Hallifax & Jeffrey play English Music for Viols April 23, 2010

Barefoot Chamber Concerts continues its mission to help you start the weekend right. This Friday evening concert series offers great music in a relaxed setting. The series is committed to musical excellence without the formality of the conventional concert setting. Concerts start at 6 p.m. and last 60-75 minutes without intermission. Light refreshments are available, and there will be ample time to move on to other evening entertainments.

On Friday April 23, 2010, Barefoot will present Hallifax & Jeffrey (Peter Hallifax and Jule Jeffrey, viols) with guest artists John Lenti, theorbo, and Gilbert Martinez, organ and virginals, playing a concert of English 17th music for viols.

Violists Hallifax & Jeffrey are well known for their performances of French high baroque music. In this program, they explore a new and rarely-heard repertoire, the virtuoso chamber music of the English composers of the mid 17th century. John Jenkins, Matthew Locke, and Christopher Simpson were household names in their time. However, their music is not so often heard today partly because they wrote more for viols than violins or cellos. The music is rich, complex, and varied. It combines the ornamented virtuoso "division" writing style with the melodic style of dance movements and also pure counterpoint from the renaissance. At this period in history composers were still experimenting with instrumental chamber music. The results are as varied as they are masterly. The Tudor courts had given rise to a rich tradition of music composition and performance, and subsequently England in the 17th century became the international center for viol making, playing, and composition.

In the perfect wooden acoustic of St. Mark's Episcopal Church Parish Hall, this music will open your ears to a new world of sound.
Details at www.barefootchamberconcerts.com.

Official Website: http://barefootchamberconcerts.com