Houston Early Music 2011-12 Season Opens with Passionate Enemies 10/2

Houston Early Music will launch its 2011-12 season with a performance by La Donna Musicale on Sunday, October 2. The concert, which showcases the music of rival German courts of the 18th century, begins at 5 p.m. at Christ the King Evangelical Lutheran Church, located at 2353 Rice Boulevard, Houston, TX 77005.

Boston-based La Donna Musicale is a nonprofit research, education and performance organization dedicated to highlighting music by women composers from the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical periods, as well as contemporary works. The ensemble uses period instruments and historically based productions to showcases the compositions.

For their Houston program, Passionate Enemies, La Donna Musicale presents music by women composers at courts of Frederic the Great and the House of Hapsburg. For these powerful foes on the battlefield, the competitive spirit extended to the salon, where passions ran high and nothing was spared in their lavish quest of the arts.

Soprano Shari Alise Wilson and countertenor Gerrod Pagenkopf perform with the ensemble that includes violins, viola, violone, harpsichord and viola da gamba.

Music by Frederic's sister, Wilhelmine, and Anna Bon goes up against Hapsburg-sponsored Camilla de Rossi and Maria Teresa Agnesi.

"For all of these rulers, music was a vehicle to express not only passions but also power," said Laury Gutiérrez, director of La Donna Musicale. "They spared no effort in presenting the best music and musicians, just as they spared no effort in fighting military battles. Their passion for triumph was the same."

Gutiérrez explained that La Donna Musicale focuses on pieces that have not yet been recorded.

"The 18th century is an exciting period: you have composers such as Handel and Camilla de Rossi that sound Baroque; ­­­­you have composers ­­such as CPE Bach and Anna Bon that sound Pre-classical and you also have composers such as Haydn and Maria Teresa Agnesi that sound Classical. Also, the genres of oratorio and opera demonstrate the abilities of the composers on a larger scale than we generally find in the 17th century," she said.
Gutiérrez will present a pre-concert talk at 4:15 p.m. focusing on the historical background of the music and composers.

Exploring history through music is a Houston Early Music hallmark. The group follows music from the Middle Ages through the 18th century, providing unique programming and world-class concerts performed with historical instruments and styles true to the period.

The theme for the 2011-2012 season is "Reimagining the Past." For the five programs are on the schedule this year, Nancy Ellis, artistic director, has scouted top talent from around the country.

"This season's concerts will appeal to early-music devotees as well as those who have not yet experienced the energy and spontaneity of early music," Ellis said.

Ellis added that hearing music written 500 years ago with modern ears is a journey of discovery. "It is a great opportunity to explore the rhythmic intricacies, fascinating harmony and passion of music that is an important part of our past," she said.

Season Subscriptions & Tickets
A Houston Early Music full season subscription provides tickets to all five concerts. Rates are $165 for general admission and $135 for seniors. Mini-Pass subscriptions include any three concerts for $100 general admission and $85 for seniors. Individual tickets are $35 for general admission, $30 for seniors, and $10 for students with ID. Free admission is available for children under 15.

Subscriptions and individual tickets are available online and can also be purchased by mail. To purchase tickets, visit www.HoustonEarlyMusic.org or call 713-432-1744.

"Reimagining the Past" Houston Early Music 2011-2012 Season Summary
Sunday, October 2, 2011
LA DONNA MUSICALE
Passionate Enemies
Christ the King Evangelical Lutheran Church, 5:00 p.m.
2353 Rice Boulevard, Houston, TX 77005
Pre-concert talk at 4:15 p.m.
Laury Gutiérrez, La Donna Musicale Director

Sunday, December 11, 2011
DUFAY COLLECTIVE
To Drive the Cold Winter Away - Christmas Revelry in Renaissance England
Christ Church Cathedral, 5:00 p.m.
1117 Texas Avenue, Houston, TX 77002
Pre-concert talk at 4:15 p.m.
Dufay Collective members

Friday, February 3, 2012
RICHARD EGARR, Harpsichord
The Harpsichord's Golden Century
First Unitarian Universalist Church, 7:30 p.m.
5200 Fannin, Houston, TX 77004
Pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m.
Richard Egarr

HISPANIC HERITAGE SERIES
Friday, March 2, 2012
LA MORRA
Luz del Alva - Renaissance Spanish Songs of Love, War and Devotion
Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, 7:30 p.m.
6221 Main Street, Houston, TX 77030
Pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m.
La Morra ensemble members

Friday, May 4, 2012
TRIO SETTECENTO
The Scottish Play - Scottish music of the Baroque era
Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, 7:30 p.m.
6221 Main Street, Houston, TX 77030
Pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m.
John Mark Rozendaal

ABOUT HOUSTON EARLY MUSIC
Houston Early Music presents the world's finest period ensembles and soloists who bring to life music from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance to the Baroque and Classical periods.

One of the country's leading early-music organizations, it is the city's only presenting organization dedicated to covering the large historical span of early music in all of its forms. Houston Early Music epitomizes a movement that has swept the world of classical music. Incorporated in 1969, the nonprofit provides performance opportunities for up-and-coming and major early music artists from around the world in an annual concert series.

A successful and growing educational outreach program introduces a future generation to a broad range of music. Houston Early Music is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance and by the Texas Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, visit www.houstonearlymusic.org.

ABOUT LA DONNA MUSICALE
Boston-based La Donna Musicale is a nonprofit research, education and performance
organization devoted exclusively to the discovery, preservation and promotion of music by women composers. For more, visit www.ladm.org.