Chiaroscuro

Tonight we went to a concert in the Bloominton Early Music Festival. Chiaroscuro is a chamber group consisting of violin, cornetto, sackbut, dulcian, and organ. I was, of course, attracted to the cornetto, played by Kiri Tollaksen. Her playing was beautiful, so agile and delicate that even my wife was won over. I'm going to take some lessons with her next year, as she will be teaching at IU's Early Music Institute part-time. The concert, "Eavesdropping at the Collegium," featured music by 17th century German composers, especially Matthias Weckmann. The whole ensemble played with passion and nuance (Mary's word), though I wasn't crazy about the solo organ piece. There were also solo pieces for the violin, sackbut, dulcian, and one work that featured Kiri playing the mute cornetto. While I prefer the sound of the standard cornetto, I was very excited to hear the mute cornetto for the first time. The concert was very well attended, over 100 people at St. Mark's United Methodist Church, including three colleagues making the one-hour drive from DePauw. I was inspired enough to practice for over an hour when we got home, and now must go to bed before Mary kills me.