Tina Chancey, John Mark Rozendaal, Webb Wiggins Perform In the Salon of Mademoiselle Lévi

Who was the mysterious Mlle. Levi, whose pardessus playing took Paris by storm in 1745? Thought to come from somewhere in the provinces, she burst upon the Concerts Spirituels, a complete unknown; performed there an unprecedented five times in three years among such luminaries as Guignon and Leclair; and then disappeared from view, only to reappear in the Mercure Galant in 1783, advertising for pupils. There is reason to believe she was a Jewess who may have married an officer stationed in the colonies. When she returned to Paris three decades later, quite possibly widowed and penniless, did she try to rekindle the embers of her earlier success by launching her own salon, where she could perform for, and mingle with potential aristocratic students? This concert features music by Mlle. Levi's friends and contemporaries, composers as Leclair, Marais, Forqueray, Rebel and Couperin, performed by Tina Chancey on five and six-stringed pardessus de viole, John Mark Rozendaal on bass and treble viols, and Webb Wiggins on harpsichord.

What was the pardessus? A small bowed string instrument invented for wealthy women amateurs who would NEVER be seen playing the violin in public. In 18th century France the violin was a brash young upstart, and everyone wanted to try it. But it was thought to be too déclassé for aristocratic women musicians, so another instrument was invented for them--the 'pardessus,' a hybrid violin and viola da gamba (cousin of the violin family), played on the lap with an underhand bow grip. It was intended for private performances in a garden or salon.

The pardessus was so tiny and sweet, though, so versatile and easy to play, and had such a brilliant sound that it attracted all sorts of people, from orchestral cellists to small children, to middle class young women looking for husbands. Music was composed for it, and its name was added to hundreds of title pages as a possible alternate solo instrument. It enjoyed a rich and varied popularity until the advent of the French Revolution, when anything aristocratic suddenly became very unpopular.

By tradition the pardessus is a borrower, and besides music whose title page indicated pardessus (Forqueray, Rebel) we've appropriated music originally for violin (Leclair), bass viol (Marais) and harpsichord (Couperin). We hope you get as much joy from listening to this music as we do from playing it.

- Tina Chancey

Program

About the Artists

Innovative, historically-informed and multi-cultural, HESPERUS's collaborative artists perform a variety of programs that make connections between the rich musical past and curious 21st century concertgoers: early music soundtracks for silent movies, partnerships with theatre, mime and dance, musical portraits of a single culture through time, fusions of European early music with American traditional styles, and single-genre early music programs from medieval to Spanish and British Colonial music. Whatever the genre, HESPERUS performs with creative energy, technical assurance, and a lively sense of irony.

Tina Chancey plays medieval and traditional fiddles and viol on roots music from Sephardic and Irish to jazz standards and Joni Mitchell. Her particular specialty is the pardessus de viole; with NEA support she presented pardessus debut concerts at Carnegie Recital Hall and the Kennedy Center, and has released four pardessus recordings, most recently Couperin Concerts Royaux in February, 2016. Tina directs the International Pardessus Conference taking place at the Boston Early Music Festival in June, 2017. Director of Hesperus, she is a member of Ensemble Toss the Feathers and Trio Sefardi, and a former member of the Folger Consort, the Ensemble for Early Music, New York Renaissance Band and Blackmore's Night. She teaches, performs, improvises, produces recordings, composes and arranges, writes popular and scholarly articles and directs SoundCatcher workshops. Tina has received a Special Education Achievement Award from Early Music America and four Wammies for best classical instrumentalist from the Washington Area Music Association. Look for her four pardessus CDs on Cdbaby.com.

John Mark Rozendaal specializes in teaching and performing stringed instrument music from the Baroque and Renaissance eras. JMR performs as a member of LeStrange Viols; Brandywine Baroque; and Trio Settecento with violinist Rachel Barton Pine and harpsichordist David Schrader. As founding Artistic Director of Chicago Baroque Ensemble, JMR performed and led seven seasons of subscription concerts, educational programs, radio broadcasts, and recordings for the Cedille and Centaur labels. Rozendaal served as principal 'cellist of The City Musick, and Basically Bach, and has performed both solo and continuo roles with many period instrument ensembles, including the Newberry Consort, Orpheus Band, the King's Noyse. Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, and the Bethlehem Bach Choir.

Webb Wiggins, recognized and lauded internationally for his innovative and musical continuo realizations, has performed and recorded with many US ensembles, including the Folger Consort, the Dryden Ensemble, Kings Noyse, Chatham Baroque, Hesperus, the Oberlin Baroque Ensemble, the Catacoustic Consort, the Baltimore Consort, Violins of Lafayette, Apollo's Fire, the Smithsonian Chamber Players and Orchestra, The Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony, and the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra. His collaborations with soloists, both vocal and instrumental, have earned him high respect among his colleagues in the world of baroque music. Wiggins is also one of the foremost teachers of harpsichord as well as a coach for chamber music and director of baroque opera. He has been associate professor of harpsichord at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and serves on the faculty of the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute.

This event is part of Salon/Sanctuary Concerts' On the Margins Festival. Joining the world-wide 500th anniversary commemorations of the creation in Venice of the world's first ghetto, our eighth season explores the musical worlds shaped by ancestors and descendants of exiles. From Rossi to Shylock, from Troubador to Dowland, we glimpse at fault lines of acceptance refracted through the prism of music.

We invite you to join us on a journey through time and a trip through venues, from Ghetto to Cappella, from Opera House to Souk, from Salon to Sanctuary.