PURCHASE is a multipart musical history project, presenting music connected to the Louisiana Purchase, 1763-1863.  The musical sources include music from the United States, France, Haiti and Mexico.  The US music is African American and Native American, though all sources are not in every part of the project. 

The six thematic parts of PURCHASE are:

         Strife

         Exile

         Hiding

This presentation will be the Hiding portion of the project.

PURCHASE: Hiding is a performance of African American spirituals, Baroque and Classical vocal music from England and France, and traditional songs from Spain, France and Haiti. These songs are presented alongside a historical narrative in a dramatic context.  Rhetorical and musical themes of power, enslavement, parental love and the search for freedom are woven throughout PURCHASE.

The history of what is called “Early Music” has centered on the music of Western Europe. In the United States, the traditions of Africans, Native Americans and Euro Americans were occurring side by side. This often-overlooked simultaneity can be viewed, crisscrossing the geographical outlines of the Louisiana Purchase. The Purchase is the huge tract of land sold to Jefferson and the United States in 1803 by Napoleon and France. 

An opera, Proserpine, by Napoleon’s chapel master, Giovanni Paisiello, premiered in the same year as the Louisiana Purchase.  Music from the opera will be juxtaposed with Spirituals and other traditional songs to give voice to everyday people–enslaved Africans, Native Americans, and European immigrants–who forged a new country.

PURCHASE is a multipart musical history project, presenting music connected to the Louisiana Purchase, 1763-1863.  The musical sources include music from the United States, France, Haiti and Mexico.  The US music is African American and Native American, though all sources are not in every part of the project. 

The six thematic parts of PURCHASE are:

         Strife

         Exile

         Hiding

This presentation will be the Hiding portion of the project.

PURCHASE: Hiding is a performance of African American spirituals, Baroque and Classical vocal music from England and France, and traditional songs from Spain, France and Haiti. These songs are presented alongside a historical narrative in a dramatic context.  Rhetorical and musical themes of power, enslavement, parental love and the search for freedom are woven throughout PURCHASE.

The history of what is called “Early Music” has centered on the music of Western Europe. In the United States, the traditions of Africans, Native Americans and Euro Americans were occurring side by side. This often-overlooked simultaneity can be viewed, crisscrossing the geographical outlines of the Louisiana Purchase. The Purchase is the huge tract of land sold to Jefferson and the United States in 1803 by Napoleon and France. 

An opera, Proserpine, by Napoleon’s chapel master, Giovanni Paisiello, premiered in the same year as the Louisiana Purchase.  Music from the opera will be juxtaposed with Spirituals and other traditional songs to give voice to everyday people–enslaved Africans, Native Americans, and European immigrants–who forged a new country.

PURCHASE is a multipart musical history project, presenting music connected to the Louisiana Purchase, 1763-1863.  The musical sources include music from the United States, France, Haiti and Mexico.  The US music is African American and Native American, though all sources are not in every part of the project. 

The six thematic parts of PURCHASE are:

         Strife

         Exile

         Hiding

This presentation will be the Hiding portion of the project.

PURCHASE: Hiding is a performance of African American spirituals, Baroque and Classical vocal music from England and France, and traditional songs from Spain, France and Haiti. These songs are presented alongside a historical narrative in a dramatic context.  Rhetorical and musical themes of power, enslavement, parental love and the search for freedom are woven throughout PURCHASE.

The history of what is called “Early Music” has centered on the music of Western Europe. In the United States, the traditions of Africans, Native Americans and Euro Americans were occurring side by side. This often-overlooked simultaneity can be viewed, crisscrossing the geographical outlines of the Louisiana Purchase. The Purchase is the huge tract of land sold to Jefferson and the United States in 1803 by Napoleon and France. 

An opera, Proserpine, by Napoleon’s chapel master, Giovanni Paisiello, premiered in the same year as the Louisiana Purchase.  Music from the opera will be juxtaposed with Spirituals and other traditional songs to give voice to everyday people–enslaved Africans, Native Americans, and European immigrants–who forged a new country.

PURCHASE is a multipart musical history project, presenting music connected to the Louisiana Purchase, 1763-1863.  The musical sources include music from the United States, France, Haiti and Mexico.  The US music is African American and Native American, though all sources are not in every part of the project. 

The six thematic parts of PURCHASE are:

         Strife

         Exile

         Hiding

This presentation will be the Hiding portion of the project.

PURCHASE: Hiding is a performance of African American spirituals, Baroque and Classical vocal music from England and France, and traditional songs from Spain, France and Haiti. These songs are presented alongside a historical narrative in a dramatic context.  Rhetorical and musical themes of power, enslavement, parental love and the search for freedom are woven throughout PURCHASE.

The history of what is called “Early Music” has centered on the music of Western Europe. In the United States, the traditions of Africans, Native Americans and Euro Americans were occurring side by side. This often-overlooked simultaneity can be viewed, crisscrossing the geographical outlines of the Louisiana Purchase. The Purchase is the huge tract of land sold to Jefferson and the United States in 1803 by Napoleon and France. 

An opera, Proserpine, by Napoleon’s chapel master, Giovanni Paisiello, premiered in the same year as the Louisiana Purchase.  Music from the opera will be juxtaposed with Spirituals and other traditional songs to give voice to everyday people–enslaved Africans, Native Americans, and European immigrants–who forged a new country.

Nash Baroque, formed in 2013 by traverso player Vicki Melin and harpsichordist Katherine Heater, presents chamber music from the 17th & 18th centuries on period instruments.

In this glittering program, Nash Baroque joins countertenor Justin Montigne and violoncellist Farley Pearce to perform sacred and profane music of Baroque Venice, including cantatas & sonatas by Vivaldi, Giovanni Legrenzi, Antonio Caldara, Barbara Strozzi and Benedetto Marcello.

Get tickets here.

Sonoma State University voice faculty members Jane Erwin Hammett, soprano; Zachary Gordin, baritone; and Justin Montigne, countertenor will join together for a recital of  “Bel Canto” (beautiful singing), on a program including early music, arias from opera and operetta, art songs, and songs from Broadway and musical theatre.

Learn more and get tickets here.