April 3 at 12:10 pm
The Church of the Epiphany, Washington, DC

Washington Bach Consort
Noontime Cantata

BWV 158: Cantata: Der Friede sei mit dir
Harpsichord Concerto in F Minor, BWV 1056

For more information, call (202) 429-2121.

April 6 at 8:00 pm
Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land, Washington, DC

The Ron Freeman Chorale
Good Friday Service

The Passiontide music consisted mostly of Renaissance sacred motets. Although selections in other Chorale concerts typically are performed in their original languages (whether Latin, German, French, or Old Church Slavonic), the practice for the Monastery service is to sing more selections in English. In addition, all music for the service must be performed a cappella.

For more information, call 703-750-1408.

April 11 at 6:00 pm
Elizabethan Theatre, Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, DC

Folger Early Music Seminar: City of Ladies

April 13 at 8:00 pm
April 14 at 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm
April 15 at 2:00 pm
Elizabethan Theatre, Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, DC

The Folger Consort
City of Ladies: The Musical World of 15th-Century Burgundy

The French and Burgundian courts of the early 15th century fostered a culture that treasured its musicians, artist, and writers and the revelatory idea of beauty for its own sake. Influential writer Christine de Pizan lived at court in France and wrote City of Ladies during this time. One of her ballades, Dueil angoisseus, was set to music by Giles Binchois. This chanson and also exquisite and haunting works by Guillaume Du Fay and others for court and chamber are performed by vocalists, fiddles, harps, lutes, and winds. With countertenor Drew Minter and multi-instrumentalist Tom Zajac.

Pre-concert discussion
Friday, April 13, 7pm
Free

For more information, call (202) 675-0379.

April 14 at 8:00 pm at St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church in Bethesda, Maryland
April 15 at 3:30 pm at St. Mary Mother of God Catholic Church in Washington, DC

Collegium Cantorum
Master of the Notes: A concert of Renaissance polyphony by Josquin des Prez

For more information, call 703-437-8677.

April 22 at 4:00 pm
Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church, Bethesda, Maryland

Carmina
Vera Kochanowsky, harpsichord
Howard Bass, lute
Fairest Isle

Always a bit removed from the musical fashions and trends of the continent, England has produced a number of composers of impressive skill and unique influence. In this program we focus on the formidable talents of Henry Purcell, including his moving Funeral Sentences, and the music of William Byrd and other notable early English composers.

For more information, call (301) 493-8300 x214.

April 29 at 3:00 pm
National Presbyterian Church, Washington, DC

Washington Bach Consort
Heaven on Earth

Johann Sebastian Bach Brandenburg Concerto IV in G Major, BWV 1049
Missa Brevis in G Minor, BWV 235
Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 543
Ascension Oratorio, BWV 11

A glorious afternoon of music by Bach combines the sacred and the secular, from a Brandenburg Concerto with the flavor of a witty Parisian salon to some of his most profound and complex sacred works, showcasing the brilliant musicians and singers of the Consort. We'll hear one of the so-called Lutheran masses, the often overlooked smaller siblings of the great B Minor Mass, the spectacular Ascension Oratorio, and the justly nicknamed "Great" Prelude and Fugue in A Minor performed by J. Reilly Lewis on National Presbyterian Church's magnificent Skinner pipe organ.

For more information, call (202) 429-2121.