Baroque era composers called the theorbo “the most perfect instrument ever invented to accompany a singer,” said Joel Spears, a member of Black Tulip, an early music ensemble.
Spears will play the theorbo Sunday in Grayslake with the Black Tulip as the group performs mostly baroque music, including what he calls some of the most beautiful cantatas written. The concert is called Tulips in Winter.
Black Tulip includes Josefien Stoppelenburg, a soprano singer; Mirja Lorenz, who plays various recorders; Phillip W. Serna, who performs on violas da gamba; and Spears, who serves as artistic director of the Early Music series at the Byron Colby Barn in Grayslake in fall and winter.
Black Tulip recently performed on WFMT’s “Live From Studio One.” In Grayslake, the group will perform music written by well-known baroque composers such as Vivaldi and Handel, as well as lesser-known composers who wrote music that needs to be played and enjoyed, Spears said.
The baroque era ranges from early 1600s to the middle 1700s, and followed the Renaissance era. The word “baroque” comes from the Portuguese word barroco, meaning misshapen pearl, Spears said, and reflects the composers’ desire to break away from traditional Renaissance music.
Over the years, Spears, who teaches lute at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, has performed with others who enjoy and are knowledgeable about instruments used hundreds of years ago.
Black Tulip was formed after Spears and his musician friends “discovered a wonderful rich repertoire of cantatas (from the baroque era) for voice and treble instruments. We’ve been diving into that repertoire.”
Cantatas are stories told via music and include a soprano, with recorder and what are called obligato lines played by a bass instrument, in Black Tulip’s case, the bass viol. The theorbo, a large lute, plays what’s called basso continuo.
“It’s the art of harmonizing over a bass line,” said Spears.
“With basso continuo, the composer has left to the players an opportunity and a bit of freedom to use their own musical taste to help bring out the mood of the piece.”
Spears reads what’s called a figured bass that includes symbols and numbers that indicate where the music is moving harmonically, he said.
“When you’re playing it, you’re listening to the other players and then you also are looking at this figured bass so you can see right away where the music is going.
The opening number, a cantata by Antonio Lucio Vivaldi is a “gorgeous piece,” he said. “The audience will instantly recognize it as Vivaldi.”
The group will also perform a Fantasia featuring the bass viol and composed by Carolus Hacquart. “One of the things we enjoy doing is introducing these composers to our audiences,” Spears said. “Hacquart was a very imaginative high-quality composer. We’re just pleased to present it as a piece we think should be heard more often.”
Spears will also perform a solo on the theorbo. It will give the audience a chance to hear and enjoy the unique sounds and capabilities of the instrument, he said.
Other music to be performed includes works by Henry Purcell and George Friedrich Handel.
“Purcell is really a genius with repeating bass lines,” Spears said. “He sets the expectation, and as you get further into the piece, he twists the harmonies unexpectedly. He’s a real master at that.”
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The concert will end with a well-known cantata written by Handel.
“It’s typical Handel, with absolutely fantastic vocal writing,” Spears said. “It’s the perfect way to end this program.”
Spears said baroque music is “very engaging. The sounds are not only beautiful, but they are incredibly expressive. They deliberately aim to touch on every human emotion. That reaches people. There’s a reason why it continues to be performed. Some of the baroque composers are some of the greatest composers who ever lived.”
The audience is invited to bring beverages including wine to enjoy during the concert. They can sit in the loft or in the main barn, which has acoustics that work very well for early music, Spears said.
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance writer.
Black Tulip
When: 4 p.m. Sunday
Where: Byron Colby Barn, 1561 Jones Point Road, Grayslake
Tickets: $20 (cash or check only); children under 16 free
Information: www.libertyprairie.org/earlymusic