As part of their Afternoons at the Abbey program, Princeton Abbey is hosting a free concert by Spectra Musica on Saturday, Nov. 19 from 1 to 3 p.m.
The program will present a sampling for European music spanning approximately 150 years, highlighting the transition in culture from the Renaissance to early Baroque era. The quartet will play historical instruments, including a replica of a harpsichord from the 1550s.
“This was a time of great change and innovation in musical styles,” Orum Stringer, director of both Spectra Musica and the Gloria Consort music ensembles, said. Both groups are members of the Guild for Early Music, whose mission is to promote music of the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and Early American eras.
“For this concert, we will play pieces that demonstrate the evolution in style from music composed primarily for dancing to musical compositions that were created as stand-alone pieces to be enjoyed on their own,” Stringer said. “Our goal is to illustrate how the Baroque style spread across Europe and included conservative, traditional Scottish pieces as well as the fiery, more avant garde Rossi Sonata.”
Spectra Musica was formed in 1980 as an ensemble dedicated to the performance of early European music. They produce programs of music from about 1400 to 1650 AD. The ensemble specializes in music for wind instruments.
Late Medieval and Renaissance music is performed with cornemuse, kortholts, recorders, flute, rackett, dulcian and viola da gamba, with a small Italian harpsichord as continuo. They perform extensively throughout the Philadelphia area, New Jersey and Delaware.
For more information about Princeton Abbey & Cemetery, contact Katherine Walden at (609) 452-1600.
