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Lagrime mie: Songs of Lamentation, Disdain, and Renewal.

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Haigh Simms webMargaret Carpenter Haigh ~ soprano
William Simms ~ theorbo and lute

In a program featuring works by Dowland, Lanier, Rossi, and Monteverdi the overlapping musical worlds of Elizabethan lute song and Italian recitative lament are explored, finding particular corollaries in the music of Nicolas Lanier and Luigi Rossi. Lanier’s expressive and expansive scena Hero’s Lament to Leander breaks the strictures of small form lute songs, channeling its heroine’s complex emotional shifting sands through the recitative style typical of the compositional and rhetorical frames imposed by contemporary Italian composers and pairs exquisitely with Rossi’s Lament di Zaida moro. The recitative lament as a genre is flanked by more restrictive, yet equally soul-baring musical forms, including Claudio Monteverdi’s Voglio di vita uscir — a curiously upbeat lament set over the ciaccona ground base, offering a shining beam of possibility and light in an otherwise dark world.

Margaret Carpenter Haigh, soprano
Praised as “fiery, wild, and dangerous” (Classical Voice North Carolina) with “a talent for character portrayal” (Chicago Classical Review), soprano Margaret Carpenter Haigh captivates audiences with her “flawless intonation” and “perfect vocalism” (CNVC). 2021–2022 season highlights include appearances with The Choir of Trinity Church Wall Street, PROTOTYPE Festival, Beth Morrison Projects, Bach Akademie Charlotte, GRAMMY©-winning Apollo’s Fire, Mark Morris Dance Group, Washington Bach Consort, Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity, Musica Sacra, and Baldwin-Wallace Bach Festival. More at www.margaretcarpenterhaigh.com.

William Simms, lute and theorbo
William Simms is an active performer of early music. Equally adept on lute, theorbo, and Baroque guitar, he appears regularly with Apollo’s Fire, The Washington Bach Consort, Ensemble Vermillian, IndyBaroque, The Thirteen, and Three Notch’d Road. He has performed numerous operas, cantatas, and oratorios with such ensembles as The Washington National Opera, The Cleveland Opera, Opera Lafayette, and American Opera Theatre. He performed on the GRAMMY©-winning Songs of Orpheus with Apollo’s Fire and Karim Sulayman. His recording with Ronn McFarlane, Two Lutes, was the CD pick of the week on WETA in Washington DC in 2012.

1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

In person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.

Midtown Concerts sponsors lunchtime performances of music of the 18th century and earlier. Ensembles are chosen by a panel of early music specialists from the metropolitan area.

Time: Thursdays, 1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

Concerts are in person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan, AND live streamed.