Ruckus Ensemble at Jorgensen Center

Lenard Chamber Music Series

Strawberry Fields: Music of Handel and Sancho

New York-based Ruckus is a Baroque band with a fresh, visceral approach to early music. The ensemble aims to fuse the early-music movement’s questing, creative spirit with the grit, groove and jangle of American roots music, creating a unique sound of “rough-edged intensity” (New Yorker). Most early music groups feature instruments like the harpsichord and the viola da gamba; and Ruckus does too, but you’ll also hear synthesizer, guitar, bassoon, bass, and Near Eastern frame drums. In this program, they will perform Strawberry Fields, a joyous feast of rustic dances from the 18th century, featuring Ignatius Sancho’s Twelve Country Dances for the Year 1779 and George Frideric Handel’s Op. 5 Trio Sonatas—all arranged with their signature groove.