Background
Since its founding in 1887, the Newberry Library has had a strong
interest in music. In fact, the first complete collection the Library acquired
was the music library of the Venetian Count Pio Resse, which included one of
only two known copies of the first edition of Peri's Euridice, the first opera
to have been performed in public. The Library's music collections now include
approximately 300,000 items, comprising treatises, music manuscripts, early
printed scores, critical editions, books, periodicals, sheet music, and
hymnals. These primary and secondary source materials provide a unique resource
for the study of Western European music history and theory from the Middle Ages
to the nineteenth century, and American music from its beginnings to the early
twentieth century.
The latest addition to the Library's music collections is the complete
library of the eminent University of Chicago musicologist Howard Mayer Brown.
His bequest includes rare manuscripts and early printed music books, over three
hundred opera libretti from the seventeenth century, and more than nine
thousand music books and periodicals, as well as almost one hundred instruments.
The Ensemble
In 1982, the Newberry Library, upon the suggestion of Dr. Brown,
appointed Mary Springfels as
musician-in-residence to undertake the presentation of a series of early music
concerts. The Newberry Consort was formed in 1986 from the nucleus of
performers who had appeared on that concert series. The ensemble is now
ensemble-in-residence at the Newberry Library, at the Northwestern
University School of Music, and at the University of Chicago.
The Consort presents an annual four- or five-program
subscription series, each concert of
which is performed Friday evening at the Library,
Saturday evening at the University of Chicago's Fulton Recital Hall and Sunday afternoon
in Northwestern University's Lutkin Hall in Evanston. In addition each triple
of concerts is preceded by an afternoon open rehearsal at the Library.
Founding members of the Consort, in addition to Mary Springfels, are
countertenor Drew Minter and
violinist David Douglass.
In 2002 acclaimed soprano Ellen Hargis
joined the Consort as its fourth member. In 2007, following Mary Springfels's
retirement as Consort Director, the Library appointed David Douglass as Musician-in-Residence
and Newberry Consort Director.
Programs
The Newberry Consort programs generally contain multiple works by
various composers and are arranged around a topical or thematic idea, such as
medieval alchemy, bestiaries, troubadours and trouvères, nuns' music,
ars subtilior, Elizabethan magic, or Baroque pastoral songs. Our programs
usually contain a mix of solo vocal and instrumental works; on occasion, we use
a small vocal ensemble. Much of the music comes from original manuscript
sources and is arranged by the members of the ensemble.
In addition to our thematic programs, we also devote programs to the
work of a single composer, such as Alessandro Stradella, Henry Purcell, or
Guillaume de Machaut. In May 2000, we presented the U.S. premiere of
Alessandro Scarlatti's La Giuditta.
The Consort regularly uses guest artists to expand its repertoire. Guest
artists have included soprano Christine Brandes, harpsichordists David Schrader and Barbara Weiss,
lutenists Raphael Mizraki and Jacob Heringman (both from London), bagpipist Tom Zajac,
gambist Margriet Tindemans, and Dutch recorder player Marion Verbruggen.
The Consort (regularly joined by guest artists) has toured nationally since 1987 and
has performed in such cities as Boston, Cleveland, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Houston, San Diego,
Philadelphia, New York, Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Winston-Salem.
It began international touring with three performances at the Holland Festival
Oude Muziek Utrecht in September 1992 and returned there in 1993.
It has also performed at the Regensberg (Germany) Early Music Festival and at Villa I Tatti in Florence.
On February 4, 2000, the Newberry Consort made its London, England, debut with a performance
in the South Bank Centre's Purcell Room.
Recordings and Broadcasts
The Newberry Consort has made numerous recordings for
harmonia mundi usa, an
internationally distributed label. Its CDs include Musick for Severall
Friends, ¡Ay Amor!, Missa de la Mapa Mundi, Il Solazzo, Wanderers' Voices, and
The Golden Dream: Music of the Low Countries.
In 1997 the Consort received a $30,000 grant underwriting three discs to
be made in memory of the renowned University of Chicago musicologist Howard
Mayer Brown. The first of those, Villon to Rabelais: Parisian Theatrical
Music, was released in March 1999 to wide critical acclaim. The second in
the series, A Candle in the Dark, was released in fall 2000. The final
recording, Puzzles and Perfect Beauty: Italian Music at the End of the Middle Ages,
was released in fall 2004 on the Noyse Productions label.
The Consort's programs have regularly been broadcast as part of
Harmonia, a program produced by WFIU in Bloomington, Indiana, and distributed nationally.
Educational Outreach Programs
The Consort's Senior Community Project, generously underwritten by the Lederer Foundation, gives free
admission to members of senior citizens' organizations to the Thursday afternoon open rehearsals
during concert weeks. These are not polished performances, but a one-hour slice of intensive
rehearsal, preceded by an introduction to the repertoire by the Consort Director, and followed
by a session of Q&A and discussion. The timing, scope, and personal interaction of these open rehearsals
makes them ideal events for senior citizen centers.
As part of its residency activities at the Northwestern University
School of Music and the University of Chicago, members of the Newberry Consort and guest artists regularly
present workshops, lecture/demonstrations, and master classes.
The Consort has historically has a close relationship with the Library's
Center for Renaissance Studies, having participated in a summer seminar program
and in at least four scholarly conferences during the regular academic season.
In addition, the Consort cooperated with the Renaissance Center in a highly
successful, six-year, NEH-funded project that focused on incorporating Consort
performances and lecture/demonstrations in the teaching of college classes in
literature and history.
You may reach the Newberry Consort by calling (312) 255-3610 or by
e-mailing consort@newberry.org.
Our mailing address is:
The Newberry Consort
The Newberry Library
60 W. Walton Street
Chicago, IL 60610-7324
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