San Francisco Early Music Society's 2013-14 Concert Series Closes with Farallon Recorder Quartet, Jennifer Paulino and John Lenti, 3/14-16

The San Francisco Early Music Society's 2013-14 concert series comes to a close next month with a program of love songs and consorts performed by the Farallon Recorder Quartet with soprano Jennifer Paulino and lutenist John Lenti. Titled Amaryllis, Farallon's concert features a variety of Renaissance music from across Europe that explores the possibilities for recorder consort, lute and voice. Farallon performs March 14 - 16 in Palo Alto, Berkeley and San Francisco.

Performing on an array of recorder sizes ranging from 6 inches to 6 feet tall, the Farallon Recorder Quartet is composed of Annette Bauer, Letitia Berlin, Frances Blaker and Louise Carslake. Their recent CD recording, From Albion's Shores, has been described as "the sound one would get if one could turn honey into wood or stand underneath a caramel fountain" (Early Music America). Paulino -- who regularly performs with Magnificat Baroque Ensemble, California Bach Society, the Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra, and her critically acclaimed baroque ensemble, Les Grâces -- has earned accolades for her recent Danish debut with the San Francisco Lyric Opera. Like Paulino, Lenti is no stranger to Bay Area audiences. He regularly performs on theorbo, lute, archlute and baroque guitar with American Bach Soloists, Magnificat and Ostraka, among many others. The Seattle Times calls him " a joy to behold", and Gramophone has praised the "nuanced beauty and character" of his playing.

In 2011 Farallon was awarded a professional development grant from the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music to develop a program with Paulino and Lenti. The program, Amaryllis, offers audiences a lively selection of 16th-century songs and dances: from John Dowland's consort ayres and instrumental galliards; to Josquin des Prez's chansons; to a four-part madrigal by Jacques Arcadelt and Ortiz's ornamented and instrumental settings of the same; to the frottola form popular at the court of Isabella D'Este; to the secular villancicos and folksongs of Juan Vásquez, Francisco Guerrero and Antonio de Cabezón; and not least of all, to the consort songs and infectious lullabies of William Byrd.

PERFORMANCES:

Friday, Mar. 14, 2014 | PALO ALTO
8pm @ First Lutheran Church
600 Homer Avenue

Saturday, Mar. 15, 2014 | BERKELEY
7:30pm @ St. John's Presbyterian Church
2727 College Avenue

Sunday, Mar. 16, 2014 | SAN FRANCISCO
4pm @ St. Mark's Lutheran Church
1111 O'Farrell

Individual tickets: $35 General/$32 Seniors/$30 SFEMS members. Subscriptions: $180 for the full 6-concert series ($160 for SFEMS members). Choose 3 concerts for $95 ($84 for SFEMS members). Tickets may be purchased online at sfems.org, or by calling 510-528-1725, Monday through Thursday, 9am to 11:30am.

ABOUT FARALLON RECORDER QUARTET: The Farallon Recorder Quartet is a California-based early music group that brings the music of the medieval, Renaissance, baroque and modern eras to today's audiences with polish, verve and precision. They employ a fascinating array of recorder sizes ranging from 6 inches to 6 feet tall, modeled after medieval, Renaissance and baroque originals. Their most recent CD recording,From Albion's Shores, has been described by Early Music America as "the sound one would get if one could turn honey into wood or stand underneath a caramel fountain." Farallon has performed on concert series throughout the United States, including the American Recorder Society Festival in St. Louis, MO in 2009, the Echo Early Music Festival NC, and Early Music at Las Positas College. In 2012 they performed at the Neskowin, OR Chamber Music Series, the Amherst Early Music Festival and Early Music in Columbus, OH. In 2011 Farallon was awarded a professional development grant from the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music to develop and present a program with Jennifer Paulino and John Lenti, and in 2013 was awarded a grant to develop and present a program of Spanish and South American music. Farallon is an affiliate of the San Francisco Early Music Society.

ABOUT THE SAN FRANCISCO EARLY MUSIC SOCIETY: Founded in 1975, SFEMS is the leading early music community-based service and membership organization in the US. Under the direction of Harvey Malloy, it is the focal institution in Northern California for the advancement of historically informed performance of early music. Through its concert series, publications, outreach activities, affiliate support and educational programs, SFEMS encourages the development of amateurs, supports professionals, and increases public involvement and participation in early music. SFEMS is the lead presenter of the Berkeley Festival & Exhibition of early music.

Pictured: Jennifer Paulino, the Farallon Recorder Quartet and John Lenti. Photos courtesy of the Farallon Recorder Quartet.