Improvisation in the Baroque
The California Jazz Conservatory (CJC, formerly the JazzSchool), and The San Francisco Early Music Society have established an exciting affiliation that delights both our audience and our local musicians. Early music lovers and jazz music lovers join together to celebrate the improvisational kinship of the two genres. CJC offers a casual and intimate environment where the audience can enjoy a light meal and sip a glass of wine or a cup of coffee while enjoying the concert.
On Sunday, October 12, Musica Pacifica (Judith Linsenberg, recorder; Elizabeth Blumenstock, violin; David Morris, gamba & cello; and Katherine Heater, harpsichord) will present a program emphasizing the improvisatory aspects of baroque chamber music. Included will be concertos and trios by Handel and Vivaldi, demonstrating High Baroque techniques of improvised melodic ornamentation. Musica Pacifica also will perform some typical 16th-century ground bass and variation patterns and show how these were used to build more substantial 
compositions—by improvising on them and then by playing works of masters such as Merula, Uccelini, and Rossi who used these patterns in their own works. Throughout the program, they will discuss the art of basso continuo improvisation and how it developed during the baroque period. They will also play and discuss their own arrangements of English country dance, in which they take traditional folk tunes and improvise melodic lines and harmonies.
The program takes place at the California Jazz Conservatory, 2087 Addison Street in downtown Berkeley, starting at 4:30 p.m. General admission is $15, $12 for Students and Seniors. Tickets are available on line or at the door.
