Storms, Shipwrecks, and Sorcery is a fantastical journey through some of the most dramatic music of the 17th and 18th centuries. This program evokes both literal storms and clouds of rage. Guest soprano Nola Richardson stunningly portrays two sorceresses scorned, both the anguished Armida from Handel’s Armida Abbandonata and the vengeful Médée, namesake of Clérambault’s masterpiece. Artistic advisor and curator Chloe Fedor performs the dizzying La Tempesta di Mare, Vivaldi’s violin concerto depicting a storm at sea.
- This concert features music from the Baroque period of music history, generally from 1600-1750. Familiar composers from this period include Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi (who wrote The Four Season), George Frideric Handel (who wrote The Messiah), and Johann Pachelbel (whose famous Canon in D is played at many weddings!)
- This concert features a small baroque band including 3 violinists, viola, cello, string bass, harpsichord (a predecessor of the piano), and theorbo, which is a large plucked instrument like a lute or guitar.
- Soprano Nola Richardson is a sought after baroque singer. She will join the instrumentalists on several works called “Cantatas”. These can be compared to a one-woman mini-opera.
Featured Artists
Explore the Music
JOHANN HEINRICH SCHMELZER: READ BIO
- The Fencing School. (8 minutes) WATCH
- Lament over the death of King Ferdinand III. (7 minutes) WATCH
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL: The Abandoned Armada. (15 minutes) READ BIO – WATCH
ANTONIO VIVALDI: Violin Concerto Op 8, No. 5, The Tempest of the Sea. (9 minutes) READ – WATCH
- Over the course of his lifetime, Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi wrote over 500 concertos – pieces for solo instrument(s) and orchestra. This one was published in a set of 12 concertos for solo violin, which also includes his most famous pieces, The Four Seasons.
GIOVANNI BATTISTA BUONAMENTE: Sonata for Three Violins. (6 minutes) READ BIO
MATTHEW LOCKE: Curtain Tune from The Tempest. (5 minutes) READ BIO – WATCH
LOUIS-NICOLAS CLÉRAMBAULT: Médée. (19 minutes) READ BIO – WATCH
HENRY PURCELL: Chaconne from The Fairy Queen. (3 minutes) READ – WATCH
Enhance Your Experience
Enjoy these opportunities to connect with the music and LAMF musicians featured on this concert. No charge and no tickets required. More information coming this summer.
- Monday, July 29, beg. 1:15 p.m.: Attend an Open Rehearsal. Meet a musician and watch the first rehearsal
- Wednesday, July 31, 6:30 p.m.: Pre-Concert Talk with Chloe Fedor in the Gichi-ziibi Concert Hall.
- Wednesday, July 31, post-concert: Afterglow Hang at the Northern Pacific Center
This performance is sponsored in part by Quinn Violins and Pequot Manufacturing. All LAMF activities are made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and Five Wings Arts Council, thank to a legislative appropriation from the Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.