For our next Baroque Out of Bounds Learning Lab, I am delighted to be joined by two wonderful musicians, Matthew Dane and Ann Marie Morgan, that have been featured often over the years on BCOC concert seasons. Our April 8 program focuses on the sensual sound of the viola d’amore!

On his website, Matt talks about what attracted him to the viola d’amore, and how he came to own the two instruments he will play on our Learning Lab program:

“The viola d’amore is an instrument that long fascinated me for its mysterious but persistent history and its sweet, uniquely resonant tone. Four years ago I finally had the opportunity to borrow an instrument for two months and was hooked. In 2013 I commissioned well-known luthier Martin Biller to build one, which arrived at the end of that year. What a thrill to get to know it!

“In the summer of 2017 I was fortunate to acquire another instrument: a J. U. Eberle built in Prague in 1731. It is very different from my Biller – shorter string length, thinner neck, smaller distance between the strings, and steeper curve of the bridge. The sound is altogether different as well: radiant and darkly luminous, with lots of flexibility in the lower register.”

Matt has assembled an eclectic and fascinating program that includes both Baroque and modern pieces, including a suite by Conor Abbott Brown. (Conor’s commissioned work for BCOC, Down from the Verge of Heaven, was premiered in our recent program The Muse Project.)

As with all our Baroque Out of Bounds events, we will include some time for questions and informal conversation with the musicians. And to top it all off, some favorite desserts made by BCOC fans and musicians to complement the sweet sound of the period instruments!

Program:
Christian Petzold, Partita in F major
Conor Abbott Brown, Suite for solo viola d’amore (2017)
Arvo Pärt , Spiegel im Spiegel (1978)
Attilio Ariosti, Lesson No. 4 for viola d’amore and basso