Event Title:

Organization:

  Concert

  Oakland

Start Date:

  10/25/2026

End Date:

  10/25/2026

Start Time:

  7:30 PM

End Time:

  9:00 PM

Event Info: 

  Grammy Award-winning soprano Amanda Forsythe joins Voices of Music for a captivating program of music from the 17th and 18th centuries. In three Bay Area performances, Forsythe and the Voices of Music ensemble explore the extraordinary variety of Italian music from the early Baroque through the 18th century, bringing together expressive vocal works, virtuosic instrumental music, and the distinctive sound of period instruments.

Forsythe is joined by Voices of Music musicians Shelby Yasmin and Alana Youssefian Ruocco, baroque violins Eva Lymenstull, baroque cello David Tayler, archlute and baroque guitar and Hanneke van Proosdij, harpsichord and recorder.

The program features music by Antonio Vivaldi, Alessandro Scarlatti, Luigi Rossi, Cazzati, Tarquinio Merula, and Giovanni Battista Buonamente. It also brings the music of two remarkable women composers to the forefront: Maria Margherita Grimani and Isabella Leonarda.
Among the featured works are Luigi Rossi's La bella piu bella and Gelosia ch'a poco a poco nel mio cor, Grimani's Sol fia pago from La visitazione di sant'Elisabetta, Alessandro Scarlatti's Bella Madre de' fiori. Instrumental works include Vivaldi's La Follia, Leonarda's Sonata Terza, Cazzati's Passacaglia, Merula's Ciaconna, and Buonamente's Il Ballo del Gran Duca.

The program reflects the remarkable range of Italian musical life during this period, from the intimacy and drama of the solo voice to the lively, improvisatory spirit of Baroque musicians making music together in the moment. The works of Grimani and Leonarda offer an especially compelling opportunity to hear music by women composers whose contributions have only more recently begun to receive the attention they deserve.

Voices of Music performs October 23 at First Congregational Church of Palo Alto, October 24 at Old First Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, and October 25 at First Congregational Church of Berkeley.

https://www.voicesofmusic.org/concerts.html

Location:

  First Congregational Church of Berkeley

Room:

Address:

  2330 Durant Ave (pedestrian and wheelchair entrance on Dana St)

Phone:

  415-377-4444

City:

  Berkeley

State/Province:

  CA