Out of the mists of the annual pre-Xmas concert and church service glut, the seasonal sniffles and family time absences the program for New Year's Day has emerged.

2PM Jan. 1st, 8PM Jan. 2nd
Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. (near Bay Subway)
Tickets at the door, $25/$20 students & seniors,  Doors open a 1/2 hour before concert time.

Hallie Fishel – Soprano
John Edwards – Archlute
Christopher Verrette and Edwin Huizinga – Baroque Violins
Lysiane Boulva - Organ

We'll be doing a cantata, or 'Serenata' as it's labeled in the original manuscript, by Alessandro Scarlatti which starts with the words Correa Nel Seno Amato. It's for soprano, two violins and continuo. After comparing the modern edition we have to the original manuscript available on the excellent IMSLP site we found an number of changes made by the editor to rhythms so once again that site is a life saver.

We'll also be doing a Motet for the Blessed Virgin by Francesco Antonio Bonporti, which Chris Verrette, who's playing violin on this show, recorded a few years ago. It's the Feast of the Circumcision after all when Mary dropped of Jesus at the temple.

Chris will be playing a Vivaldi violin sonata and Edwin will be playing a Telemann Fantasia for unaccompanied violin. Also by Telemann is a suite on Gulliver's Travels for two violins without continuo. Pictured above is the Chaconne for the Lilliputians, which as you can see is in tiny note values to match the diminutive people who it is named for. There's also a jig for the Brobdingnagians in giant note values and a time signature of 24-1.

I will play another Ciaconna for archlute solo by Giovanni Zamboni. You can read about the archlute at wikipedia in the entry I created for it a number of years ago. It has been heavily edited since then, though, so please ignore the stupid bits (which I am not saying are not me). You will read there about Corelli's trio sonatas Op. 1 and 3 which has partbooks labelled violin 1&2, organ and 'violone o arciliuto'. The melodic bass part has the fugal entries and just as many continuo figures (which tell the player what chords to play above the bass) as the organ book, which would not be harmonized by a bowed bass instrument.

And Lysiane will also play a ground bass, a Passacaglia for organ by Muffat. Because as Frank Zappa said 'for people who don't understand what's going on in the rest of the song there's always the bass line.'