AT THE SIGN OF THE CRUMHORN to Open Piffaro's 2026-2027 Season
The concert explores the life and works of publisher and composer Tielman Susato across multiple Philadelphia-area venues and online streaming.
Piffaro, Philadelphia's Renaissance Band, will open its 2026-2027 season with an all-instrumental program, “At the Sign of the Crumhorn.” Piffaro will breathe life into the sounds of 16th-century Antwerp with shawms, sackbuts, dulcians, crumhorns, and other remarkable Renaissance instruments. Concerts take place on October 16 at The Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square; October 17 at Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, and on October 18 at Christ Church Christiana Hundred in Wilmington, DE. The concert will be filmed live and streamed online November 2 to 15.
Piffaro's virtuosic musicians will guide listeners to a bustling shop located “at the Sign of the Crumhorn.” Behind the door, Tielman Susato's printing press was churning out the newest, best, and most exciting music of the day, eagerly anticipated by musicians and dancers. The program explores the multi-faceted life of this fascinating professional: a savvy publisher, working trombonist, and successful composer.
“So many of us were first introduced to early music through Susato's dances,” notes Piffaro artistic director, Priscilla Herreid. “When we hear one of those dance tunes, we are transported back to the sound of an old recording we had, or to memories of playing orchestral, band, or brass quintet arrangements. Susato churned out dozens of editions for amateurs and professionals to play – motets, chansons, and masses by Josquin, Lassus, Crecquillon, Clemens non Papa, to name just a handful of composers. I'm elated to have this opportunity to play some of those great tunes.”
Herreid adds, “My favorite musicians to work with can find both the beauty and the fun in dance music, and can also break your heart with the way they play more intricate music. I imagine that Susato would have been all of those things, and more.”
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