The GEMS Project 2010 - A Feast of Early Music

Over the past few days I have attended the three presentations of The GEMS Project 2010 in New York City.  GEMS is the acronym for Gotham Early Music Scene, self-described as "New York's service and advocacy organization for early music."  GEMS provides marketing and administrative services for over eighty (mainly small) ensembles specializing in the presentation of early music, which is generally anything written prior to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.  (Why that should be the dividing line is uncertain, but I've yet to hear Mozart at a GEMS program.  Not to say it hasn't happened, but I don't recall....) 

In addition to providing all these services for their member organizations, GEMS presents an annual season-starting mini-festival to showcase some of the organizations.  This year, the "project" consisted of three presentations, each providing extended exposure to the work of three groups specializing in Early Music. 

The first program, presented at St. Ignatius of Antioch Church on the Upper West Side of Manhattan last Thursday night, included performances by Parthenia, a viol ensemble with solo voice; TENET, an a cappella vocal ensemble; and The Four Nations Ensemble, on this occasion consisting of transverse flute, period violin and cello and harpsichord.  The second, presented at the Abigail Adams Smith Auditorium on the Upper East Side on Friday night, included performances by Sinfonia Players, a chamber ensemble drawn from Sinfonia New York (on this occasion flute, violin, cello and harpsichord), Trefoil, a medieval ensemble in which each of the three singers also played some period instruments; and Repast, a string trio with soprano soloist and harpsichord.  The final program, presented on Sunday afternoon at the Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WNYC Radio, NYC, in the SOHO neighborhood, included performances by Lionheart, an all-male a cappella vocal ensemble; Asteria, a vocal duo with lute accompaniment; and Rebel, a chamber ensemble comprising two violins, cello and harpsichord. 

The programs were devised to present a contrast between vocal, instrumental and mixed music, and to range in period from the medieval to the early classical.  Althought there was no overall pattern or plan to the programs, each of the groups had devised a themed program for its 20-30 minute segment.  A special highlight was a free refreshment break paid for by some underwriters during the Friday evening program.  All three programs were generously underwritten by special donations, some anonymous and some credited.  The programs were very reasonably priced by NY professional concert standards.

It would be impossible to do justice to all three programs with a brief description, so I will content myself with saying that all three were performed to a very high professional standard, the musical selections were made to expose a wide variety of compositional styles, and that the diversity of material was such that any listener would be likely to find something especially appealing at each concert.  My own reaction was that the best of the best here was TENET, which is the vocal ensemble in residence at St. Ignatius, which is a small church with a marvelously warm acoustic setting for vocal music.  Perhaps I'm biased because two of the singers are acquaintances, Marc Molomot and Jesse Blumberg, but on the other hand many of the performers at all three concerts were familiar to me because I attend early music concerts in New York and have attended some of these "sampler" concerts in earlier seasons.  Also, many of the musicians have issued recordings which have found their way into my hands.

All in all, this was a feast for anybody who fancies early music, and is a "must attend" annual event.

Anybody interested in Early Music should visit the GEMS website and sign up for their free regular email blasts, the best way to get advance notice of the early music concerts being given in the NYC metro area.  It's at www.gemsny.org.