A Concert of

Extravagant and Virtuosic Music

from 17th-century Germany

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The seventeenth century in Germany was a time of incredible upheaval: wars of religion and politics swept the land, bringing famine and plague in their wake and an ongoing state of crisis. The chamber music of the time reflected this fraught, unpredictable cultural climate. Inspired by the experimental works of Italian composers, the virtuosos working in Germany explored ways to give composers free rein to do whatever their imagination suggested, delighting and astonishing the listener.

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This concert features instruments from the Baroque period we don’t often see in performance. In addition to violins and harpsichord, there will be a sackbut - the precursor of the trombone, a dulcian - an early bassoon, and theorbo/guitar.