What is an early music festival? It's a place to hear the type of music that was once played in the courts and salons of 16th, 17th, and 18th century Europe.
The 1st Annual Portland Early Music Festival will be celebrating this sort of music this weekend in Portland, Maine.
There will master classes, workshops, and lectures as well as the music.
Schedule:
- Friday, 7:30pm: "An Age of Ayres," Songs of 17th Century England and France. An ayre is an English lute accompanied song and was a popular genre of the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
- Saturday, 1pm-5pm and Sunday, 1:30pm: Workshops and Lectures
- Saturday, 7:30pm: "Ein Sachsisches Programm," or "Mostly Saxon Program." J.S. Bach and S.L. Weiss finished their careers in Electoral Saxony, whose capital was Dresden, one of the 18th century's finest musical establishments.
- Sunday 2:30pm-3:30pm: Meet the Instruments.
- Sunday 4:30pm: "The Soul of Italy," music from the birthplace of the Baroque by Frescobaldi, Kapsberger, Strozzi, and Storace. Concludes with selections from Vecchi's commedia dell'arte, L'Amfiparnaso.
