The Boston Camerata

ALEXANDER IS GREAT AS CAMERATA HEADS FOR THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

admin — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:25:41 +0000

Our farflung correspondents on the other coast tell us that Camerata’s first international tour of 2012 went very well, with capacity audiences and standing ovations in both Vancouver and Seattle, Washington. Anne’s magical program of song and storytelling around Alexander the Great was beautifully performed at both venues by our own soloists, in collaboration with Mehmet Sanlikol’s Dünya ensemble: “a hypnotic and fascinating evening of music” (music blog SunBreak.)

Next, Anne heads to Eugene, Oregon to teach classes and prepare a student version of The Knight’s Tale. Back in Boston, we’re gearing up for a weeklong sumer residency at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. And the beat goes on.

This just in: Anne makes another contribution to musicology.

admin — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 16:26:51 +0000

Camerata fans and followers know Anne Azéma as a charismatic performer and a dynamic music director. What this newly released book reminds us, however, is that she’s also an internationally respected scholar.

The last essay in this collection of papers about the 13th century Tournoi de Chauvency is by her, and it’s a summing-up or envoi to the Metz project she guided a few seasons back. That groundbreaking project included Anne’s live, staged performance based on the Tournoi, a commercial CD, a colloquium, and now this impressive tome reuniting research and reflection by many highly regarded medievalists. The publisher is the top name in medieval studies, Droz of Geneva. We’ll be glad to help you obtain your copy should you be interested. Congratulations, Anne!

P.S. We still have a few copies available of the CD. Beautiful music.

FEBRUARY MUSIC: Love creates a warming trend

admin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:27:04 +0000

It was a bitterly cold February night, just about the worst of the winter, when Anne Azéma, Deb Rentz-Moore, Jane Sheldon, Shira Kammen, and Tom Zajac gave one of the hotter concerts of the Camerata season. Love and dalliance in medieval France were the subjects, and the audience, undeterred by frigid weather and by the ecclesiastical architecture of First Lutheran Church, rewarded the “Game of Love” cast with a standing ovation at the end. The church acoustics gave a nice sheen to the voices and instruments on the master recording made by WGBH, and on Valentine’s Day thousands heard the Camerata’s passionate music over the airwaves and via the internet. And a few days later, Anne and Shira inaugurated a new early music series in New York City’s currently “in” venue, Baryshnikov Hall, with some of the same French music heard in Boston.

DECEMBER MUSIC: Bridges to the Sacred

admin — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:19:08 +0000

Our December concerts began with three sold-out performances of “The Sacred Bridge,” in Cambridge and in Washington, D.C. We were joined once again by our friends of the Sharq Arabic Music Ensemble. We loved our audiences: quoth the Boston Globe, “The [Boston] audience applauded… as if it would have been happy to stay till dawn.” Joel, too, tells us he was thrilled to be leading this production once again, and also to get his chance, thanks to the miracle of digital photography in the Dumbarton Oaks museum, to produce a Christmas/Hanukah greeting card in the style of King Alfonse the Wise’s medieval illuminated manuscripts…

Then Anne Azéma took over the leadership role for the remainder of the month, and directed the first performances of “A Medieval Christmas” to be heard in our home area in a decade. An enthusiastic cast of Camerata veterans and newcomers helped Anne shape her own, personal vision of this now-classic Camerata program. People who have been following the evolution of this production over the years tell us they loved the current blend of old and new. WGBH radio was present, and broadcast large excerpts of “Medieval Christmas” coast-to-coast on Christmas day. And resident sound-and-image gurus David and Harriet Griesinger documented the Cambridge performance on video. We’ll have more news on that audiovisual front a little later…

NOVEMBER MUSIC: CAMERATA TOURS ALSACE, NORMANDY AND FLANDERS

admin — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:33:33 +0000

For the fifth and final time in 2011, Camerata musicians packed their bags and passports, headed to Logan airport, and embarked on a European tour. Our five-performance itinerary on this swing had us return to Strasbourg, Rouen, and Caen, all places that had warmly welcomed us on previous tours. November brought us as well our Belgian début, in the magnificent medieval city of Bruges.

Notwithstanding our pleasure in the quaint streets and ancient church spires of Northern Europe, our particular delight this time was sharing our own, homegrown American hymns and spirituals with our enthusiastic French and Belgian audiences. And, in three of the five events, we had the joy collaborating once again with the superb dancers of the Tero Saarinen company in “Borrowed Light.”

We returned in time for Thanksgiving, and the December concerts closer to home – “A Medieval Christmas” and “The Sacred Bridge.” A rich harvest, indeed.

Blessed With Press This Summer

admin — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:15:23 +0000

The Boston Camerata has been much in the news this summer.

As we have already noted, thousands attended our pair of outdoor Americana in Paris. Prior to those performances, Joel Cohen went on French TV to explain (in English!) what we were about to do; his segment begins at ~5:39 in the 12-minute program.

The respected Parisian daily La Croix also did a nice feature article/interview with Anne Azéma in anticipation of the events. And then read a rave review!

As a French-born American equally home in both cultures, Anne’s opinion is often sought after on general cultural/artistic issues affecting both sides of the Atlantic. A few days ago, Le Monde asked for her views on the state of the musical arts in America.

We expect more media coverage in the near future, and we’ll keep you up to date on the latest links.

CAMERATA PLAYS FOR THOUSANDS OF CHEERING, LAUGHING PARISIANS

admin — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 14:02:14 +0000

The tempest (Irene) was raging back home. And, to be honest, the weather was pretty unstable in Paris, too. Chilly, windy, rainy weekend weather was, however, unable to dampen the enthusiasm of our Paris friends – about 2,600 of them over two days, filling the seats of the outdoor auditorium for the Classique au Vert music festival.

We gave the audiences generous helpings of early Americana, from Boston, Northern New England, and the South: hymns, patriotic songs and dances. They responded with cheers and bravos, and the events, partly because of the sheer size of the crowd, had something of a rock-concert ambiance. Thanks to Jesse, Ben, Anne, Joel, Susan, Thea, Dan, Tim and Don for creating such good energy for the listeners in Camerata’s second homebase! We consider ourselves primed for the upcoming fall season in Strasbourg, Bruges, Caen, Rouen, and of course Boston. Come and share with us!

A MAGICAL AFTERNOON IN HEAD TIDE, MAINE

admin — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:49:51 +0000

Thanks to our good friends (and newly-matriculated board members) Priscilla and Brett Donham, we spent an unforgettable August weekend in beautiful Alna, Maine — good food and fellowship, a swim in the river, and a concert of New England spirituals in the pristine, eighteenth century Head Tide church, before a wonderfully appreciative audience.

It was the kind of marriage between music and architecture that we often dream about — but this time, it was reality, a perfect match between the “frozen music” of the old church vaults and the warm, living sounds of early American song. We salute our generous hosts for a very special experience, which was eloquently summed up in an email from one audience member: “Splendid, special, wonderful, spectacular, magical, glorious.”

JOEL AND ANNE RETURN TO CORDES, WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

admin — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 14:37:45 +0000

The magnificent medieval citadel of Cordes, in the southwest of France, has an important place in Boston Camerata history. And just a few days ago our Artistic Director and Director Emeritus paid a visit, after a long absence, to that beautiful place.

We are happy to post an interview with Joel Cohen (in French) on France Musique, recorded in Cordes, where Joel and the Camerata began teaching in Europe lo these many years ago…Joel was honored on June 18 by a concert dedicated to him, given in the town’s medieval church. The interview was done the next morning. The conversation begins a few minutes into the start of the program.

Many warm thoughts, as well, to those Camerata musicians who pioneered the workshop concept during those extraordinary seasons. And special remembrance to Alison Fowle, of the Camerata, and Lucienne Touren, of Cordes. Their work lives on!

Photo: Copyright 2011 Yannick Coupannec.

THIS JUST IN! REIMS NEWSPAPER RUNS OUT OF ADJECTIVES! CAMERATA RETURNS HOME!

admin — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 20:50:08 +0000

Just as “L’Union,” the main newspaper of Reims, seemingly exhausted its supply of superlatives in its daily (sometimes, twice a day) article about the Boston Camerata, our musicians sang their last medieval air (a Cantiga by Spanish King Alfonse the Wise), acknowledged the standing ovation, toasted each other and the festival with a final glass of champagne, packed their bags and headed home.

It was an intense, unflagging and totally involving ten days for us. FIVE programs, all different, all drawn from the rich medieval repertoire of Reims and the Champagne country, to be presented over such a short time period….nobody will deny that it wasn’t stressful. But it was also immensely rewarding.

We were offered a bottle of bubbly to take home after each show….that’s quite a few bottles. We were also showered with laudatory adjectives by the local press, such a cloudburst of praise as we have rarely gathered in such a small interval. From our recent scrapbook, here are a few:

“A key personality of medieval music” (referring to our own Anne Azéma); “a feast;” “totally seductive;” “luminous…perfect equilibrium;” “music full of joy and hope;” “magnificent;” “a dazzling concert;” “brilliant;” “a marvelous ensemble;” “five concerts in ten days: a flawless achievement;” and, once again, “what a feast!”

Thank you, Reims. We are still somewhat tipsy with praise, good drink, beautiful music, and your unwavering support and enthusiasm.