Native Son: Vicente Lusitano and his contemporaries

Featuring works by Vicente Lusitano, Josquin des Prez, Carlo Gesualdo, Diego Ortiz, Antonio and Hernando de Cabezón

Ruth Cunningham ~ soprano
Shabna Abedi ~ soprano
Derek Lee Ragin ~ countertenor
Gegório Taniguchi ~ tenor
Joe Chappel ~ bass

Patricia Ann Neely ~ treble & bass viols
Rosamund Morley ~ treble & bass viols
Lawrence Lipnik ~ tenor viol
Dan McCarthy ~ tenor viol
John Mark Rozendaal ~ bass viol

Thursday, April 20 at 7:30 pm 

Church of St. Luke in the Fields
487 Hudson Street in Greenwich Village, Manhattan

Tickets:
$25 General
$10 Students & Seniors

Purchase tickets

Bi-racial composer Vicente Lusitano, referred to as a “pardo” (Portuguese for mulatto), is believed to have been born to a white father and a Black mother in Portugal sometime around 1522. He was ordained as a Catholic priest, spent time in Rome, and environs where he became a well-respected music teacher and accomplished theorist. Lusitano wrote a treatise on improvising counterpoint which is believed to be one of the most thorough and detailed methods but was consistently overlooked by musicologists. It was also not possible for Lusitano (given his ethnicity) to secure the support of a patron which made it quite difficult for him to achieve the status he envisioned for his career. At some point in 1556 he converted to Protestantism, ended up in Württemberg, got married and sought refuge with Christoph, Duke of Württemberg and that is the last we hear of him. We will explore his vocal works along with the composers he may have encountered along the way.

Past Events This Season

In nomine

Taverner, Tye, Bull, Parsons, Ferrabosco, Gibbons, Weelkes, Jenkins, Lawes, Purcell, and more…

Performers:
Patricia Ann Neely, treble viol
Rosamund Morley, treble viol
Lawrence Lipnik, tenor viol
Dan McCarthy, tenor viol
Jonathan Luik, bass viol
Adam Young, bass viol

Thursday, November 10 at 7:30 pm

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
West 65th Street and Central Park West
Manhattan

Tickets:
$25 ~ General
$10 ~ Students & Seniors

Watch video here

Living Dangerously: Strings on Fire in 17th Century Italy

Featuring works by Uccelini, Rosenmüller, Strozzi, Stradella, and Bertali

Vita Wallace ~ violin
Claire Smith Bermingham ~ violin
Dan McCarthy ~ viola
Patricia Ann Neely ~ viola da gamba
Richard Kolb ~ theorbo

Thursday, March 23 at 7:30 pm 

Church of St. Luke in the Fields
487 Hudson Street in Greenwich Village, Manhattan

Tickets:
$25 General
$10 Students & Seniors

Watch video here