Parthenia Presents THE POWER OF MUSIC AND POETRY Today

Parthenia, New York's premiere viol consort, will present The Art of Persuasion - The Power of Music and Poetry , a lecture/recital and concert today, May 2, including a 4:00 PM lecture/recital and 7:00 PM concert at The Church of Saint Luke in the Fields, 487 Hudson Street in Manhattan. This is the third event of The Art of Persuasion, their 2014-15 concert series. Between performances, Parthenia will offer a walking tour of Greenwich Village, including a stop for a neighborhood dinner. A list of dining establishments will be provided to concert goers.

The 4 PM lecture/recital on the art of persuasion: the power of words and music will feature acclaimed opera conductor Gary Thor Wedow leading a multi-media presentation with many musical illustrations showing how musicians have set words and delivered their emotional content throughout history. Maestro Wedow and actor Paul Hecht will explore period readings of famous Shakespeare soliloquies (in 18th c. style, and in today's style) and soprano Amy Burton will sing arias from Monteverdi's l'Incoronazione di Poppea, Purcell's Dido's Lament and The Blessed Virgin's Expostulation. Parthenia will perform instrumental music by Dowland, Holborne, and Marais.

The 7 PM concert features Ms. Burton, Parthenia, and Richard Stone, theorbo, with Maestro Wedow on harpsichord, performing works by Renaissance and Baroque composers such as John Dowland, Antoine de Bertrand, Girolamo Parabosco, and Purcell (Bess of Bedlam) will be intermingled with arrangements for viols, theorbo, harpsichord and voice by Poulenc (a setting of a Ronsard poem), Zemlinsky (a setting of Langston Hughes' Misery), Will Ayton (selections from his A Reliquary for William Blake), and John Musto (his setting of Gibbons' Silver Swan and Hughes' Litany). Mr. Hecht will read from contemporaneous literature.

More about the programs at http://parthenia.org/season/?event=persuasion.

Tickets are $40/25/10, under 18 free. For more information, call 212-866-0468 or visit http://gemsny.org/parthenia20142015.html.