Piffaro Celebrates Early Music Month With Recorder Fest And FERRARA: SPLENDOR OF THE RENAISSANCE

In recognition of Early Music Month, Piffaro, the Renaissance Band, will present a series of March events combining performance and participatory music-making. Select concerts will be professionally filmed for online streaming.

RECORDER FEST

Saturday, March 7

Piffaro’s annual Recorder Fest returns March 7 with a free daylong celebration of the recorder.

The festival begins at 3:00 p.m. with an open rehearsal featuring all performers. At 6:00 p.m., recorder players of all ages and experience levels are invited to participate in a Community Play-In. Music will be sent to those who register by March 3, and copies will also be available at the door.

Public performances begin at 7:00 p.m. and include students from Piffaro’s new flauta dulce class at Esperanza, high school musicians, adult amateurs, and professional performers. Soloists will be accompanied by Piffaro member Grant Herreid on lute. Barbara Stark will demonstrate adaptive recorders designed for one-handed players. The evening also features a performance by Artistic Director Priscilla Herreid and concludes with a reception hosted by the Philadelphia Recorder Society.

Admission is free.

FERRARA: SPLENDOR OF THE RENAISSANCE

Piffaro’s March concert program, Ferrara: Splendor of the Renaissance, explores the musical culture of the d’Este court from the 15th century through the dynasty’s end in 1600.

Drawing on sources such as the Casanatense Chansonnier—believed to have been intended for wind band performance—the program includes music by Josquin des Prez and Johannes Martini, interwoven with dance works by Domenico da Piacenza and Guglielmo Ebreo. Works by Joan Ambrosio Dalza, including Pavana alla Ferrarese and Piva alla Ferrarese, highlight Renaissance dance traditions.

The concert also features music by Cipriano de Rore and Carlo Gesualdo, as well as works associated with the concerto delle donne, including compositions by Luzzasco Luzzaschi and Leonora d’Este.

The program emphasizes the improvisatory and aural traditions of Renaissance performance practice, recreating music preserved in fragmentary form.

LOOKING AHEAD

EAGLE & EMPIRE: MUSIC OF COLONIAL MEXICO

May 8 – Teatro Esperanza, Philadelphia
May 9 – Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia
May 10 – Westminster Presbyterian Church, Wilmington
May 12 – St. Luke in the Fields Church, New York City
Streaming online May 22–June 4

The season concludes with Eagle & Empire: Music of Colonial Mexico, examining the intersection of European and indigenous musical traditions in colonial-era Mexico.