FREE Spring Concert - Flights of Fancy: Virtuoso Music of the 17th Century

Indianapolis Early Music (IEM) starts its 57th season at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 30th, at the Indiana History Center, with a free program of music by 17th-century masters of the violin, lute, and keyboard. With works of Johann Schmelzer, Michelangelo Galilei, Heinrich Biber, Johann Jakob Froberger, and Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger, the concert program explores the astonishing variety of expressive styles that flourished in a single century.

Violinist Alan Choo, Rotating Concertmaster of Grammy Award-winning period instrument ensemble Apollo’s Fire, plays two works of Biber, including the technically-demanding Rosary Sonata No. 15, “The Coronation of Mary.” The performance serves as a preview of coming attractions, because Choo and the ensemble are currently recording all of the Rosary Sonatas.

Choo is joined on the program by an Apollo’s Fire bandmate who has been described as “a modern-day troubadour.” Brian Kay is founder and director of THEATRO, a group that fuses historic musical and theatrical performance practices. Kay is soloist on the IEM program in music for archlute, such as Kapsberger’s Sonata Prima.

The Indianapolis concert is a glimpse into the future of historically-informed performance: both Choo and Kay are Artistic Leadership Fellows of Apollo’s Fire. They’re joined by Qin Ying Tan, an accomplished harpsichordist who has performed with both Apollo’s Fire and Red Dot Baroque, Choo’s Singapore-based period instrument ensemble.