Grace Notes

The Magic Behind “Dialogues & Devotions: Great Baroque Duets”

PAUL MAX TIPTON

On March 1st and 2nd, the next UVB chamber concert presents a rare treat. Paul Max Tipton, bass-baritone, has curated a program featuring solo and duet scenes from the early Baroque. Joining him will be soprano Paulina Francisco, violinist Beth Wenstrom, gambist Matt Zucker, and keyboardist Robert Warner.

Our program is a collection of beautiful works from 17th-century England and northern Germany, featuring composers like Dieterich Buxtehude, Heinrich Schütz, Henry Purcell, and John Blow. These selections will range from intimate solo songs to large devotional cantatas to dramatic duet scenes from English semi-operas. From the sacred to the secular, this program highlights the versatility of these voice types when paired together in the innovative musical styles of this era.

We will focus on music that showcases some of the brilliance of the 17th-century, and specifically in northern Europe, where the principles of the new Italian focus on expression of words over strict rules of counterpoint was met with the strong chorale improvisation tradition in Germany. In our movements from Schütz’s Kleine geistliche Konzerte (small sacred concertos) it can mean a simple & elegant beauty, but in the music of Bruhns it becomes a tour de force for voice and violin, all to serve the meaning of the words.

The program will also include English music from the latter half of the century, such as that of Henry Purcell, a master of text sensitivity in his own right. We have selected duets from one of his semi-operas, King Arthur, and from Come, ye Sons of Art, a birthday ode for Queen Mary in 1694. These noble works are simply a delight to sing with a great duet partner and will display not only the sweet and lamenting but the virtuosic and powerful.

Choosing from the musical riches of the 17th-century was certainly a challenge! There are so many wonderful, dramatic stories to be told. Our program offers a selection of these stories, showcasing the brilliance and splendor of this often-overlooked period in musical history.

Described as a dignified and beautiful singer by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Paul Max Tipton performs to acclaim in repertoire from Bach and Bruhns to Barber and Bolcom. He recently debuted in Tokyo singing Beethoven 9 with Masato Suzuki and can be heard on the BIS & Avie labels.

In March 2025, Paulina Francisco will make her Archangelo and London Handel Festival debut in a performance of Handel’s L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato. She is a winner of the 11th edition of Le Jardin des Voix with Les Arts Florissants, and is a soloist in their internationally renowned production of Henry Purcell’s The Fairy Queen.

Beth Wenstrom is a dynamic performer, taking her skills as chamber musician, soloist, concertmaster and orchestral violinist around the US and internationally with a variety of ensembles. She has been praised for her “vitality and eloquent phrasing, as well as agility” (The Strad) and The New Yorker has described her chamber performances as “elegant and sensual, stylishly wild.”

Described as “mesmerizing” (Seen and Heard International), Matt Zucker appears internationally as a collaborator and soloist specializing in historical cellos and viols. His orchestral career has taken him around the world with ensembles such as Boston Baroque, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Les Arts Florissants, and Washington National Cathedral Baroque Orchestra.

Robert Warner has performed with William Christie, Jordi Savall, Ton Koopman, Masaaki Suzuki and other leading figures in the field of early music with frequent performances in New York City’s Alice Tully Hall and international tours to the Netherlands and New Zealand. He is the founder, artistic director and harpsichordist of New Amsterdam Consort as well as a founding member and harpsichordist of Musicivic Baroque.

Tickets for the March performances are available at www.uppervalleybaroque.org/concerts.