Folger Consort kicks off its 2024/25 season with early music from Florence and Venice

Performances will include an excerpt from the first opera composed by a woman, music with lyrics by Machiavelli, and works by Claudio Monteverdi

Folger Consort, the award-winning early music ensemble-in-residence at the Folger Shakespeare Library, begins its 2024–2025 season with four concerts in the historic Elizabethan Theatre on Capitol Hill from Friday, September 13 through Sunday, September 15. Tale of Two Cities: Music of Florence and Venice features music associated with the early Italian republics of Florence and Venice and opens the Folger Shakespeare Library’s 2024–2025 season theme Whose Democracy?, an exploration of political power and civic participation.

“We’re exhilarated to start the season with this great Italian music, responding to this year’s Folger theme, Whose Democracy?,” says Christopher Kendall, Folger Consort co-Artistic Director and founder. “These early republics produced scintillating music that still amazes us many centuries later.”

The Venetian portion of the concert commences with a couple of early 16^th-century popular songs. The rest of the selected Venetian music is 17^th-century, truly a golden age for music in Venice, with an extended foray into the works of Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643), who towered above his contemporaries as one of the true giants of Europe’s musical past. In addition to a few of his pieces, the Consort will include Octavia’s aria Addio Roma from Monteverdi’s last opera, L’incoronazione di Poppea.

The Florentine selections for this concert include a variety of works that celebrate Florence as a major political and cultural center, a nexus for artistic, architectural, and scientific achievements, and a musical capital of Europe. Works include a piece in honor of Florence by Heinrich Isaac, the great 15^th-century Flemish composer who made Florence his adopted home. Other Florentine pieces include lyrics contributed by one of the world’s most infamous political thinkers: Niccolo Machiavelli. Celebrating Florence as the birthplace of opera, the concerts will feature two excerpts from the first opera composed by a woman, Francesca Caccini’s La liberazione di Ruggiero, commissioned by the Regent Archduchess Maria Maddalena.

“I am delighted to welcome my friends Marcello Mazzetti and Livio Ticli to Washington to join me and the rest of our exciting ensemble for these concerts,” shares Folger Consort Artistic Director and founding member Robert Eisenstein. “You will be treated to Italian music as it should be done!”

Marcello Mazzetti (baritone and tenor, lute and tenor viola da gamba) and Livio Ticli (tenor, alto, and harpsichord), both renowned Italian vocalists and musicians, make a welcome return to the Folger for this special series of concerts. The Consort is led by Artistic Directors and founding members Robert Eisenstein and Christopher Kendall. Musical artists include Tatiana Chulochnikova (violin), Robert Eisenstein (vielle, viola da gamba, and violin), Sherezade Panthaki (soprano), and William Simms (theorbo, lute, and guitar).

On September 11, at 6pm, Folger Consort co-Artistic Director Robert Eisenstein shares historical and musical background information related to Tale of Two Cities: The Music of Florence and Venice. This virtual Early Music Seminar is $10 to live-stream virtually, with special discounts for Folger Members and Consort subscribers.

Tickets for Tale of Two Cities: Music of Florence and Venice can be purchased online or by contacting the Folger box office at (202) 544-7077. Tickets are $20–$45, with discounts available for Folger members and subscribers, seniors, students, patrons age 35 and under, educators, military and their families, and groups.

Subscriptions for the full Folger Consort series—Tale of Two Cities (September 13–15, 2024), A Mass for Christmas Eve (December 6–15, 2024), The Love Birds (February 14–16, 2025), and Kings and Commonwealth (May 2–4, 2025)—are available on the Folger website.

About the Artists:

Tatiana Chulochnikova (Violin) Praised for her “thrilling technique” and “dark plush romantic violin sound,” Tatiana Chulochnikova has been enjoying a diverse international performing career as a violin soloist, recitalist, guest concertmaster, chamber musician, and recording artist. Born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tatiana began playing violin at the age of seven and made her professional debut at fourteen performing Bruch’s Violin concerto No.1 with the Kharkiv Philharmonic. Tatiana received her professional training at the Juilliard School, the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, and the Oberlin Conservatory.

Robert Eisenstein (Artistic Director, viol, violin, recorder) See below.

Marcello Mazzetti (Tenor, lute, viola da gamba) has been leading research, teaching, and performance projects for over twenty years, specializing in historical music pedagogy and Italian repertoire from Classical Antiquity to the Baroque with Palma Choralis. He has conducted concerts, masterclasses, and lectures across Europe, the UK, and the US. Since 2015, he has co-directed the Early Music Department in Brescia at the Italian Institute for Early Music. A frequent guest at American and European universities, he teaches at several Italian institutions, including the University of Padua and the Conservatory of Brescia. Since 2016, he has collaborated with the University of Massachusetts, Stanford University, and Tasso in Music Project. He also performs and records internationally with Palma Choralis and other prominent ensembles in Europe and the USA.

Sherezade Panthaki (Soprano) enjoys ongoing international collaborations with many of the world’s leading conductors including Nicholas McGegan, Masaaki Suzuki, Martin Haselböck, Stephen Stubbs, Nicholas Kraemer, Matthew Halls, and Gary Wedow. Celebrated for her “full, luxuriously toned upper range” (The Los Angeles Times), and “astonishing coloratura with radiant top notes” (Calgary Herald) particularly in the music of Bach and Handel, recent seasons have included performances with the New York Philharmonic, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Bach Collegium Japan, Wiener Akademie (Austria), NDR Hannover Radiophilharmonie (Germany), the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Boston Early Music Festival, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (Canada), Minnesota Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Mark Morris Dance Group, St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue New York, the Choir and Orchestra of Trinity Wall Street, and Voices of Music.

William Simms (Instrumentalist) is an active performer of early music. Equally adept on lute, theorbo, and baroque guitar, he regularly performs with Apollo’s Fire, the Washington Bach Consort, Tempesta di Mare, Modern Musick, Ensemble Vermillian, Heartland Baroque, and Three Notch’d Road. He has performed numerous operas, cantatas, and oratorios with such ensembles as the Washington National Opera, the Cleveland Opera, Opera Lafayette, Opera Philadelphia and American Opera Theater. Venues include the National Cathedral, the Kennedy Center, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, and The Barns at Wolf Trap. Summer festival performances include Tanglewood, Caramoor, and Ravinia. He has toured and recorded with The Baltimore Consort and Apollo’s Fire. His recording with Ronn Mcfarlane, Two Lutes, was CD pick of the week on WETA in 2012. He has recorded for the Centaur, Sono Luminus, and Eclectra labels. Mr. Simms received his Bachelor of Music from the College of Wooster in Ohio and his Master of Music from Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. He is instructor of guitar at Mt. St. Mary’s University and Hood College, where he is founder and Director of the Hood College Early Music Ensemble.

Livio Ticli (Hautecontre, harpsichord, renaissance harp, percussions) is a distinguished musicologist and performer with expertise in Musicology, Renaissance Polyphony, Historical Keyboards, Composition, Performance Practice, Gregorian Chant, and Historical Singing. Since 2006 he has taught and researched at conservatoires and universities and performed with Palma Choralis and other prestigious ensembles across Europe, the UK, and the USA. He has several scholarly publications and organized international conferences and festivals such as the Madrigal Symposium in December 2024 and SEMC, the Early Music Summer Campus in Tuscany. Since 2015, Ticli has co-directed the Early Music Department in Brescia teaching Singing, Ornamentation, Improvisation, and Basso Continuo at the Italian Institute for Early Music, and has served as an Artist-in-Residence and Visiting Scholar at US institutions. www.PalmaCHoralis.org.

Folger Consort Artistic Directors:

Robert Eisenstein is a founding member of the Folger Consort, and recently retired as director of the Five College Early Music Program in Massachusetts. There, he coached and directed student ensembles including the Five College Early Music Collegium and Euridice Ensembles and taught courses in music history and technology. In addition to his work with Folger Consort, he is a member of Arcadia Viols and performs regularly with colleagues around New England. Recognized for his contribution to the field of early music with the Noah Greenberg Award from the American Musicological Society, he has performed with many ensembles including the Washington Bach Consort, the Newberry Consort, the National Symphony, and Western Wind, and has appeared at Tanglewood, Amherst Early Music, and other summer festivals.

Christopher Kendall is a founder of the Folger Consort. Dean (2005-2015) and professor emeritus of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, he was previously Director of the School of Music at the University of Maryland (1996-2005) and Director of the School of Music and Tanglewood Institute at Boston University (1993-1996). Prior to his academic career, he was Associate Conductor of the Seattle Symphony from 1987 to 1993. Kendall also serves as Artistic Director of the 21st Century Consort, new music ensemble-in-residence at the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum, where he has conducted the ensemble in scores of recordings and world premieres for almost 50 years.

Tickets and Information:

What: Tale of Two Cities: Music of Florence and Venice

When: Friday, September 13–Sunday, 15, 2024 

Times:

Friday, September 13 at 8pm
Saturday, September 14 at 4pm
Saturday, September 14 at 7pm
Sunday, September 15 at 2pm

Where: Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003

Tickets: $20 – $45, with discounts available. Purchase via phone at (202) 544-7077 or online at www.folger.edu/consort

Descriptions:

Tale of Two Cities: The Music of Florence and Venice
September 13-15, 2024

Both Florence and Venice were European power centers in the 16th and 17th centuries. Both also had exciting musical cultures. The Consort will offer pieces by important composers who worked in each city: Claudio Monteverdi and his colleagues who created at San Marco in Venice, and Florentine composer Francesca Caccini, among others.

Early Music Seminar: Tale of Two Cities
September 11, 2024, at 6:00pm ET | Virtual

Folger Consort co-Artistic Director Robert Eisenstein shares historical and musical background information related to Tale of Two Cities: The Music of Florence and Venice. $10 to live stream virtually, with special discount for Folger Members and Consort subscribers.

About Folger Consort:
       

For 47 seasons as the early music ensemble in residence at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Folger Consort has delighted audiences with a stunning repertoire of early music spanning roughly 800 years. With world-class guest artists, from virtuoso soloists to large choirs and orchestras, Folger Consort has performed masterpieces of the most renowned composers and hidden treasures from those who might otherwise be lost to history. Performing in the intimate setting of the Folger’s Elizabethan Theatre, as well as such grand spaces as Washington National Cathedral and the Kennedy Center, Folger Consort has also toured nationally and internationally to Shakespeare’s Globe and other prestigious venues.

Among other awards and critical acclaim for its performances and recordings, Folger Consort has received Best Classical Chamber Ensemble from the Washington Area Music Awards multiple times. For more on Folger Consort, please visit www.folger.edu/folger-consort.

Folger Consort recordings are available for purchase and digital download at iTunes and available for streaming on Spotify.

About Folger Shakespeare Library:
       

The Folger Shakespeare Library makes Shakespeare’s stories and the world in which he lived accessible. Anchored by the world’s largest Shakespeare collection, the Folger is a place where curiosity and creativity are embraced, and conversation is always encouraged. Visitors to the Folger can choose how they want to experience the arts and humanities, from interactive exhibitions to captivating performances, and from path-breaking research to transformative educational programming. The Folger welcomes everyone to connect in their own way—from communities throughout Washington, DC, to communities across the globe. Following a multiyear building renovation, the Folger’s historic Capitol Hill home reopened to the public on June 21, 2024. Learn more at www.folger.edu.

Folger Consort 2024-25 Sponsors:

With special thanks to The Share Fund 

Premier Season Sponsors

Dr. Bill & Evelyn Braithwaite
Andrea “Andi” Kasarsky

Contributing Sponsors

Gail Orgelfinger and Charles Hanna

Associate Sponsors

James Baker and Emily Lind Baker
David and Lenka Lundsten
Mike Newton and Dr. Linda Werling
Robert J. and Tina M. Tallaksen
Mary Augusta and George D. Thomas
Ms. Louisa Woodville & Mr. Nigel R. Ogilvie

Artist Sponsors

Karl K. and Carrol Benner Kindel

# # #