Black Tulip opens the 20th season of the Early Music Series on Nov. 6 at the iconic Colby Barn in Grayslake featuring all female composers of the baroque era.
“We just thought it would be really nice to have a program that celebrates these women,” said Josefien Stoppelenburg, a Wilmette resident, and vocalist for Black Tulip. “These were women who had unusual lives compared to a lot of other women living during the baroque era. These all great pieces no matter what gender the composer was.”
The Nov. 6 concert “Court, Convent & Stage: Redefining the Early Modern Woman,” features vocal and instrumental works by Francesca Caccini, Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, Isabella Leonarda, Barbara Strozzi and others.
Stoppelenburg, winner of the Chicago Oratorio Award, will sing in French, Italian and Latin. Black Tulip also includes Early Music Series founder and director Joel Spears who plays lute and theorbo, Mirja Lorenz on recorder and Phillip W. Serna on viols such as violas da gamba. “It’s a great combination,” Stoppelenburg said.
“Violas da gamba can give deep base and more sustained notes but also can go really fast. The lute or theorbo are the plucked instruments. Recorders can be very high and virtuosic or lower in pitch.
“What I love about this combination is that you can evoke so many colors, so many emotions. You can do a lot of storytelling, acting everything out on the stage. We’re storytellers. That’s what this music is all about.”
Black Tulip will talk about the music and the composers during the performance. ” hope the audience will be moved and entertained,” Stoppelenburg said. “I hope they’ll be in awe of these incredible female composers, whose music was at such a high level. I hope they will be inspired and delighted by this music. It’s just beautiful music.”
Female composers of the baroque era were often under the protection of the king or living in a convent. De La Guerre was one of the court’s favorites, but she still had to make living. “She performed, but later made her money by publishing. She was a good businessperson,” Stoppelenburg said.
“She was called the marvel of France, the miracle of France, because she was so unusual.” One piece she wrote the ensemble will perform is based on Greek mythology, a popular theme during the baroque era.
More Top Picks Ratings
The song is about a human who has a fling with the god Zeus. “But she is a little doubtful that he’s really a god,” Stoppelenburg said. She asked Zeus to show him all his glory. Zeus tells her it’s not a good idea to see all his splendor, but she insists. He reveals his powers and then she dies, because no mortal can live to tell the tale of seeing a god, according to mythology.
“The piece ends with a moral to be happy with what you have,” Stoppelenburg said. The group also will perform a virtuosic piece written by Leonarda. “She came from a wealthy family and went into a convent,” Stoppelenburg said.
“A lot of parents gave their daughters music lessons, because certain convents wanted the women to be able to perform music. Leonarda was not only a musician in the convent, but she also was the Mother Superior toward the end of her career.
“The level of the piece we will perform tells us that she had some pretty darned good musicians around her, because it’s tricky. It’s very fast. It has a lot of runs and quick notes. You really need to be a good musician to perform it,” Stoppelenburg said.
Black Tulip also will perform a fun piece written by Caccini. “It says love is such a problematic thing, that falling in love just causes trouble,” Stoppelenburg said. Caccini’s music, including her operas, were seen on stage when she was alive.
Since its founding 20 years ago, the Early Music Series under the direction of Joel Spears has received financial support. This year, the funding is unavailable, he said. Still, he has been able to secure the Byron Colby Barn for a season of music written hundreds of years ago.
Tickets can be purchased via cash or check at the door. The audience can bring beverages including wine and snacks to enjoy while listening to the concert. Children under age 16 are admitted free.
“We promise more musical surprises this season with chances to hear talented artists you’ve never heard before,” Spears said, for example the debut of Bach’s Goldberg Variations arranged for percussion in March. “It’s always been our mission to explore the full range of Western music created pre-1800.”
Black Tulip: Court, Convent & Stage: Redefining the Early Modern Woman
When: 4 p.m. Nov. 6
Where: Byron Colby Barn, 1561 Jones Point Road, Grayslake
Tickets: $20 cash or check; ages 16 and younger free
Information: 847-543-1202; facebook.com and search Early Music at the Barn
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance writer for the News-Sun.