A Musical Feast
Nov
10
8:00 PM20:00

A Musical Feast

Works by Telemann, Biber, Schein, and Rameau, drawn from collections of courtly "table music" written for feasts real or imagined.

Schein: Suite II from “Banchetto Musicale”

Biber: Pars III from “Mensa Sonora”

Telemann: Concertos from “Tafelmusik”

  • for oboe (Gaia Saetermoe-Howard)

  • for three violins (Sarah Darling, Clara Ross, Morgan Heissenbuettel)

  • for flute and recorder (Thomas Conrad and Jung Hyun Yoo)

Rameau: Chaconne from “Dardenus”

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A Bach Offering
Nov
14
4:00 PM16:00

A Bach Offering

"Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben” BWV 8

“Jesu der du meine Seele” BWV 78

Noted Bach scholar and Adams University Professor Emeritus Christoph Wolff will lead the Harvard University Choir, the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum, and the Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra in a masterclass performance featuring two beloved cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach. Admission is free and all are welcome.

All attendees must be masked.
All attendees will be asked to present either their Harvard ID at the door
- or to show proof of vaccination
- or to show a proof of negative COVID-19 test (taken within 72 hours)

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Handel's Italy
Nov
7
4:00 PM16:00

Handel's Italy

A selection of works celebrating Handel's time in Italy! We’re thrilled to return to the Memorial Church Sanctuary with this joyful program on the other side of the pandemic year.

Featuring Benjamin P. Wenzelberg and Phoebe Carrai

Handel: Overture to “Rodrigo”

Porpora: Selected arias

Porpora: Cello concerto

Dall' Abaco: Concerto Grosso in D Major

Handel: Selected arias

Free and open to the public.
All attendees must be masked.
All attendees will be asked to present either their Harvard ID at the door
- or to show proof of vaccination
- or to show a proof of negative COVID-19 test (taken within 72 hours)

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Handel's Messiah
Jan
30
8:00 PM20:00

Handel's Messiah

Experience Handel’s Messiah – the timeless story of finding ultimate joy and hope – with the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum and Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra in a historic all-virtual performance on January 30th at 8pm EST. Our socially conscious performance, informed by a panel discussion with Messiah experts, will also feature filmography, photography, and artwork from Harvard affiliates; solos from Collegium members; and a special appearance from our alumni. As we come together from different corners of the world to unite in love of music, this piece keeps us looking forward to our day of reconnecting amidst our isolation.

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/jnkDXoYU_nU

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Messe en cantiques
Mar
1
11:00 AM11:00

Messe en cantiques

Christoph Wolff Distinguished Visiting Scholar Pedro Memelsdorff directs the University Choir and members of the Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra in Messe en cantiques. A reconstruction of a mass as it would have been sung by enslaved Africans in colonial Guiana. 

Open rehearsal Thursday, Feb. 27 at 5:00pm, Memorial Church

Both events are free and open to all.

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Judas Maccabeus
Apr
27
7:30 PM19:30

Judas Maccabeus

Handel's great oratorio, featuring the Harvard University Choir, and directed by Edward Jones. 

Free and open to the public.


Featuring Gene Stenger (Judas Maccabaeus) and soloists from the Harvard University Choir.
Introductory remarks by Rabbi Jonah Steinberg.

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Fall Concert: Everything New is Old Again
Nov
18
4:00 PM16:00

Fall Concert: Everything New is Old Again

A selection of new compositions for baroque orchestra, paired with classic works that inform their style and structure. 

Overture in D Minor - Philipp Heinrich Erlebach 

Mutability - Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg (world premiere) 

Passacaille d’Armide - Jean-Baptiste Lully

La Follia - Francesco Geminiani 

Outside Voices - Carson Cooman (world premiere) 

Concerto in G Minor - Johann Christian Bach (arr. Martin Bernstein - world premiere) 

Overture and Aria from the Goldberg Variations - Johann Sebastian Bach

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Alcide al bivio
Apr
22
7:30 PM19:30

Alcide al bivio

The Harvard Early Music Society The Harvard Early Music Society is excited to present the Boston premiere of J.A. Hasse’s opera Alcide al bivio (“Hercules at the Crossroads”) in collaboration with the Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra. 

Written in 1760, but performed only once in the United States, Alcide al bivio is a festa teatrale that represents a period of innovation for late baroque opera. The rich orchestration, extensive accompanied recitatives, and climactic choruses that Hasse employs in this work anticipate the dramatic operatic writing of his most renowned successors, including Gluck and Mozart. Set to a libretto by Metastasio, the opera tells the coming of age story of the young hero, Alcide. Warned by his tutor, Fronimo, that his father, Zeus, has prepared a test for him, Alcide stumbles upon a crossroads and realizes that he must choose between two opposing paths. The goddess Edonide woos Alcide, attempting to seduce him into following the path toward pleasure, while the goddess Aretea urges Alcide to instead embark on the path toward virtue. Accustomed to relying upon his unparalleled strength and bravery to succeed, Alcide struggles to surmount this challenge with the power of reason alone.

Elias Miller ‘16, executive director and conductor
Christopher Grills, music director
Emily Bishai ‘17, stage director and producer
Erin Olivieri ‘19, producer

Maddie Studt ‘16, mezzo
Andy Troska ‘17, tenor
Charlotte McKechnie ‘15, soprano
Samantha Harrison, soprano

The opera will be sung in Italian with projected titles. 

Friday, April 21st, 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 22nd, 7:30 pm

First Church, Cambridge, 11 Garden St

$5 student admission
$10 general admission

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Alcide al bivio
Apr
21
7:30 PM19:30

Alcide al bivio

The Harvard Early Music Society The Harvard Early Music Society is excited to present the Boston premiere of J.A. Hasse’s opera Alcide al bivio (“Hercules at the Crossroads”) in collaboration with the Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra. 

Written in 1760, but performed only once in the United States, Alcide al bivio is a festa teatrale that represents a period of innovation for late baroque opera. The rich orchestration, extensive accompanied recitatives, and climactic choruses that Hasse employs in this work anticipate the dramatic operatic writing of his most renowned successors, including Gluck and Mozart. Set to a libretto by Metastasio, the opera tells the coming of age story of the young hero, Alcide. Warned by his tutor, Fronimo, that his father, Zeus, has prepared a test for him, Alcide stumbles upon a crossroads and realizes that he must choose between two opposing paths. The goddess Edonide woos Alcide, attempting to seduce him into following the path toward pleasure, while the goddess Aretea urges Alcide to instead embark on the path toward virtue. Accustomed to relying upon his unparalleled strength and bravery to succeed, Alcide struggles to surmount this challenge with the power of reason alone.

Elias Miller ‘16, executive director and conductor
Christopher Grills, music director
Emily Bishai ‘17, stage director and producer
Erin Olivieri ‘19, producer

Maddie Studt ‘16, mezzo
Andy Troska ‘17, tenor
Charlotte McKechnie ‘15, soprano
Samantha Harrison, soprano

The opera will be sung in Italian with projected titles. 

$5 student admission
$10 general admission

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Telemann And Bach: A Musical Friendship
Apr
9
7:00 PM19:00

Telemann And Bach: A Musical Friendship

Celebrating the 250th anniversary of Georg Philipp Telemann, with a focus on his stylistic diversity and his abiding ties with the entire Bach family. 

Telemann: Suite “La Bizarre” TWV 55:G2

JS Bach: Concerto for Violin and Oboe, BWV 1060R

   Sarah Darling, violin, and Fiona Last, oboe

CPE Bach: Symphony in B Minor, Wq 182/5

-

Telemann: Recorder Concerto TWV 51:F1

   Martin Bernstein, recorder

JS Bach: Orchestral Suite no. 1, BWV 1066

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