Early Music Michigan continues its season with "An Early American Holiday" on Saturday, December 6 at 3 p.m. at First Congregational Church. As director Luke Conklin tells Cara Lieurance, he's designed a program that draws on the traditions of New Spain (Mexico), New France (Canada), and New England.
The program includes a villancico by Spanish composer José de Cáseda, discovered in a Mexican convent library in Puebla. The piece features unusual instruments including a cornetto— which Conklin affectionately describes as having "the worst elements of a very high pitched trumpet and a very large recorder"—and a dulcian, a Renaissance-era bassoon. Both rare instruments, he says, are capable of producing fascinating, compelling sounds. "There's a famous quote that says [the cornetto] sounds like a beam of light through the shadows of a cathedral," he says.
The group has also prepared works from the tradition of shape note singing, a living American tradition that began around 1800. It's alive and well today, Conklin says — Kalamazooans have the option to attend shape-note singing gatherings at least three times a month. Music of one of the first choral composers of the United States, William Billings, will be featured.
The concert operates on a pay-what-you-will basis to ensure accessibility. "We didn't want anyone to miss out on concerts because of ticket prices," he says. Tickets are pay-what-you-will and available at the Early Music Michigan website.
