Ingrid Matthews and John Lenti In Recital
Two beloved artists offer a sumptuous program of sonic intimacy and musical grandeur. Ingrid Matthews is renowned for her solo Bach (the Classical Music Listening Companion writes that she “has raised the interpretation of these masterpieces to a new level,” and from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, “Matthews made Bach’s D Minor Partita wondrous yet precise… both luminous and illuminating”), while John Lenti’s intelligent musicianship brings both sensitivity and power to every collaboration (“a joy to behold” according to the Seattle Times). From the great D Minor Partita of Bach to Handel’s beautiful Lascia ch’io pianga (arr. by John) to a magnificent Suite by Jean-Fery Rebel, this promises to be an extraordinary hour of music.
Thursday, June 7, 2018, 2:00 PM
TRINITY CHAPEL
2320 Dana Street, Berkeley, CA 94704
Tickets available at the door. Price: $20 or as able
The Program
Ingrid Matthews, baroque violin; John Lenti, lute and theorbo
J.S. Bach Partita no. 2 in D Minor BWV 1004
Allemanda
Corrente
Sarabanda
Giga
Ciaccona
Georg Friedrich Handel Lascia ch’io pianga (arr. John Lenti)
Jean-Fery Rebel Premiere Suite in G Major
Prelude
Allemande
Courante
Sarabande
Gigue
Chaconne
Bouree en rondeau
Meet the Artists
Called “one of the lights on early music’s international circuit” by the San Francisco Chronicle, Ingrid Matthews won first prize in the prestigious Erwin Bodky International Competition for Early Music in 1989 before co-founding the Seattle Baroque Orchestra in 1994; she served as its Music Director until 2013. She has performed around the world with many of today’s leading early music ensembles, appearing as a soloist with the New York Collegium, the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (Toronto), the Bach Sinfonia (Washington DC), Ars Lyrica (Houston), and many others. She is currently a member of esteemed Bay Area ensemble Musica Pacifica. Matthews has won high critical acclaim for her extensive discography; her recording of the Sonatas and Partitas of J.S. Bach has been named top recommendation by both American Record Guide and Third Ear’s Classical Music Listening Companion. She has taught at Indiana University, the University of Toronto, USC/LA, and the Cornish College of the Arts, and given masterclasses from Seattle and Boston to Beijing and Dubai. She also plays jazz and swing styles, and is active as a visual artist. www.ingridmatthews.com
John Lenti, described by the Seattle Times as “a joy to behold,” is regularly beheld playing lute, theorbo, and baroque guitar with lots of orchestras, choirs, and opera companies on both coasts of the United States, as well as in the interior, non-coastal part, and a few, coastal or otherwise, in other countries. While orchestral work as an accompanist and concerto soloist comprises most of his career, chamber music is John’s primary interest and he enjoys touring with his groups Wayward Sisters, the I-90 Collective, and Ostraka, while appearing as a guest with many other notable ensembles. With various groups he is frequently heard on most early music concert series and at lots of festivals. His recording credits include several well-received albums with some of the aforementioned bands, and his liner notes, program notes, and lectures have drawn praise. While his time is spent doing a great many things on a great many historical plucked instruments and teaching a bit, his most intense musical love is the English golden-age lute song repertoire, and his sincere desire is to become the Gerald Moore of the lute (currently accepting applications for a quiet Fischer-Dieskau with no vibrato), once that becomes remunerative. His repertoire extends from the early 16th century to the present day, but other than something really neat like an electric theorbo concerto, his commitment to the music of our own time is negligible if not actually averse. A native of South Carolina, John attended the North Carolina School of the Arts and Indiana University, and he studied lute with Jacob Heringman, Elizabeth Kenny, and Nigel North, also receiving valuable guidance from Pat O’Brien, Walter Gray, and Ricardo Cobo.