SFEMS’ collaboration with California Jazz Conservatory resumes on Sunday, January 10, with a concert by gambists Peter Hallifax, Julie Jeffrey, and Lynn Tetenbaum. Their program will showcase some of the most unusual and beautful music composed by three of England’s greatest viol composers of the 17th century.
King Charles loved the viol, and paid many great viol players to compose and to play for the “Private Musick” of the court. Maybe the greatest of these was William Lawes, who, together with fellow viol players Alfonso Ferrabosco and John Coprario, wrote countless fantasies, suites, and dances for various combinations of viols. Arguably the most extraordinary pieces of this huge repertoire are the relatively few and seldom played trios for 3 “lyra viols” (bass viols with unusual tunings).
This concert is based on the trios (and duos and solos) of Lawes, Ferrabosco, and Coprario in the tuning called “Eights”, where all the strings of the viols are set at C or F, producing an extra resonant rich sound, which is perfectly matched by the complexity of the music itself.
There is no other kind of music quite like these pieces, a unique product of a time when technical ability of the players, generous royal patronage, an emerging and experimental harmonic language, and an equally experimental development in the form of the fantasy and dance-based repertoire coincided to produce one of the treasures of the string chamber repertoire.
The concert begins at 4:30 p.m., at the California Jazz Conservatory (formerly The Jazzschool), 2087 Addison St., between Shattuck and Milvia, in downtown Berkeley. The venue is one block from the downtown Berkeley BART station, and parking is easily available at the Addison Street parking garage. Street parking is free on Sundays and also relatively easy in the afternoon. The school’s café is open prior to and during the concert, allowing audience members to enjoy a glass of wine, coffee, or a light snack.
All tickets are $20; reservations are highly recommended, as the venue is small and intimate. Buy tickets online.
