BLUE HERON A more subtle art: the late 14th-century Ars subtilior

297 Main Street Northampton, MA 01060 (297 Main St, Northampton MA 01060)

Entertainment + Music

BLUE HERON

Sophie Michaux, Jason McStoots & Aaron Sheehan, voices

Orí Harmelin, lute

Debra Nagy, douçaine & recorder

Scott Metcalfe, medieval fiddle & harp

 

A more subtle art: the late 14th-century Ars subtilior

A dazzling program featuring the head-spinningly complex, yet ravishing lovely music of the generation following Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300-1377)—stories of mythological characters, deities, and mortals, set to jazzy, intoxicating polyphony. Three star singers—among them the wonderful Sophie Michaux, a resident of the Pioneer Valley—are joined by players of medieval instruments, including lute virtuoso Orí Harmelin from Basel, Switzerland, and multi-instrumentalist and musical polymath Debra Nagy, artistic director of Cleveland’s Les Délices and a longtime collaborator with Blue Heron.

 

Preconcert lecture by Anne Stone available online a week before the concert at www.blueheron.org.