chapels in an age of intense religious renewal. Prayers, songs, and chants accompany music for the Virgin, meditations on the cross, and astonishing reworkings of the day’s popular melodies set to sacred texts.
Anne Azéma, voice, hurdy gurdy
Michael Barrett, voice, lute
Daniel Hershey, voice
Joel Frederiksen, voice, lute
Andrew Arceci, viola da gamba
Shira Kammen, vielle, harp
Carol Lewis, viola da gamba
Michael Barrett, voice, lute
Daniel Hershey, voice
Joel Frederiksen, voice, lute
Andrew Arceci, viola da gamba
Shira Kammen, vielle, harp
Carol Lewis, viola da gamba
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON, Canada
* show info
* show info
Music of personal devotion from the early Renaissance, reflecting the spirituality of homes, family circles, and small chapels in an age of intense religious renewal. Prayers, songs, chants, including music for the Virgin, meditations on the cross, and astonishing reworkings of the day’s popular melodies to sacred texts by Josquin, Agricola, Compère, Senfl, Clemens non Papa, and others. Anne Azéma, Michael Barrett, Daniel Hershey, Joel Frederiksenvoices; Andrew Arceci, Shira Kammen, Carol Lewis, viola da gamba close
* show info
Music of personal devotion from the early Renaissance, reflecting the spirituality of homes, family circles, and small chapels in an age of intense religious renewal. Prayers, songs, chants, including music for the Virgin, meditations on the cross, and astonishing reworkings of the day’s popular melodies to sacred texts by Josquin, Agricola, Compère, Senfl, Clemens non Papa, and others. Anne Azéma, Michael Barrett, Daniel Hershey, Joel Frederiksen, voices; Andrew Arceci, Shira Kammen, Carol Lewis, viola da gamba. close
2016
In Dulci Jubilo:
A German Christmas
In the European North, the forests are deep; the nights are dark and long. Perhaps this is why, in reaction, the early Christmas music of the German-speaking peoples is so intensely joyful, so profoundly rich. Our program explores the marvelous music of German Christmas festivity through chants and chorales, simple carols, grandiose polyphony, and instrumental fantasias of the 15th to early 17th centuries.
First Church in Cambridge, 11 Garden St, Cambridge, MA
* show info
In the European North, the forests are deep; the nights are dark and long. Perhaps this is why, in reaction, the early Christmas music of the German-speaking peoples is so intensely joyful, so profoundly rich. Our program explores the marvelous music of German Christmas festivity through chants and chorales, simple carols, grandiose polyphony, and instrumental fantasias of the 15th to early 17th centuries. This new program will feature the stellar Boston Camerata Wind Ensemble and an expanded consort of voices and early instruments.
Anne Azéma, Daniel Hershey, Camila Parias, Deborah Rentz-Moore, John Taylor Ward, voices; Brian Kay, Steven Lundahl, Liza Malamut, sackbuts; Nathaniel Cox, cornetto, theorbo; Carol Lewis, viola da gamba. close
* show info
In the European North, the forests are deep; the nights are dark and long. Perhaps this is why, in reaction, the early Christmas music of the German-speaking peoples is so intensely joyful, so profoundly rich. Our program explores the marvelous music of German Christmas festivity through chants and chorales, simple carols, grandiose polyphony, and instrumental fantasias of the 15th to early 17th centuries. This new program will feature the stellar Boston Camerata Wind Ensemble and an expanded consort of voices and early instruments.
Anne Azéma, Daniel Hershey, Camila Parias, Deborah Rentz-Moore, John Taylor Ward, voices; Brian Kay, Steven Lundahl, Liza Malamut, sackbuts; Nathaniel Cox, cornetto, theorbo; Carol Lewis, viola da gamba. close
Union College, Memorial Chapel, Schenectady, NY
* show info
* show info
In the European North, the forests are deep; the nights are dark and long. Perhaps this is why, in reaction, the early Christmas music of the German-speaking peoples is so intensely joyful, so profoundly rich. Our program explores the marvelous music of German Christmas festivity through chants and chorales, simple carols, grandiose polyphony, and instrumental fantasias of the 15th to early 17th centuries. This new program will feature the stellar Boston Camerata Wind Ensemble and an expanded consort of voices and early instruments.
Anne Azéma, Daniel Hershey, Camila Parias, Deborah Rentz-Moore, John Taylor Ward, voices; Brian Kay, Steven Lundahl, Liza Malamut, sackbuts; Nathaniel Cox, cornetto, theorbo; Carol Lewis, viola da gamba. close
Puer Natus Est:
A Medieval Christmas
A glimpse of Christmas spirituality from Medieval France, Italy, England, and Provence, including music of the church and songs of private devotion around the joyous theme of the Nativity. Included are songs to the Virgin Mary, processionals from Saint Martial of Limoges, hymns, lyrics, and miracle ballads sung in Latin, Old French, Old Provençal, and Saxon, interlaced with Medieval English texts of the Nativity. Our cast features an extraordinary trio of women’s voices with harp and vielle. Anne Azéma, Camila Parias, Deborah Rentz-Moore, voices; Christa Patton, winds, harp; Allison Monroe, vielle
Bradbury Building, 304 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA
* show info
* show info
A glimpse of Christmas spirituality from Medieval France, Italy, England, and Provence, including music of the church and songs of private devotion around the joyous theme of the Nativity. Included are songs to the Virgin Mary, processionals from Saint Martial of Limoges, hymns, lyrics, and miracle ballads sung in Latin, Old French, Old Provençal, and Saxon, interlaced with Medieval English texts of the Nativity. Our cast features an extraordinary trio of women’s voices with harp and vielle.
Presented by the Da Camera Society. close
2:00pm
* show info
A glimpse of Christmas spirituality from Medieval France, Italy, England, and Provence, including music of the church and songs of private devotion around the joyous theme of the Nativity. Included are songs to the Virgin Mary, processionals from Saint Martial of Limoges, hymns, lyrics, and miracle ballads sung in Latin, Old French, Old Provençal, and Saxon, interlaced with Medieval English texts of the Nativity. Our cast features an extraordinary trio of women’s voices with harp and vielle.
Presented by the Da Camera Society. close
St. James by-the-sea Episcopal Church, 743 Prospect St., La Jolla, CA
* show info
* show info
A glimpse of Christmas spirituality from Medieval France, Italy, England, and Provence, including music of the church and songs of private devotion around the joyous theme of the Nativity. Included are songs to the Virgin Mary, processionals from Saint Martial of Limoges, hymns, lyrics, and miracle ballads sung in Latin, Old French, Old Provençal, and Saxon, interlaced with Medieval English texts of the Nativity. Our cast features an extraordinary trio of women’s voices with harp and vielle.
Presented by San Diego Early Music Society. close
Dante Festival at the Gardner
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 25 Evans Way, Boston, MA
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Anne Azéma, Artistic Director, will surprise visitors to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum with impromptu renditions of vocal music from Dante’s time, including songs the great poet himself might have heard in the palaces of fourteenth-century Florence. close
City of Fools:
Medieval Songs of Rule and Misrule
Shortly before an important American election, this new program of songs and poems from the Middle Ages evokes the age-old themes of justice and corruption in the public sphere. Minstrel songs from medieval France, Provençe, and Germany, amazingly contemporary in their language, provide an amusing and sharply-etched perspective on our current travails. Includes pungent selections from the Play of Daniel, Carmina Burana, and Roman de Fauvel; works by gifted musican-poets Philippe le Chancelier, Bertran de Born, and Thibault de Champagne; and a very American ending.
First Church in Boston, 66 Marlborough St., Boston, MA
* show info
Shortly before an important American election, this new program of songs and poems from the Middle Ages evokes the age-old themes of justice and corruption in the public sphere. Minstrel songs from medieval France, Provençe, and Germany, amazingly contemporary in their language, provide an amusing and sharply-etched perspective on our current travails. Includes pungent selections from the Play of Daniel, Carmina Burana, and Roman de Fauvel; works by gifted musican-poets Philippe le Chancelier, Bertran de Born, and Thibault de Champagne; and a very American ending.
Anne Azéma, director, voice, hurdy-gurdy; Jordan Weatherston Pitts voice; Christa Patton, winds, harp; Shira Kammen, vielle, harp; Joel Cohen, narrator, lauta; with young professionals from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. close
* show info
Shortly before an important American election, this new program of songs and poems from the Middle Ages evokes the age-old themes of justice and corruption in the public sphere. Minstrel songs from medieval France, Provençe, and Germany, amazingly contemporary in their language, provide an amusing and sharply-etched perspective on our current travails. Includes pungent selections from the Play of Daniel, Carmina Burana, and Roman de Fauvel; works by gifted musican-poets Philippe le Chancelier, Bertran de Born, and Thibault de Champagne; and a very American ending.
Anne Azéma, director, voice, hurdy-gurdy; Jordan Weatherston Pitts voice; Christa Patton, winds, harp; Shira Kammen, vielle, harp; Joel Cohen, narrator, lauta; with young professionals from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. close
The Sacred Bridge
Back by popular demand! An interfaith celebration unlike any other. Discover with us the common musical roots of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, and the astonishing and beautiful interactions among these traditions. Our program includes elements of Jewish liturgy, Gregorian and Koranic chant, songs and texts of Jewish minstrels, Sephardic folksong, medieval Spanish Cantigas, and Judaeo-Islamic music from the ancient Andalusian tradition.
read more...
Igreja da Sé, São Luis, Brazil
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The Camerata presents our beloved interfaith program “The Sacred Bridge” at the Festival de Música Barroca de Alcântara. Experience the connections of Jewish, Muslim, and Christian music and spirituality of medieval Europe.
Anne Azéma, voice, director; Joel Cohen, lauta, voice; Boujemaa Razgui, ney, oud, voice. close
Igreja do Carmo, Alcântara, Brazil
* show info
* show info
The Camerata presents our beloved interfaith program “The Sacred Bridge” at the Festival de Música Barroca de Alcântara. Experience the connections of Jewish, Muslim, and Christian music and spirituality of medieval Europe.
Anne Azéma, voice, director; Joel Cohen, lauta, voice; Boujemaa Razgui, ney, oud, voice. close
3:00pm
Alcantara Historical Museum, Alcântara, Brazil
* show info
* show info
The Camerata presents our beloved interfaith program “The Sacred Bridge” at the Festival de Música Barroca de Alcântara. Experience the connections of Jewish, Muslim, and Christian music and spirituality of medieval Europe.
Anne Azéma, voice, director; Joel Cohen, lauta, voice; Boujemaa Razgui, ney, oud, voice. close
The American Vocalist
Camerata’s pioneering exploration of folk hymnody in the young Republic includes spiritual songs, hymns, and anthems in a vigorous and authentic homegrown manner. This style, recalling many elements of European early music, grew up in the singing schools of colonial New England, travelled South and West in the 19th century, and continues to live on thanks to a new generation of motivated singers in all parts of the country.
Cathedral Church of St. Paul, 138 Tremont St., Boston, MA
* show info
* show info
Camerata’s pioneering exploration of folk hymnody in the young Republic includes spiritual songs, hymns, and anthems in a vigorous and authentic homegrown manner. This style, recalling many elements of European early music, grew up in the singing schools of colonial New England, travelled South and West in the 19th century, and continues to live on thanks to a new generation of motivated singers in all parts of the country. This collaboration with the newly-renovated Cathedral Church of St. Paul includes singers from local parish choirs. close
The Night’s Tale:
A Tournament of Love
Le Tournoi de Chauvency, written circa 1285 by the French poet Jacques Bretel, is a narration of a courtly celebration in the Lorraine region of France, and the inspiration for “The Night’s Tale”. Our performance evokes a day’s festivities at the chateau of Chauvency. Daylight is the domain of men, who joust and fight in ritual encounters; when night falls, women converse in music and dance, far from the masculine violence of the daytime. Mutual desire aroused during the day culminates in the evening’s rites — aggressive and courtly, passionate and playful.
Pickman Concert Hall, Longy School of Music, 27 Garden St., Cambridge, MA
* show info
* show info
Another astonishing music-theater production by Artistic Director Anne Azéma. Based on an authentic, colorful narrative of festivity, tournaments, and love games in a medieval French castle, our performance captures the day’s celebrations through song and gesture. Daylight is the domain of men, who joust and fight in ritual encounters, as the women shout encouragement; when night falls, the women converse in music and dance, far from the masculine violence of the daytime. Mutual longing aroused during the day culminates in the evening’s rites, as the sexes come together in courtship, both playful and passionate. Camerata’s musicians are joined by graduate students from the Longy School of Music of Bard College in this beautiful and intense evocation of medieval desire.
Produced in partnership with Longy School of Music of Bard College. close
* show info
Another astonishing music-theater production by Artistic Director Anne Azéma. Based on an authentic, colorful narrative of festivity, tournaments, and love games in a medieval French castle, our performance captures the day’s celebrations through song and gesture. Daylight is the domain of men, who joust and fight in ritual encounters, as the women shout encouragement; when night falls, the women converse in music and dance, far from the masculine violence of the daytime. Mutual longing aroused during the day culminates in the evening’s rites, as the sexes come together in courtship, both playful and passionate. Camerata’s musicians are joined by graduate students from the Longy School of Music of Bard College in this beautiful and intense evocation of medieval desire.
Produced in partnership with Longy School of Music of Bard College.
Pre-concert lecture April 16 at 7pm – Nancy Regalado (NYU). Wolfinsohn Room. close
2015
A Mediterranean Christmas
The Christmas narrative retold using songs, chants, and instrumental pieces from the countries of the Mediterranean basin: Spain, Italy, and southern France, as well as north Africa and the Holy Land. Works are drawn from medieval manuscripts and more recent, though still archaic, folklore and oral traditions. With voices, early instruments of Europe and the Middle East, and readings of the Christmas story. We are joined by SHARQ Arabic Ensemble.
First Church in Cambridge, 11 Garden St, Cambridge, MA
* show info
* show info
The Christmas narrative retold using songs, chants, and instrumental pieces from the countries of the Mediterranean basin: Spain, Italy, and southern France, as well as north Africa and the Holy Land. Works are drawn from medieval manuscripts and more recent, though still archaic, folklore and oral traditions. With voices, early instruments of Europe and the Middle East, and readings of the Christmas story. Camerata is joined by SHARQ Arabic Ensemble.
Anne Azéma – voice, hurdy-gurdy & director
Camila Parias – voice
Deborah Rentz-Moore – voice
Steven Lundahl – brass, recorder
Karim Nagi – percussion, voice
Boujemaa Ragui – oud, ney, voice, percussion
Mehmet Sanlikol – voice, oud
Beth Bahia Cohen – vielle close
Union College, Memorial Chapel, Schenectady, NY
* show info
* show info
The Christmas narrative retold using songs, chants, and instrumental pieces from the countries of the Mediterranean basin: Spain, Italy, and southern France, as well as north Africa and the Holy Land. Works are drawn from medieval manuscripts and more recent, though still archaic, folklore and oral traditions. With voices, early instruments of Europe and the Middle East, and readings of the Christmas story. Camerata is joined by SHARQ Arabic Ensemble.
Anne Azéma – voice, hurdy-gurdy & director
Camila Parias – voice
Deborah Rentz-Moore – voice
Steven Lundahl – brass, recorder
Karim Nagi – percussion, voice
Boujemaa Ragui – oud, ney, voice, percussion
Mehmet Sanlikol – voice, oud
Beth Bahia Cohen – vielle close
First Parish Church of Newbury, 20 High Rd., Newbury, MA
* show info
* show info
The Christmas narrative retold using songs, chants, and instrumental pieces from the countries of the Mediterranean basin: Spain, Italy, and southern France, as well as north Africa and the Holy Land. Works are drawn from medieval manuscripts and more recent, though still archaic, folklore and oral traditions. With voices, early instruments of Europe and the Middle East, and readings of the Christmas story. Camerata is joined by SHARQ Arabic Ensemble.
Anne Azéma – voice, hurdy-gurdy & director
Camila Parias – voice
Deborah Rentz-Moore – voice
Steven Lundahl – brass, recorder
Karim Nagi – percussion, voice
Boujemaa Ragui – oud, ney, voice, percussion
Mehmet Sanlikol – voice, oud
Beth Bahia Cohen – vielle close
Hancock United Church of Christ, 1912 Massachusetts Ave., Lexington, MA
* show info
* show info
The Christmas narrative retold using songs, chants, and instrumental pieces from the countries of the Mediterranean basin: Spain, Italy, and southern France, as well as north Africa and the Holy Land. Works are drawn from medieval manuscripts and more recent, though still archaic, folklore and oral traditions. With voices, early instruments of Europe and the Middle East, and readings of the Christmas story. Camerata is joined by SHARQ Arabic Ensemble.
Anne Azéma – voice, hurdy-gurdy & director
Camila Parias – voice
Deborah Rentz-Moore – voice
Steven Lundahl – brass, recorder
Karim Nagi – percussion, voice
Boujemaa Ragui – oud, ney, voice, percussion
Mehmet Sanlikol – voice, oud
Beth Bahia Cohen – vielle close
Nueva España:
Close Encounters in the New World
Latin American Baroque music at its best! This program calls attention to “the meeting places of light and beauty that did indeed exist in those terrible, hard centuries”–the Age of Exploration in the New World. Here we show the fruitful intercultural exchanges that transpired between indigenous American cultures, the Spanish, and the Africans, and indeed, this is beautiful music. Lively and driven at times by the sunny strumming of the baroque guitar and the maracas, tambourine, and claves, at other times stately with the grandeur of voices with organ.
Trinity Church, 206 Clarendon St, Boston, MA
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Latin American Baroque music at its best! This program calls attention to “the meeting places of light and beauty that did indeed exist in those terrible, hard centuries”–the Age of Exploration in the New World. Here we show the fruitful intercultural exchanges that transpired between indigenous American cultures, the Spanish, and the Africans, and indeed, this is beautiful music. Lively and driven at times by the sunny strumming of the baroque guitar and the maracas, tambourine, and claves, at other times stately with the grandeur of voices with organ. The Camerata is joined by the Trinity Choristers, Boston City Singers, and the Haitian women’s choir Les Fleurs des Caraïbes. close
All Saints’ Church – Ashmont, 209 Ashmont St., Dorchester Center, MA
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Latin American Baroque music at its best! This program calls attention to “the meeting places of light and beauty that did indeed exist in those terrible, hard centuries”–the Age of Exploration in the New World. Here we show the fruitful intercultural exchanges that transpired between indigenous American cultures, the Spanish, and the Africans, and indeed, this is beautiful music. Lively and driven at times by the sunny strumming of the baroque guitar and the maracas, tambourine, and claves, at other times stately with the grandeur of voices with organ. The Camerata is joined by the Trinity Choristers, Boston City Singers, and the Haitian women’s choir Les Fleurs des Caraïbes. close
Patriots and Heroes:
Music of the Young Republic
Who are our heroes? How did they go to battle and with what songs? Whose side were they on?
A medley of early American music featuring a portrait gallery of eminent Americans, but also high spirited celebrations, of the new nation, and around the quintessential American themes of freedom and independence. This program constitutes a chapter in the Boston 2015 celebrations of the Marquis de Lafayette and the historic return of his rebuilt 18th century “freedom frigate”, the Hermione.
Drawing on original print and manuscript sources, we will include songs in celebration of Lafayette’s friends and associates, Washington and Jefferson, as well as both American and French compositions reflecting the social and political climate of the turbulent years 1775-1830. Liberty, martial glory, loyalty, and a healthy dose of satire and irreverence are all present in the lively ballads and broadsides of that crucial time.
Boston Athenaeum, Boston
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Who are our heroes? How did they go to battle and with what songs? Whose side were they on?
A medley of early American music featuring a portrait gallery of eminent Americans, but also high spirited celebrations, of the new nation, and around the quintessential American themes of freedom and independence. This program constitutes a chapter in the Boston 2015 celebrations of the Marquis de Lafayette and the historic return of his rebuilt 18th century “freedom frigate”, the Hermione.
Drawing on original print and manuscript sources, we will include songs in celebration of Lafayette’s friends and associates, Washington and Jefferson, as well as both American and French compositions reflecting the social and political climate of the turbulent years 1775-1830. Liberty, martial glory, loyalty, and a healthy dose of satire and irreverence are all present in the lively ballads and broadsides of that crucial time.
Anne Azéma (director), Camila Parias, Deborah Rentz-Moore, Daniel Hershey, and John Taylor Ward, voices, are joined by Sarah Darling, violin and
Libor Dudas, fortepiano. close
Carmina Burana
Drawing on the original 13th-century manuscript, The Boston Camerata’s Carmina Burana presents a panoramic portrait of student and clerical life in medieval Europe: paeans to the Goddess Fortune, funny and ferocious critiques of Church and State, earnest meditations on truth and righteousness, and a generous serving of songs about drinking, gambling and amorous adventure. With its usual verve and vivacity, the Camerata gives a deepened, in turn exuberant and contemplative reading of this manuscript, under the direction of vocalist Anne Azéma.
St. Thomas Church, 248 Nahant Rd., Nahant, MA
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Drawing on the original 13th-century manuscript, The Boston Camerata’s Carmina Burana presents a panoramic portrait of student and clerical life in medieval Europe: paeans to the Goddess Fortune, funny and ferocious critiques of Church and State, earnest meditations on truth and righteousness, and a generous serving of songs about drinking, gambling and amorous adventure. With its usual verve and vivacity, the Camerata gives a deepened, in turn exuberant and contemplative reading of this manuscript, under the direction of vocalist Anne Azéma. Our stellar cast (Anne Azéma, Daniel Hershey, Don Wilkinson, voice; Shira Kammen, strings) is joined by students from the Festival’s apprentice program. close
Highlights from the Medieval Carmina Burana
As a prelude to Carl Orff’s extravagant Carmina Burana, Boston Camerata presents a vivacious portrait of student and clerical life in medieval Europe.
Barnstable Performing Arts Center, 744 W. Main St., Hyannis, MA
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As a prelude to Carl Orff’s extravagant Carmina Burana, Boston Camerata presents a vivacious portrait of student and clerical life in medieval Europe. This joint concert with the Cape Symphony features Anne Azéma, Joel Cohen, Dan Hershey and Taylor Ward. close
Carmina Burana
Drawing on the original 13th-century manuscript, The Boston Camerata’s Carmina Burana presents a panoramic portrait of student and clerical life in medieval Europe: paeans to the Goddess Fortune, funny and ferocious critiques of Church and State, earnest meditations on truth and righteousness, and a generous serving of songs about drinking, gambling and amorous adventure. With its usual verve and vivacity, the Camerata gives a deepened, in turn exuberant and contemplative reading of this manuscript, under the direction of vocalist Anne Azéma.
Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore, Treviso, Italy
Théatre de la Ville, 2 Place du Châtelet, Paris, Paris, France
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Drawing on the original 13th-century manuscript, The Boston Camerata’s Carmina Burana presents a panoramic portrait of student and clerical life in medieval Europe: paeans to the Goddess Fortune, funny and ferocious critiques of Church and State, earnest meditations on truth and righteousness, and a generous serving of songs about drinking, gambling and amorous adventure. With its usual verve and vivacity, the Camerata gives a deepened, in turn exuberant and contemplative reading of this manuscript, under the direction of vocalist Anne Azéma. Our stellar cast (Anne Azéma, Joel Frederiksen, Tim Evans, voice; Shira Kammen and Susanne Ansorg, strings) will be assisted by a conservatory student choir from Paris. close
The Sacred Bridge
Back by popular demand! An interfaith celebration unlike any other. Discover with us the common musical roots of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, and the astonishing and beautiful interactions among these traditions. Our program includes elements of Jewish liturgy, Gregorian and Koranic chant, songs and texts of Jewish minstrels, Sephardic folksong, medieval Spanish Cantigas, and Judaeo-Islamic music from the ancient Andalusian tradition.
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Pickman Concert Hall, Longy School of Music, 27 Garden St., Cambridge, MA
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Concert runtime: 1 hour 45 min close
Hannaford Hall, USM Campus, Portland, ME
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Back by popular demand! An interfaith celebration unlike any other. Discover with us the common musical roots of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, and the astonishing and beautiful interactions among these traditions. Our program includes elements of Jewish liturgy, Gregorian and Koranic chant, songs and texts of Jewish minstrels, Sephardic folksong, medieval Spanish Cantigas, and Judaeo-Islamic music from the ancient Andalusian tradition. The Boston Camerata is joined by Sharq Arabic Music Ensemble.
Concert runtime 1 hour 45 min close
Of All the Flowers:
Sacred and Secular Song of the Later Middle Ages
The constantly evolving and inventive musical minds of Italian and French masters during the fourteenth century has left us with repertoires, both sacred and secular, that successfully unite the search for new and different creative paths with astonishing lyricism and sensual beauty. In this specially commissioned program for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, you will hear music spanning the worlds of God and Man, by the greatest composers of their day: Machaut, Landini, da Bologna, and others, performed by Camerata’s virtuoso soloists and instrumentalists.
MIT Walker Memorial Hall, Cambridge, MA
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The constantly evolving and inventive musical minds of Italian and French masters during the fourteenth century has left us with repertoires, both sacred and secular, that successfully unite the search for new and different creative paths with astonishing lyricism and sensual beauty. In this specially commissioned program for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, you will hear music spanning the worlds of God and Man, by the greatest composers of their day: Machaut, Landini, da Bologna, and others, performed by Camerata’s virtuoso soloists and instrumentalists. close
Portes du Ciel (Gates of Heaven):
Spiritual Songs from Medieval France
Close to Reims, the regions of Champagne, Picardy, and Lorraine brought forth an abundant harvest of song in French, both secular and sacred. The subject of “Heaven’s Gate” is the magnificent repertoire, composed in both the courtly and popularizing manners, in praise of the Virgin Mary. Noble songs in the refined trouvère style, narrations in word and song, and dance music with sacred texts, are all included in this production. The prior of Vic-sur-Aisne, Gauthier de Coincy (1177/8-1236), a passionate and prolix musician-poet, recounts the miracles of the Virgin that took place in his parish; Thibault de Champagne (1201-1253), count of Champagne and king of Navarra, praises the Queen of Heaven in the most elegant and subtle style; while anonymous minstrels transform the worldly songs of the day into vigorous, toe-tapping spirituals.
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The Cloisters, New York, NY
Sold Out!
1:00pm
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Sold Out!
Close to Reims, the regions of Champagne, Picardy, and Lorraine brought forth an abundant harvest of song in French, both secular and sacred. The subject of “Heaven’s Gate” is the magnificent repertoire, composed in both the courtly and popularizing manners, in praise of the Virgin Mary. Noble songs in the refined trouvère style, narrations in word and song, and dance music with sacred texts, are all included in this production. The prior of Vic-sur-Aisne, Gauthier de Coincy (1177/8-1236), a passionate and prolix musician-poet, recounts the miracles of the Virgin that took place in his parish; Thibault de Champagne (1201-1253), count of Champagne and king of Navarra, praises the Queen of Heaven in the most elegant and subtle style; while anonymous minstrels transform the worldly songs of the day into vigorous, toe-tapping spirituals. close
2014
An American Christmas
From the early years of the American republic, and from a wide range of early tune books and manuscripts, a generous selection of carols, New England anthems, Southern folk hymns and religious ballads for the season.
Union College, Memorial Chapel, Schenectady, NY
First Presbyterian Church, Asheville, NC
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To celebrate our 60th Anniversary, our Christmas program features music from our very own tradition. From the early years of the American republic, and from a wide range of early tune books and manuscripts, a generous selection of carols, New England anthems, Southern folk hymns and religious ballads for the season. close
Puer Natus Est:
A Medieval Christmas
A glimpse of Christmas spirituality from Medieval France, Italy, England, and Provence, including music of the church and songs of private devotion around the joyous theme of the Nativity. Included are songs to the Virgin Mary, processionals from Saint Martial of Limoges, hymns, lyrics, and miracle ballads sung in Latin, Old French, Old Provençal, and Saxon, interlaced with Medieval English texts of the Nativity. Our cast features an extraordinary trio of women’s voices with harp and vielle. Anne Azéma, Camila Parias, Deborah Rentz-Moore, voices; Christa Patton, winds, harp; Allison Monroe, vielle
Eglise Saint Pierre Le Jeune Protestant, Strasbourg, France
Eglise Protestante, Haguenau, France
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Camerata’s chamber music version of this, our best-known holiday program, features three angelic women’s voices and instrumentalists. Our performance presents magnificent medieval song and poetry from the mid-winter celebration of Christ’s nativity, with a look as well at the pagan celebrations of winter solstice. Countries represented include France, England, Italy, Provence, and Germany. This production will include also a distaff choir from Mission Voix Alsace. close
Daniel:
A Medieval Masterpiece Revisited
The fiery prophecies of Daniel, young captive in corrupt Babylon, ring forth again. This stunning, contemporary new production by Anne Azéma of the greatest musical play from the French Middle Ages involves lights, movement, urgent poetry, and a sterling cast including seasoned professionals, children, and Boston City Singers and Longy School of Music of Bard College students, to make 1310 happen again, in 2020. Our singers and musicians are supported by Peter Torpey’s deeply evocative lighting and special effects.
Trinity Church, 206 Clarendon St, Boston, MA
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The prophecies, tribulations, and triumph of the young Biblical hero Daniel, as retold in music from medieval Beauvais. Probably the most powerful and musically evocative of all the medieval mystery plays, in a splendid new production conceived by Anne Azéma. A translation of the play can be viewed here and downloaded here. close
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The prophecies, tribulations, and triumph of the young Biblical hero Daniel, as retold in music from medieval Beauvais. Probably the most powerful and musically evocative of all the medieval mystery plays, in a splendid new production conceived by Anne Azéma. A translation of the play can be viewed here and downloaded here. close
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