Baroque Spring ~ Final concerts of the season

With spring fully established, what better music to capture the season’s happy mood than the energetic and enchanting music of the late Baroque period (about 1700 to 1750). Under the vibrant direction of Artistic Director & Conductor Valentin Radu, the Camerata Ama Deus Baroque period-instrument chamber orchestra will offer two performances of effervescent works by three masterful Baroque composers—Johann Sebastian Bach, Benedetto Marcello and Georg Philipp Telemann.

From the musical genius of Bach, Maestro Radu and the Camerata Ama Deus will perform the Concerto for Two Violins in d minor, a triple Concerto for Flute, Violin and Harpsichord in a minor and the famed Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F. From Italy comes the well-known Oboe Concerto in d minor by Marcello. And returning to Germany, the artists of the Camerata Ama Deus will perform two stunning works by Telemann—his Concerto for Recorder in g minor and the virtuosic Suite for Trumpet in D. This program will be offered twice in different neighborhoods of the Delaware Valley. 

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On Friday, May 31 at 8:00 PM, the concert will be presented at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 8000 St. Martin’s Lane (at Willow Grove Avenue) in Chestnut Hill. Then on Sunday, June 2 at 6:00 PM, the concert will be repeated in Daylesford Abbey, 220 South Valley Road in Paoli. Tickets for both concerts are priced at $25 for general admission, $20 for seniors and $10 for students & children. Doors open 45 minutes before the concert. 

Our CDs will be available at the concert, including our latest release: Gershwin & Ellington (see details below). 

Season 27 Announced! Click on the picture to enlarge.

May 2013 Newsletter: Beethoven & Paganini at the Kimmel Center

Niccolò Paganini

Violin Concerto No. 1

The Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 6, was composed by Paganini in Italy, probably between 1817 and 1818. The concerto reveals that Paganini’s technical wizardry was fully developed. Contemporary audiences gasped at the extended passages of double-stop thirds, both chromatic and in harmonics.

Paganini intended the Concerto to be heard in E-flat major: the orchestral parts were written in E-flat, and the solo part was written in D major with instructions for the violin to be tuned a semitone high (a technique known as scordatura), so that it would therefore sound in E-flat. This enables the soloist to achieve effects in E-flat which would not be possible with a normal D tuning (for example, the opening of the third movement, where the violin plays a rapid downward scale A-G-F♯-E-D, both bowed and pizzicato. This is possible on an open D-string, but is not possible in the key of E-flat), because two strings would be required. The key of E flat would mute the sound of the orchestra, whose strings would play fewer tones on open strings, and this would make the solo part emerge more clearly from the orchestral accompaniment.

In Conversation with John Ostendorf, Recording Producer

Meet the Man Behind the Earphones

John Ostendorf

VoxAmaDeus’ master recording producer, in conversation with Richard A. Shapp

Vox recording session

At every VoxAmaDeus concert our audience is offered the opportunity to purchase a wide array of compact disc recordings from Vox’s extensive concert repertoire. In this interview we invite you to meet the man you never see, but whose golden ears are essential to the success of every recording you can purchase to take home and enjoy at your leisure. Meet John Ostendorf!

RAS: John, how and when did you begin your association with Valentin Radu and VoxAmaDeus?

JO: My nearly 20-year association with Valentin Radu and VoxAmaDeus coincided with the winding-up of my active singing career and my move to a full-time concentration on record producing. The two endeavors had overlapped for some time—more on that later. I'd just produced a Bach solo album for soprano Julianne Baird, a longtime vocal colleague and friend in Philadelphia. She introduced me to Valentin Radu; we hit it off instantly and planned a period-instrument Messiah recording for the VOX label—a happy coincidence. That went really well, and two decades and about thirty recordings (maybe more?) later, we're still at it.

Philadelphia Boys Choir joins the Ama Deus Ensemble

Valentin Radu

Welcomes the

Philadelphia Boys Choir

performing with the

Ama Deus Ensemble

J.S. Bach’s Saint John Passion

at the Kimmel Center on March 29 at 8:00 PM

Buy tickets here!

Adding to the beauty of Bach’s music—enjoy the exquisite, angelic voices of the Philadelphia Boys Choir when it joins musical forces with the Ama Deus Ensemble in the Perelman Theater of the Kimmel Center on Friday, March 29 performing the Saint John Passion in English.

Since 1968, the Philadelphia Boys Choir has provided the finest musical education and performing experience for ensembles of its genre in the Greater Philadelphia area. Though our style has been emulated by many, none can top the beautiful and unique sound our boys create. Every week in rehearsal, boys interact and connect with other boys from all over the Tri-State region, allowing them to learn from one another through friendships they might not otherwise find. The opportunities for travel and concerts around the world help our Choir members build character in a safe and constructive environment, while carrying out the esteemed tradition of being part of America’s Ambassadors of Song.

March 2013 - J.S. Bach's St. John Passion

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The St. John Passion is a dramatic representation of the Passion story with extravagance and an expressive immediacy. It is the oldest of Bach's settings of the Passion. Written in 1724, it is fast-paced and emotionally moving. Bach innovatively and freely explores harmony and word-painting in this work, and delivers a exuberance not found in many other Baroque works.

VoxAmaDeus welcomes the Philadelphia Boys Choir (Jeffrey Smith, Director) to this performance featuring an all-Baroque instrument orchestra.

 A Conversation with Tenor Dana Wilson

 ...In conversation with Richard A. Shapp...

 
Tenor Dana Wilson prepares To sing the Evangelist’s Role in Bach’s monumental Saint John Passion on Good Friday, March 29th at 8 PM

As you will discover, Dana Wilson has been a member of the VoxAmaDeus vocal ensemble for nearly ten years. And although he has had his share of solo parts, this March 29 he will take on an extremely challenging leading role in the Perelman Theater of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. Dana will be featured as the Evangelist (in other words, the Narrator) in J.S. Bach’s monumental Saint John Passion. This is one of the most demanding tenor parts in the concert repertoire and Dana’s musical journey to Baroque music expert began in an unexpected place!

RAS: So Dana, let’s begin at the beginning. How and when did you begin your association with Valentin Radu and VoxAmaDeus?

DW: It's amazing to think that it's closing in on a decade since I began my association with Valentin Radu and VoxAmaDeus!

(continued)

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Renaissance Candlemas

Valentin Radu conducts the Vox Renaissance Consort
Click here for tickets.

Under the musical direction of Valentin Radu, the lushly costumed professional vocalists and period-instrument troubadours of the Vox Renaissance Consort will perform Renaissance Candlemas, glorious music from the Renaissance and early Baroque periods celebrating this time of year when the harshness of winter slowly begins to give way to the glories of spring.

Maestro Radu explains: “Candlemas is one of the most ancient festivals of the Church. It is celebrated forty days after Christmas, generally on February 2. It is also called The Feast of the Presentation, since it commemorates the Presentation of the Christ Child in the Temple in Jerusalem as well as the Ritual Purification of Mary as was prescribed by Mosaic Law. Of this Presentation, the Gospel of Luke relates that Simeon the Righteous blessed the Babe and then uttered the famous words of the Nunc dimittis (“Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word”). A popular feature of the Candlemas religious service was the blessing of beeswax candles and their procession through the church. I also find it interesting to note that many scholars believe that Candlemas had its roots in pre-Christian European winter celebrations observed in early February, and that from among these sprang a famous Pennsylvania Dutch tradition that is still observed every February 2!

“The music of the Renaissance and early Baroque periods that embodies the themes of Candlemas is gloriously beautiful and often serene. The Vox Renaissance Consort Candlemas programs will feature, among others, two Franco-Flemish works, Hodie Beata Virgo Maria by Jacob Arcadelt and Ave maris stella by Guillaume Dufay, as well as the well-known eight-voice Jubilate Deo by the Venetian Giovanni Gabrieli and a setting of Psalm 121 by the German Heinrich Schütz.”

Renaissance Candlemas will be presented twice, in two locations: first, on Friday, February 8, at 8:00 PM at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 8000 St. Martin’s Lane and Willow Grove Avenue; and again on Sunday, February 10, at 6:00 PM at Daylesford Abbey, 220 South Valley Road in Paoli.

General Admission tickets are $10 for students, $20 for seniors, $25 for all others and go on sale at the door approximately 45 minutes prior to concert time.

For tickets call VoxAmaDeus at 610-688-2800 or click here.