Houston Early Music presents Majesty, Myth and Mystery

Houston Early Music will bring the vitality, adventure and beauty of long-ago eras to life in coming months when it presents its 2017-2018 concert series.

"A Season of Majesty, Myth and Mystery," will feature five renowned early music ensembles dedicated to showcasing music from the Renaissance through the 18th century - with instruments and styles true to those periods.

"We're excited to be able to offer programs from so many distant times and places this season," said Nancy Ellis, artistic director of Houston Early Music. "Each program evokes a powerful sense of the culture that inspired it. Our selections will range from a program inspired by Greek mythology to music from early Latin America to a collection of violin sonatas that span the career of Handel."

Houston Early Music continues its commitment to its ongoing Hispanic Heritage Series this season and, as part of its educational outreach initiative, all performances will feature a discussion program with the ensemble members prior to the concerts.

LIUWE TAMMINGA, organ, and BRUCE DICKEY, cornetto - The Instrument of Kings & The King of Instruments

Houston Early Music's exciting season opening concert features two of the Renaissance era's most important instruments: the organ and the cornetto. Acclaimed as the "Orfeo of the Cornetto," Bruce Dickey received the Historic Brass Society's Christopher Monk Award in 2000 and was honored with a Taverner Award in 2007. He returns to Houston with the celebrated Dutch organist Liuwe Tamminga, a distinguished specialist in 16th and 17th century Italian organ repertoire. Together they will collaborate in a program reanimating beloved Italian and Spanish Renaissance masterworks by Giovanni Gabrieli, Palestrina and Frescobaldi.

This concert will be co-presented with Bach Society Houston. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 2353 Rice Blvd., 77005. A pre-concert talk begins at 6:45 p.m.

ES DÉLICES - Myths and Allegories

Greek mythologies inspired this program for Cleveland, Ohio-based Les Délices, directed by Baroque oboist Debra Nagy, along with rising star soprano Clara Rottsolk. Making their Houston debut, Les Délices offers depictions of tales from Homer's Odyssey by featuring cantatas of Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre (Le Sommeil d'Ulisse) and Thomas-Louis Bourgeois (Les Sirènes). Hear Penelope pine away from afar, as symbolized by Jean-Féry Rebel's violin sonata La Fidelle. Delight in the drama of hero Ulysses as he confronts ship-wrecking storms and succumbs to the bewitching allure of siren songs - all set to vibrant, fanciful music.

The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3, at Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church, 4930 West Bellfort Blvd., 77035. A pre-concert talk begins at 6:45 p.m.

Hispanic Heritage Series: EL MUNDO ­- Cathedrals, Monasteries & Missions - Featuring Spanish Musical Gems from the New World

Guitarist/lutenist Richard Savino returns with his Grammy-nominated ensemble El Mundo to perform a festive new program for Houston Early Music's continuing Hispanic Heritage Series. Countertenor Ryland Angel is a special guest artist for this program of Christmas music cultivated by the Franciscan Order. The glorious works of Manuel Quiroz and Rafael Castellanos of the Guatemalan cathedrals, nuanced music of Father Juan Sancho's coastal missions, and exquisite compositions heard in Puebla and Mexico City are captivating examples of a cherished musical era of Latin America between 1665 and 1805.

The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12, at Christ Church Cathedral, 1117 Texas Ave., 77002. A pre-concert talk begins at 6:45 p.m.

TRIO SETTECENTO - Handel's Violin - A Main-Stage Concert of the 2018 Houston Early Music Festival featuring the music of George Frideric Handel

Trio Settecento returns to Houston with its accomplished Handelians: Rachel Barton Pine, violin, John Mark Rozendaal, Baroque 'cello, and David Schrader, harpsichord, in a program focusing on the sonatas of the Baroque era's "Saxon" composer. Prepare to be enthralled by the great musical mind of Handel, from his earliest years in Rome to his last years in London. Be further enchanted by the sonatas of Italian violinist-composers Arcangelo Corelli and Francesco Veracini whose careers intersected significantly with that of Handel.

The performance begins at 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018, at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 2353 Rice Blvd., 77005. A pre-concert talk will begin at 5:15 p.m.

BOSTON BAROQUE - Heinrich Biber's Mystery Sonatas

Be a part of this rare and momentous event in which celebrated members of Boston Baroque, North America's first established Baroque Orchestra - recognized as one of the world's premier period-instrument ensembles - bring Houston a significant event: The Mystery Sonatas of Heinrich Biber. This magnificent work, also known as The Rosary Sonatas and seldom performed in its entirety, features Boston Baroque's virtuosic concertmaster, Christina Day Martinson, and distinguished Boston Baroque Founder and Music Director Martin Pearlman at the organ and harpsichord.

The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 5, at the Shepherd School of Music's Duncan Recital Hall at Rice University, 77005 (Entrance No. 18 on Rice Boulevard). A pre-concert talk begins at 6:45 p.m.

"Audiences will see that not only is this music beautiful, but when presented with instruments from the same era, it allows us to make an intimate connection with people who lived centuries ago," Ellis said.

Full season subscriptions and individual tickets for the Houston Early Music 2017-2018 season are available now and can be purchased at HoustonEarlyMusic.org.

Full-season subscriptions may be purchased for $180 general admission and $155 senior admission. A mini-pass option, which provides a selection of any three concerts, is also available for $110 general admission and $95 for seniors. Individual tickets are available for $40 general admission, $35 senior admission and $10 for students with a valid student ID card. Children under the age of 15 receive free admission.

For more information, e-mail info@HoustonEarlyMusic.org or call 281-846-4222.

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