A concert of chamber music from the Baroque period will be performed at 8 p.m. Thursday at Bruton Parish Church featuring musicians playing authentic Baroque instruments.
The performance is part of the Candlelight Concert series at the church, which was erected during the Baroque era.
Music by J. S. Bach, G. F. Handel, G. P. Telemann and F. Couperin will be performed by Rebecca Davy, harpsichord; Ruth van Baak Griffioen, recorder; Susan Via, baroque violin; and Jeffrey Phelps, cello.
All of the music was written within five years of the construction of Bruton Parish church in 1715.
Listen to an excerpt from the rehearsal:
Ruth Griffioen, director of the early music program at the College of William and Mary, described her Baroque recorder:
“My instrument is made of wood, so there is a big improvement right there over a modern flute, which is made entirely of metal. It has a softer, darker, richer, mellower sound than any modern flute can produce.”
Violinist Susan Via, a member of the performing artists music faculty at the College of William and Mary, will play her 300-year-old Baroque violin.
“My instrument is an authentic 18th-century instrument. It was made in the mid-1700s by an Austrian maker, who later settled in Germany,” she said.
“The fingerboard is shorter - the bridge is higher and has a slightly different shape. There is no chin or shoulder rest. The end result is an instrument with an intimate quality to the sound.”
Rebecca Davy will play a harpsichord built in 1985 in Boston and modeled after an 18th-century English harpsichord. It was built to play in both modern pitch at 440 Hz or be shifted down to lower pitch that was standard in the Baroque era at 415 Hz.
Jeffrey Phelps will play a modern cello, but with a lower tuning to match the other Baroque instruments.
This music is typical of what would have been heard in the 1700s in Bruton Parish Church. There is no charge for the concert. An offering will be collected at the program to ensure the continuance of this ministry.
“We are so fortunate to an early music program right here with three 18th-century buildings nearby to play this great music,” said Griffioen.
Future Candlelight Concerts include Griffioen’s Early Music Ensemble from the College of William and Mary, at 8 p.m. on April 12.
Learn more about the history of Bruton Parish Church.
Listen to our podcast with Organist Michael Monaco playing Baroque music on an 18th century organ.
Purchase a CD “Keys of the Palace” featuring Baroque music with an important link to Williamsburg.
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