Piffaro, The Renaissance Music Band

Piffaro joins guest singers from the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia as well as additional brass players on cornettos and sackbuts for a serene and earthy Portuguese Advent Vesper. Come to this concert and Piffaro’s December “Christmas in Renaissance Spain” featuring soprano Laura Heimes, for as little as $40. For details, tickets & CDs, go to www.piffaro.org or call (215)235.8469.

There was a slight error in the season brochure, which was mailed out early in September. Please note the correct venues and dates below!

The performance on Friday, December 18th will be at the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill.

The performance on Saturday, December 19th will be at St. Mark’s.

Check out the Education tab for Piffaro’s brand new educational web site. There, you’ll find video segments of Piffaro members talking about the instruments, audio samples, and history of the Renaissance Wind Band.

Find the Education tab above, or just click here.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/david_patrick_stearns/20090331_What_do_women_want__Go_ask_Chaucer.html
Posted Tue. Mar. 31, 2009

What do women want? Go ask Chaucer

By David Patrick Stearns
Inquirer Classical Music Critic

Wendy Steiner

NEW YORK – Centuries collided last weekend in a smallish room in Chelsea Studios, where some of the biggest names in the early-music movement – from Anonymous 4 to Piffaro to soprano Julianne Baird – were collaborating in ways they’d never attempted.

The occasion was a rehearsal for the new Chaucer-inspired opera The Loathly Lady, premiering tomorrow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Irvine Auditorium. It requires musical specialists from a number of distant eras but sees them through a distinctly 21st-century lens.

“Can we make shawms and rebecs play a tango? I think we just did – and with such joy,” said conductor Gary Thor Wedow during a break. “It was like they’re playing hooky.”

Read more »

The “Loathly Lady” interview on Crossover with Jill Pasternak is now online. Check it out here.

Piffaro takes off to New York City this weekend for rehearsal with Parthenia, Consort of Viols in preparation for the April 1 world premiere of The Loathly Lady in Philadelphia.

Listen to WRTI 90.1FM this weekend for two programs including Piffaro.

The Loathly Lady

First up is “Crossover” with Jill Pasternak, who will be talking with The Loathly Lady librettist Wendy Steiner and composer Paul Richards. The interview will include performances by Piffaro, The Renaissance Band and Parthenia, Consort of Viols. Saturday morning, 3/21 at 11:30 a.m.

Read more »

Vespers

The long-anticipated recording of Kile Smith’s VESPERS with Piffaro and The Crossing is available now at piffaro.org.

This work, written by Kile Smith and commissioned for Piffaro, was such a success in concert, that we just had to make the recording! You asked for it. Here it is!! Purchase your copy from Piffaro’s web site.

Last summer, music critic David Patrick Stearns stopped in on one of our recording sessions for a sneak peak. Listen to his interview on WRTI’s Creatively Speaking.

Watch a video about the recording, courtesy of WRTI.org, on Piffaro’s Facebook page.

And, of course, order your copy TODAY from Piffaro’s website, or by clicking this button:

Help to make future recordings like this one possible by making a contribution to Piffaro online at piffaro.com or by clicking this button:

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Vespers is being released by PARMA Recordings classical imprint Navona Records. Navona is distributed by Naxos and the CD will be released in stores everywhere on Tuesday, April 28. For more info visit www.navonarecords.com.

THIS WEEKEND!

Alexa Raine-Wright

Joe Lewnard

Piffaro is pleased to present Alexa Raine-Wright and Joe Lewnard, winners of Piffaro’s competitions for young recorder players, performing together in a recital on March 7th at 8 pm in Widener Hall at the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill. Tickets will be available at the door for $15 Adult and $10 Senior/Student.

Ms. Raine-Wright, currently in her second year as Read more »

On the Road

One of my favorite things about Amtrak is that it has power outlets. I can write this as I zoom (not too fast, there IS a blizzard going on…) to New York! Piffaro just got back from Seattle, but I still haven’t written about our recent shows in Chicago and Philly. So much to catch up on!

Three weeks ago we did a program in Philadelphia centered around the first printed music. We played a lot of repertoire from such collections as the Odhecaton, Canti B and Canti C, and Musique de Joye. Everyone else in the group had played most of these pieces a lot, in other concerts and on Piffaro’s recordings of Flemish music and the Odhecaton. But I hadn’t played much of it, and was really excited to play music that I only knew from hearing these recordings!

(Read more after the jump:) Read more »

On the Road

Every time I sign on to WordPress, a little box at the top says “Howdy!” to me. I think that’s a darn friendly greeting, so I’m going to use it.

Howdy, early music friends! Welcome to the first entry of my Piffaro blog. I’m Priscilla, the newest Piffarite, and these entries will be my attempt at giving you a peek into what happens off-stage. Maybe you’re a long-time Philadelphia season subscriber, a fan who’s seen us on tour, an interested listener who’s contemplating buying their first cd of Renaissance music, or maybe you’ve stumbled on this site by accident and don’t even know what a krumhorn is (shocking!). Whatever the case may be, we’re happy you’re here, and hope you always have music in your life.

It’s been a very busy 2009 so far, and it’s only getting busier. The year started off with the second Piffaro competition for young recorder players held the second week of January. I had the privilege of Read more »