New York Baroque Incorporated’s (NYBI) thriving 2018-19 season continues apace with a new, specially curated four-part series of concerts under the banner Alchemy. The spring performances – on April 4, April 25, May 2 and May 22, 2019 – feature programs based on the classical elements earth, water, air and fire, and include a widespread selection of works by 17th- and 18th-century pan-European composers, many of whom are unusual suspects.

Alchemy’s floodgates open on Thursday, April 4, 2019 with “Water: Ebb and Flow” and Georg Philip Telemann’s Ouverture-Suite Wassermusik (“Water Music”), also known as Hamburger Ebb’ und Fluth (“Hamburg Ebb and Flood”). The work’s undulating melodies evoke the continuous rise and fall of the river Elbe, while its stately harmonies pay homage to the importance of the major German port city. Water freezes over in “Winter” from Antonio Vivaldi’s perennial The Four Seasons, featuring violinist Aisslinn Nosky. A different manifestation of water occurs in Pietro Locatelli’s Il pianto d’Arianna, which portrays the mythical Greek goddess Ariadne weeping over the loss of her lover, Theseus. The concerto grosso segues into another classic of the genre, the Concerto Grosso in B-flat, Op. 3, No. 2 by George Frideric Handel.

Alchemy takes wing on Thursday, April 25, 2019 with “Air: Fly Zephyr, Fly”. The “air” in the instrumental Suite from Jean Philippe Rameau’s opera Platée refers to the elegant dance movement typical of the era. Zephyr, Greek god of the western wind, makes an appearance in the concise cantata Orphée by French composer Louis-Nicolas Clérambault, featuring soprano Teresa Wakim, who also sings in Handel’s early secular cantata Il delirio amoroso.

Alchemy comes down to “Earth” on Thursday, May 2, 2019. Subtitled “Noises from the Field,” mountains and islands are inhabited by Greek gods in the stormy Suite from Marin Marais’ opera Alçione. The clouds part for Arcangelo Corelli's concerto grosso Fatto per la notte di Natale, also known as the “Christmas Concerto,” and Telemann’s Ouverture-Suite “a la pastorelle”. In between is Carlo Farina’s noisy Capriccio Stravagante with its earthy imitations of barking dogs and fighting cats.

Alchemy catches “Fire” when NYBI’s series concludes on Wednesday, May 22, 2019, “The Devil Within” with impish interpretations in orchestral works and arias which feature bass-baritone Dashon Burton. Selections include Lucifer’s arias from Handel’s oratorio La resurrezione, and “I rage, I melt, I burn” from the same composer’s Acis and Galatea. NYBI reprises arias by Bonaventura Aliotti’s Santa Rosalia, a 17th-century oratorio the ensemble premiered in 2017. Also on the program are Alessandro Scarlatti’s fiery Sinfonia Avanti la Serenata: Clori, Dorino e Amore, arias from two cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach – “Der alte Drache brennt vor neid” (The old dragon burns with envy) from Cantata 130, Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir (“Lord God, we all praise you”), and “Alles, was von Gott geboren” (All that is born of God) from Cantata 80, Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott (“A mighty fortress is our God”), an interpretation of Martin Luther’s well-known Reformation hymn. The program, and the series, concludes with Bach’s popular Orchestral Suite No. 3.

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For further information, image or interview requests please contact Melanne Mueller, MusicCo International,
917 907 2785, melanne@musiccointernational.com

For further information about New York Baroque Incorporated and Alchemy, please visit www.nybaroque.org

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
April 4, 2019 – 7:30 pm
Alchemy: Water – Ebb and Flow
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681 – 1767) Ouverture-Suite “Wassermusik”, TWV 55:C3
Antonio Vivaldi (1678 – 1741) Violin Concerto in F minor, RV 297 “L’inverno”
Pietro Locatelli (1695 – 1764) Concerto gross in E-flat, Op.l 7, No. 6 “Il pianto d’Arianna”
George Frideric Handel (1685 – 1759) Concerto Grosso in B-flat, Op. 3, No. 2

April 25, 2019 – 7:30 pm
Alchemy: Air – Fly Zephyr, Fly
Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683 – 1764) Suite from Platée
     Ouverture – Air Pantomimem – Rigaudon – Orage – Air,           Pour des foux gais – Chaconne
Louis-Nicolas Clérambault (1676 – 17649) Orphée *
George Frideric Handel (1685 – 1759) Il delirio amoroso, HWV99 *
* featuring soprano Teresa Wakim

May 2, 2019 – 7:30 pm
Alchemy: Earth – Noises from the Field
Marin Marais (1656 – 1728) Suite from Alçione
     Ouverture – Prelude de I’Acte troisième – Marche pour les
     Matelots – Air des Matelots – Symphonie – Tempeste –
     Chaconne
Arcangelo Corelli (1653 – 1713) Concerto Grosso in G Minor, Op. 6, No. 8 “Fatto per la notte di Natale” (“Christmas Concerto”)
Carlo Farina (c. 1604 – 1639) Capriccio Stravagante
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681 – 1767) Ouverture-Suite “a la postorelle”, TWV 55:F 7

May 22, 2019 – 7:30 pm
Alchemy: Fire – The Devil Within
George Frideric Handel (1685 – 1759)
Overture; “Qual’insolita luce – Caddi, è ver, ma nel cadere”; Ebben, questo tuo Nume – O voi dell’Erebo” from La resurrezione, HWV 47 *
“I rage, I melt, I burn … O ruddier than the cherry” from Acis and Galatea *
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660 – 1725) Sinfonia Avanti la Serenata
Bonaventura Aliotti (1640 – 1690) “Cessi il Vostro dolore – Non sospirare no – Se dell’ombre il” from Santa Rosalia *
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)
“Der alte Drache brennt vor neid” from Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir, BWV 130 *
“Alles, was von Gott geboren” from Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 80 *
Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D, BWV 1068
* featuring bass-baritone Dashon Burton

Trinity Church Wall Street
St. Paul’s Chapel
Broadway and Fulton Street
New York, New York 10007