REVIEW: Jewell Early Music Summer Fest Concert 3

I reviewed the Jewell Early Music Summer Fest for The Kansas City Star. The Saturday night concert of their four-part series was performed at St. Andrew’s Christian Church. It was a nice setting, but the instruments suffered from being moved about and the choice to turn off the AC during the first half wreaked havoc on what little tuning continuity there was.

But it was still pretty fun. One of the musicians, before the show even began, joked with the audience to “remember that. It [the lirone] was in tune, you heard it.”

The program was comprised of music from the 16th and 17th centuries, much of it for three soprano virtuosi, the concerto delle donne. Not something you hear often – in fact, not something most people would have heard very often, since the concerts were exclusive, invitation-only events in the private chambers of the Duke of Ferrara – and was a neat treat for those of us who enjoy a lively madrigal here and again.