Parthenia Viol Consort

Sunday, March 30, 2025 @ 3pm

These “early-music stars,” hailed by the New Yorker and music critics throughout the world, are “one of the brightest lights in New York’s early-music scene.”

Bringing early music into the present with a ravishing sound and a remarkable sense of ensemble.

Join this unique travelogue of great music from European composers of the 16th and 17th centuries:

John Dowland, Orlando Gibbons and Claudio Monteverdi.

The English viol consort music that we know and love so much was influenced by continental musical fashions. Throughout the 16th and early 17th century, court composers and musicians traveling in the entourage of their respective courts interacted with their foreign counterparts. Many English and European composers traveled to look for work abroad, often to escape religious persecution at home, and sometimes for espionage.​​

In this concert we will explore how music of the 16th and 17th centuries transcended borders, leaving lasting imprints in English and continental repertoires alike. The program will include Franco-Flemish influences at Henry VIII’s court; the careers of English Catholic recusants abroad; the publication of English music on the continent; and the integration of continental works into English manuscript collections.

Meet the artists after the concert for a "Gamba Faire" instrument demonstration & participation!

Learn more about the group by visiting Parthenia.org