Early Music Festival returns to Bloomington for 8th year

Musicians from all over the world will descend on Bloomington for the next ten days to take part in the Bloomington Early Music Festival. Now in its eighth year, the Early Music Festival will offer Bloomington residents and out-of-town visitors the opportunity to introduce themselves to a sometimes overlooked period of music history.\nThe Festival is being staged in conjunction with the IU School of Music's Early Music Institute.\n"We're very fortunate in Bloomington...it's one of the best-known institutions around the world," said Alain Barker, executive director of the festival. "We have right at our doorstep some of the best players in the world. It's an attempt to merge world class musicians with the talent that lives in Bloomington."\nThe term "early music" generally refers to the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque musical periods, all of which predate the Classical period of the 18th century. One of the better known early music composers is Johann Sebastian Bach.\nOne of the many unique performing ensembles to take part in the festival is Anima Fortis, an all-female ensemble that will be performing a special program of 17th century Italian female composers Barbara Strozzi and Isabella Leonarda. IU School of Music doctoral student Gesa Kordes plays baroque violin in the ensemble.\n"Baroque music has been played all along, but early Italian baroque is fairly rare still," she said of the performance's selections. \nThe baroque violin she will play differs from the more familiar modern violin in several noticeable ways, visually and aurally. There is no chin rest and the bow is curved outward. A baroque violin is also tuned lower than a modern violin, giving it a darker, more mellow sound.\nAnima Fortis' performance will be further enhanced by stage director Nasrin Hekmat-Farrokh, whose staging will add a visual element to the performance.\n"It's really something a bit unusual. These women really suffered," she said of the female composers.\nAnima Fortis is Bloomington-based, but performers, as well as audience members, are arriving from all over the world. Paul Hoxbro, a musician and storyteller from Denmark, will be performing his solo show "Tones and Tales From Distant Times: A piper's journey through medieval Europe."\n"People applied from all over the world...We got applications from every continent except maybe Africa. We were quite blown away," Kordes said. "It was really tough to make a choice. Let's just say a music festival of this kind of variety and this kind of specialization of the performers...you're going to be very hard pressed to find this anywhere around here."\nOther highlights of the festival include "An Evening of North Indian Flute Music" by Deepak Ram and I l'avori d'amore persi, an opera adapted by EMI faculty member Nigel North from madrigals by Monteverdi.\nFor more information about the festival, visit the Web site at www.blemf.org or call 331-1263\nSaturday, May 19\nDeepak Ram (North Indian Flute Music) - Recital Hall, 8 p.m.\nSunday, May 20\nThe Concord Ensemble (Music of Sweelinck) - Unitarian Universalist Church, 8 p.m.\nTuesday, May 22\nLecture on I lavori d'amore persi by musicologist Massimo Ossi - Ford Hall, 8 p.m.\nWednesday, May 23\nCatherine Webster, soprano and Holly Chatham, fortepiano (Works of Haydn and Mozart) - Ford Hall, 8 p.m.\nThursday, May 24\nI lavori d'amore persi - Staged Monteverdi Madrigals - John Waldron Arts Center Auditorium, 8 p.m.\nFriday, May 25\nReception - Unitarian Universalist Church, 6 p.m.\nBloomington Baroque - Unitarian Universalist Church, 8 p.m.\nSaturday, May 26\nChildren's Workshop - Renaissance Festival - Unitarian Universalist Church, 10 a.m.\nAnima Fortis (Barbara Strozzi/Isabella Leonarda) - Ford Hall, 1 p.m. \nPoul Hoxbro (Medieval Tones and Tales ) - John Waldron Arts Center, 4 p.m.\nI lavori d'amore persi - Staged Monteverdi Madrigals - John Waldron Arts Center Auditorium, 8 p.m.\nSunday, May 27\nRound-table discussions - Barnes & Noble, 10 a.m.\nEnsemble Ouabache (Classical winds and strings) - Ford Hall, 1 p.m.\nNigel North (English lute works) - Ford Hall, 4 p.m.\nBLEMF Orchestra & Dance (Concertos & costumed dance) - Buskirk-Chumley, 8 p.m.\nMonday, May 28\nEx Umbris (Spanish Renaissance Music) - Universalist Unitarian Church, 8 p.m.