For the New York City version of the concert, Garald worked with tenor Christopher Preston-Thompson and soprano Tiffany Bizup once again, joined by lovely mezzo Julia Mintzer.
This set of talents brought new musical opportunities to the repertoire. Remember in our Boston Early Music Festival post, we told you that Christopher had taken an interest in the early harp? Well, the NYC concert was his first public performance as a harpist! He wrote his own harp arrangement for his solo Veni, veni Emmanuel and added harp accompaniment to Garald’s lute for several other songs. Tiffany Bizup was inspired to break out her flute and added flute obbligato to Patapan and other carols. The fuller instrumental sound provided a lovely contrast to our usual a cappella and lute/vocal arrangements. We hope we can continue to spice up our performances with new instrumental additions from time to time.
It was exciting to hear the different artistic choices made by the two different sets of singers (tour and NYC). We also enjoy hearing how our interpretations of each carol evolve from year to year. As a collaborative, non-conducted ensemble, our desire is to continually challenge ourselves with new interpretations. We would rather risk trying something new than set our artistic decisions in stone. Only by exploring new ideas do we keep this music fresh for ourselves and our audiences.
Thank you, as always, to the congregation of Advent Lutheran Church, our concert home in New York City!
And that brings us up to 2012! Stay tuned for news of upcoming concerts (Long Island in March and Cleveland in June)! Kirsten will be providing inside scoop on remounting Love, Lust, Longing… Loss in March, and our brand new concert program to be toured in June — currently in development!
With best wishes,
Garald Farnham, Kirsten Kane and Alane Marco
Tags: Christmas carols, Christopher Preston Thompson, Early Music, Garald Farnham, Good Pennyworths, Good Pennyworths Holiday concert, Julia Mintzer, Renaissance Music, Tiffany Bizup, vocal ensemble, Vocal Quartet
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