top of page

Perspectives
Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre and Her Musical Circle 

Friday, September 27, 2024 7:30PM

In the Baroque era, a handful of brilliant women overcame the odds and become famous composers.  There was Strozzi, the fiery prodigy; Leonarda, the nun; cosmopolitan Bembo, who fled to France to escape an abusive husband; and Caccini, who was the most highly-paid musician in the Medici court.  

Perhaps brightest among all these jewels was the supremely gifted Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, whose best works outshone many of her contemporaries’.  Daughter of an egalitarian father in Paris, her musical talent was noticed by Louis XIV, the Sun King himself.  As a resident composer in his court, she produced a number of richly profound works in diverse styles, many of which still haunt us to this day. 

 

In Perspectives, we will bring Jacquet de la Guerre’s world to life through a series of performances and paintings that highlight different aspects of her life, from the mundane to the bizarre.

CLEConcierto Debut

Event Perspectives Instagram-2.png

Sonata Psyché, Divertissement Violin Sonata in D major Michele Mascitti

Violin Sonata no. 1 in D minor Jacquet de la Guerre 

Sonnerie de st. Geneviève du Mont Marin Marais

                           ~ Intermission ~

Suite no. III in A minor Jacquet de la Guerre 

Le Sommeil d’Ulisse Jacquet de la Guerre

Program

Artists

AndreÌ__a Walker_headshot_edited.jpg

Andréa Walker, Soprano

Mexican-American soprano Andréa Walker is a passionate interpreter of Baroque music and vocal chamber music. She can be heard performing across the country with groups like GRAMMY® Award-winning orchestra Apollo’s Fire, Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, Seraphic Fire, and Les Délices. Other recent solo performance highlights include her Lincoln Center debut in Telemann's Der Tag des Gerichts with Masaaki Suzuki and Juilliard415, Haydn's Schöpfungsmesse with Yale Schola Cantorum (German tour), the role of Venus in Daniel Purcell's The Judgment of Paris at Amherst Early Music Festival, and being a guest artist at the Norfolk Chamber Choir Festival under the direction of Simon Carrington. Ms. Walker is pursuing a Doctorate in historical performance practice at Case Western Reserve University. Prior to her time in Cleveland, she graduated with a Master’s in vocal performance from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music where she specialized in early music, oratorio, and art song. She is thrilled to be making her debut with Pegasus Early Music and NYS Baroque in the 2024-2025 season.

alan sep20238135.jpg

Alan Choo, Baroque Violinist

Singaporean violinist Alan Choo has established himself on the global stage as a leading soloist, chamber musician and historical specialist. He is Concertmaster and Assistant Artistic Director of Apollo’s Fire, the Grammy Award-winning baroque orchestra in the United States, and made his solo debut with them at the Tanglewood and Ravinia Music Festivals in 2017. He is also Founder and Artistic Director of Red Dot Baroque, Singapore’s first professional period ensemble and Ensemble-in-Residence at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music. His solo album of the complete Mystery Sonatas by Heinrich Biber with Apollo’s Fire was released on AVIE Records in March 2024 and debuted at #2 on the Billboard Classical chart, earning a double 5-star review from BBC Music Magazine, and receiving rave reviews from multiple publications such as The Strad. Alan has appeared as a soloist with Apollo’s Fire at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall (NY), the Tanglewood Music Festival (MA), Ravinia Music Festival (IL) and St. Martin in the Fields (London, UK), and also with the FVG Orchestra (Italy), the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra (Russia), Tafelmusik Winter Institute Orchestra (Canada), Shanghai Camerata, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Orchestra of the Music Makers (Singapore), and more.

ReneSchiffer_edited.jpg

René Schiffer was born in the northern part of the Dukedom of Brabant, in Bach’s era part of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. He studied in Amsterdam with Anner Bijlsma, then specialized in historical performance with Jaap ter Linden. In Oberlin, he studied the viola da gamba with Catherina Meints, to whom he dedicated his Concerto for Two Viols (under the name Katharina von Mainz). Master Schiffer performed with groups like La Petite Bande, Ensemble Gare de Lyon, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Les Musiciens du Louvre, the Netherlands Bach Society, occasionally with Concerto Armonico, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. He has been principal cellist for Apollo’s Fire since its foundation in 1992. He has played recitals and solo performances with orchestras in Budapest, Paris, Versailles, Utrecht, Brôme (there’s nothing wrong with playing Uccellini in Brome), Chautauqua, Tanglewood, Ravinia, and Grandchamp. On two occasions he asked the way to Carnegie Hall, but did not have the good fortune to get the answer Practice! Schiffer has taught at Case Western, Cleveland Institute of Music, at Oberlin, and as guest at several colleges over the United States, including Duke, Dartmouth, and Penn State. He has given talks about music in Toledo and in Cleveland for Apollo’s Fire’s subscription series. So far, Schiffer has mastered the cello, the historical cello, the bass viol, the (French) bass violin, the violoncello piccolo in at least three different tunings, and the G-violone, that’s a violone while wearing a thong with a G string. I think he shares a Grammy Award with Apollo’s Fire’s musicians and the incomparable Karim Hunt, correction, Sulayman. He is also very good at declaiming and driving really long distances. As composer Schiffer, sometimes under names like René Antoine Duchiffre, Renato Marini, Captain Hummus and Johann Sebastian Offenschiffer, can be heard on Apollo’s Fire’s Vivaldi & Friends CD, where his Tango Concerto is featured. A video of the tango of that concerto can also be enjoyed on Youtube. His Clorinda Sonata and his Jewish Rhapsodies (Ovos, Kaddish and Olenu) also feature on that channel. Among works that are awaiting recording are his Variations on themes from Ortiz’ Tratado, two Abel arrangements for 5-string cello and his Christmas Medley. He wrote two “Bach suites”: the 7th suite in D, BMW 1013 (in the 1990s) and the more recent Kronstadter Partita, BMW 17465, a fairly late work. Schiffer just purchased a historical bow from Stephen Marvin. With his angel Marie Rowley, he resides in Chagrin Falls.

YingHeadshot.JPG

Lauded by Cleveland Classical as "an excellent soloist, a compelling performer who is equally comfortable handling long strings of notes... and singing through emotive melodies with her instrument,” Dr. Qin Ying Tan currently serves as harpsichord faculty at Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music. Dr. Tan has appeared in concerts in Singapore, Shanghai, Germany, France, and has performed extensively across the United States of America.  This season sees engagements with Hudson Historical Society and Library, City Music, ​the Historically-Informed Performance Practice Department at Case Western Reserve University, and the Baldwin-Wallace Bach Festival.  In addition to her commitment to early repertoire, Tan regularly presents new music to her audiences and has premiered several pieces, most notably Cenk Ergun's sound installation piece, "Fomare" at the Cleveland Museum of Art and “Are You You” by Michi Wiancko with City Music. As a pedagogue, Dr. Tan’s students have successfully gained admission into graduate programs in Michigan and Boston.  Dr. Tan continues to cultivate an interest of historically-informed performance at the pre-college and college level in her role as a board member of the Northeast Ohio MTNA and harpsichord faculty at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory.  Her passion for sharing historical music has also led her to lead dynamic workshops on baroque dance and historical keyboards in Southeast Asia where accessibility to period music is rare. When not at work, Ying loves exploring and hiking around beautiful Cleveland with her family. She welcomes conversations about culture, history or how music can be a vehicle for social change and a tool to bring communities together.

bottom of page