We bid a fond “au revoir” to our friend the centaur, who hails from a Medieval manuscript preserved in an Avignon archive. But times change, and we want to adapt our Camerata “look,” as we face both challenges and opportunities in the seasons and years to come. Music lives!

Songs for the Season

Henry Purcell wrote a “Harvest Home,” and in old England, harvest songs to celebrate the changing season were in fact a tradition. Closer to home, our own Jeremiah Ingalls published one such song in Exeter, New Hampshire, in 1805. We find its eloquent melody and somber text to be much in keeping with the current moment, and herewith offer it to you, paired with another tune that Ingalls employed, “The Cuba March.”

Here we hear:
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Why does this brief work, less than an hour long, create such a powerful, emotional impact? 

We’re fortunate to have Ellen T. Harris, eminent Baroque scholar and Professor Emeritus of Music at MIT, on our team. Dr. Harris, who quite literally wrote the book on Dido, will be delivering the pre-concert talk before our performance in November. Here she shares with us her thoughts about this incredible, compact musical drama.

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Rising opera star Tahanee Aluwihare, who will be interpreting the role of Dido in Camerata’s new production of Purcell’s great masterpiece, shares with us her thoughts on this upcoming adventure.

“I am really looking forward to exploring this powerful feminine role with Tahanee, a major young talent on the North American music scene,” says Artistic Director Anne Azéma. “You can catch a glimpse of Tahanee’s enquiring spirit in this short clip.”

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