Festival 2022: Celebrating Women in Early Music

The 2022 Bloomington Early Music Festival (BLEMF) is dedicated to celebrating women in early music, highlighting the presence, influence, and artistry of women across nine centuries of musical culture and music-making. From the convents of the medieval period through the salons of the early 19th century, women participated in music as composers, performers, poets, patrons, and listeners; from positions of political, religious, and social power; in front of audiences and behind the scenes.

BLEMF 2022 gives such women the stage—those long-remembered and those only recently rediscovered—to bring the music they made in their time to our audiences today.

In-Person Concerts:
All in-person concert venues are handicap-accessible. Pre-concert discussions take place prior in the same venue. Both will be livestreamed.
No tickets or RSVP necessary to attend!

Virtual Concerts and Livestreams:

Enjoy Virtual Concerts from the comfort of your own home or join us at the Downtown Branch of the Monroe County Library in room 2A for a screening at the scheduled release time. In-person concerts will be live-streamed, and virtual concerts will be available for streaming until Saturday, June 4th.

Educational workshops:
Educational workshops, other than the 21+ Tavern Hopping Through Time at Cardinal Spirits, are designed for children and children-at-heart. Kids under the age of 9 should be accompanied by an adult. Due to limited space, RSVPs for workshops are highly encouraged. Click here to RSVP for workshops.

All Events are Free and Open to all

Schedule:

Sunday, May 22, 2022

8:00pm: Opening Night Concert

Bloomington Bach Cantata Project

J.S. Bach, “Es ist gut, dass ich hingehe” BWV 108

Johann Sebastian Bach’s cantata “Es ist gut, dass ich hingehe” BWV 108 is composed to a libretto by Christiana Mariana von Ziegler, crowned poet laureate in 1733.  The work—along with eight other Ziegler texts that Bach set—reveals that women were indeed intricately involved in the music of even the most canonical male composers of the era. Music directed by Carolann Buff, and signature BBCP lecture at the halfway point between two performances of the work, enabling you to listen in new ways the second time around. (Bloomington, IN)

Mid-concert talk by BBCP Director and Bach scholar Daniel R. Melamed.

Location: FAR Center for Contemporary Arts, 505 W 4th St, Bloomington, IN

Monday, May 23, 2022

12:00pm: Virtual Concert

Musica Secreta
Mother, Sister, Daughter

Mother, Sister, Daughter celebrates women’s spiritual relationships and the stories they tell, with music honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary and communities of sisters in early modern Europe. Drawn from fifteenth- and sixteenth-century sources, many linked to convents, the program includes motets by Eleanora d’Este,  works by anonymous (potentially female) composers, and songs by dissenting women—brought to life by this magnificent, internationally-renowned all-woman ensemble. (Southampton, UK)

Pre-concert discussion at the start of the program with Musica Secreta Director Laurie Stras and BLEM board member and choral scholar Carolann Buff.

Location: Screening at the Monroe County Library, Downtown Branch - Room 2A

2:00pm: Workshop

Dancing on the Square
Party like it’s 1799!

Learn about wild Highland reels and elegant Georgian country dancing in a rocking historical dance party on the Courthouse lawn. This first of our fun festival workshops will teach you the trendy Gaelic steps and genteel English figures you need to succeed in 18th-century British society. What a way to start the week! (No partner needed).

Workshop runs 2:00PM-4:00PM.

Location: Monroe County Courthouse, 100 W Kirkwood Ave (Outside on the Courthouse Lawn)

Click here to RSVP

5:00pm: Virtual Concert

Forgotten Clefs
Leonora d’Este’s Ferrara

Leonora d’Este’s Ferrara journeys inside the peaceful convent where Leanora, granddaughter of a pope, daughter of Lucrezia Borgia, and child of one of the wealthiest families in Renaissance Italy, composed music for women and girls. This longtime favorite Bloomington-born ensemble performs sublime works by Leonora d’Este and Raffaella Aleotti, aside commissions by Lucrezia Borgia and her sister, Isabella d’Este. (Richmond, VA)

Pre-concert discussion at the start of the program with Forgotten Clefs Managing Director and member Sarah Schilling, member Kelsey Schilling, and historical trombonist Liza Malamut.

Location: Screening at the Monroe County Library, Downtown Branch - Room 2A

8:00pm: Concert

Cappella Romana
Hymns of Kassianí

Hymns of Kassianí is a stunning exploration of chants and liturgical music—some long-suppressed until recent years—by the earliest known woman composer in history, the Byzantine-Greek abbess, poet, and hymnographer Kassia, performed by the world’s leading ensemble of Byzantine chant and one of the most sought-after early music ensembles in the US. Concert lasts 1.5 hours including intermission. (Portland, OR)

7:15pm: Pre-Concert discussion with Cappella Romana Music Director and Founder Alexander Lingas and Dana Marsh, Director of the Historical Performance Institute, Jacobs School of Music.

Location: The Mill, 642 N Madison St

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

12:00pm: Virtual Concert

Bach Collegium San Diego
Muses of Parnassus

Muses of Parnassus is a showcase of scintillating repertoire of the Italian baroque by three highly celebrated 17th-century female composers—Isabella Leonarda, Francesca Caccini, and Barbara Strozzi.  Grammy-nominated soprano Jennifer Ellis Kampani performs with one of the premiere early music ensembles on the West Coast and one of the most dynamic ensembles in the US. (San Diego, CA)

Pre-concert discussion at the start of the program with BCSD Director Ruben Valenzuela and Duke University musicologist Roseen Giles.

Location: Screening at the Monroe County Library, Downtown Branch - Room 2A

2:00pm: Workshop

Sword Fighting and Other Theatrical Wonders
En garde!

Learn how to wage combat without hurting a fly from a certified, professional stage combat instructor! Be a Shakespearean actor for a day! Enter life on the stage in Renaissance times and experience the wonders of early theater—and take home your own (foam!) sword to vanquish your foes!

Workshop runs 2:00PM-4:00PM.

Location: Lotus Education and Arts Foundation Firebay, 105 S Rogers Street

Presented in partnership with Stages Bloomington.

Click here to RSVP

5:00pm: Virtual Concert

Le Concert
de la Reine
Gloriosa

Gloriosa presents a magnificent array of music from the long reign of the “Sun King,” Louis XIV in France, centering on works composed, commissioned, and produced by women and works about strong female characters. This exceptionally talented, up-and-coming ensemble challenges the long-held belief that the European world was shaped only by men.  (Basel, Switzerland)

Le Concert de la Reine is an Emerging Artist Ensemble.

Pre-concert discussion at the start of the program with Le Concert de la Reine Director Chloé de Guillebon and Marcie Ray, historical musicologist at Michigan State University.

Location: Screening at the Monroe County Library, Downtown Branch - Room 2A

8:00pm: Concert

Isshallyn
Farewell Forever to the Music of the Harp

Farewell Forever to the Music of the Harp weaves jubilant tunes and passionate songs around the poems of Sileas na Ceapaich, the daughter of a Gaelic chieftain, whose words describe the profound changes in government, politics, language, culture, and religion in the Scottish Highlands around the turn of the 18th century. Enjoy an early summer eve with this ensemble of acclaimed musicians at Hopscotch on the B-Line! (Bloomington, IN)

7:15pm: Pre-Concert discussion with Isshallyn members Keith Collins and Tim Macdonald, and BLEM board member and early modern music scholar Devon Nelson

Location: Hopscotch Coffee B-Line Cafe, 235 W Dodds St

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

12:00pm: Virtual Premiere

The Telling
Unsung Heroine

With an unprecedented approach to medieval music, breaking new ground where playwriting and music collide, this acclaimed “concert theater” group  is already winning high praise for the newly released film Unsung Heroine, a remarkable and innovative interpretation of the music and life of 12th-century woman troubadour Beatriz de Día. Let The Telling introduce you to one of the most remarkable of medieval women, through the creative work of one of the most innovative early music groups in the UK and the world. (London, UK)

Pre-concert discussion at the start of the program with singer, playwrite and producer Clare Norburn and scholar of medieval France and Occitaine, Elizabeth K. Hebbard.

Location: Screening at 5:00pm at FAR Center

2:00pm: Workshop

Tunics, Tassels and Tiaras
 …and ruffles, ribbons and tights!

Who wore what, when? And why did they wear that?? Learn about historical clothing from as far back as the medieval times, how fashion changed over time, and how kinds of dress helped to tell who was who, where they were from and what they did for a living.  And use what you learn to  make your own historical costumes!

Workshop runs 2:00PM-4:00PM.

Click here to RSVP

5:00pm: Film Screening

The Telling
Unsung Heroine (on the big screen!)

Come to the FAR Center and view the newly released, already acclaimed Unsung Heroine on the big screen with us!  A talk from a leading expert on troubadour lyric and musical culture, Elizabeth K. Hebbard of the IU Medieval Institute, will precede the film with time for questions and answers.  

5:00pm: Pre-screening discussion and QandA with Elizabeth K. Hebbard.

8:00pm: Concert

Musica Spira
An Extraordinary Innovation

In the late 16th-century, the Duke of Ferrara was the first to replace the amateurs who had long entertained his elite guests with highly-skilled professional women singers. An Extraordinary Innovation: Virtuosic Women in the Italian Courts explores the music of the most famous of these sopranos–who won widespread renown and commanded astonishing performance fees in the Ferrarese concerto delle donne. (Washington, DC)

Musica Spira is an Emerging Artist Ensemble .

7:15pm: Pre-concert discussion with Musica Spira Co-director Paula Maust and Renaissance music scholar Giovanni Zanovello.

Thursday, May 26, 2022

12:00pm: Virtual Concert

Rebecca Cypess
Salonnières at the Keyboard

Founder and Director of The Raritan Players Rebecca Cypess takes a brilliant solo turn with works performed in musical salons throughout 18th-century Western Europe, all of which were hosted by women—the French Marie-Emanuelle Bayon and Anne-Louise Boyvin d’Hardancourt Brillon de Jouy, the Viennese Marianna Martines, the Jewish Sara Levy in Berlin, and the English woman Ann Ford—giving them remarkable artistic and social agency in their time. (New Brunswick, NJ)

Pre-concert discussion at the start of the program with Rebecca Cypess and  BLEM manager and historical keyboard expert Travis Whaley.

Location: Screening at the Monroe County Library, Downtown Branch - Room 2A

2:00pm: Workshop

Making Music Books
Guten-who?

See book-making technologies from hundreds of years ago—a printing press, paper making, and marbling—right here at the Lilly Library. Join in to make your own paper, explore the library’s amazing collection of historical music books, and learn to chant from one of the Lilly’s antique antiphonals!

Workshop runs 2:00PM-4:00PM.

Location: The Lilly Library, 1200 E 7th St.

Presented in partnership with The Lilly Library and IU Corps.

Click here to RSVP

5:00pm: Virtual Concert

Westeinde Winds
The Quest for the Female Musician of the Past

The Quest for the Female Musician of the Past is a glorious display of classical-era music for wind instruments—considered at the time quite “unseemly” for a woman’s posture, and the strict domain of men because of its roots in the military. By bringing their music joyfully back to life, this effervescent ensemble applauds the daring women of the early 19th century who made their careers as professional musicians in the face of gender restrictions and often heavily sexist criticism. (The Hague, Netherlands)

Westeinde Winds is an Emerging Artist Ensemble.

Pre-concert talk at the start of the program with Boise State musicologist Rachel Becker, specialist in 19th century woodwind virtuosi and questions of gender.

Location: Screening at the Monroe County Library, Downtown Branch - Room 2A

8:00pm: Concert

MIRYAM
Livshi Oz, Tales of Biblical Heroines

Livshi Oz (Clothe Yourself in Strength), Tales of Biblical Heroines paints compelling portraits of Judith and Esther, two central women in ancient Jewish history who through strength and perseverance prevailed against staggering odds, in cantatas by the pioneering late 17th-century French musician, harpsichordist, and composer Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre.  By celebrating brave Jewish heroines, this program amplifies voices of women everywhere. (Boston, MA)

7:15pm: Pre-concert discussion with MIRYAM Director Alicia DePaolo and BLEM board member and early modern music scholar Devon Nelson.

Location: Monroe County Courthouse, 100 W Kirkwood Ave

Friday, May 27, 2022

12:00pm: Virtual Concert

Schola Antiqua
Music in Secret

Performed by this virtuosic early music collective known for its “sensitivity and style” (Early Music America), Music in Secret is a shimmering, kaleidoscopic array of works by women composers of the medieval and early modern eras alongside those sung or played in convents throughout Europe of the time. Plainchant, motets, and hymns by Hildegard von Bingen, Raffaella Aleotti, Caterina Assandra, Lucrezia Vizzanna, Alba Tressina, and various anonymous sources surround organ solos of works by Ercole Pasquini and Adriano Banchieri, to form a program that will astonish, inspire, and delight. (Chicago, IL)

Pre-concert discussion at the start of the program with Schola Antiqua Music Director Naomi Gregory and UCLA musicologist Cesar Favila.

Location: Screening at the Monroe County Library, Downtown Branch - Room 2A

2:00pm: Workshop

What’s That Sound?
Making Early Music

How do instruments make sound? Why does the shape of an instrument and how it’s built matter? And why do instruments sound different in different spaces? Learn about the acoustics of instruments, how sound works in spaces of different shapes and sizes, and how it all fit into the sounds of music hundreds of years ago. Build your own instrument and make music with us!

Workshop runs 2:00PM-3:30PM.

Location: Monroe County Public Library - Downtown Branch, 303 E Kirkwood Ave

Presented in partnership with the WonderLab Museum of Science, Health and Technology.

Click here to RSVP

5:00pm: Adult Workshop

Tavern Hopping through Time
Adults 21+ only
$15 to reserve a spot

Eat, drink, and be merry while you learn about historical drink and music-making, and how the two pastimes traveled together through time. Your $15 ticket covers the cost of alcohol and is required for this event.

Workshop runs 5:00PM-6:30PM.

Location: Cardinal Spirits, 922 S Morton St.

Presented in partnership with Cardinal Spirits.

Buy Tickets

8:00pm: Closing Concert

Tonos del Sur
María del Pueblo

In many ways the most central woman to Western classical music, the Virgin Mary has inspired some of the most poignant and beautiful musical moments in the genre. This is particularly striking in Baroque era music from Latin America, with the confluence of European musical aesthetics, indigenous languages, and complex fusion rhythms. An exploration of Marian devotion, María del Pueblo weaves together anonymous and improvised instrumental and vocal works, ranging from anonymous fragments written in Guaraní, to complete settings of the Latin Magnificat text, to examples of Marian devotion in a very local sense.  (Bloomington, IN)

Tonos del Sur is an Emerging Artist Ensemble.

7:15pm: Pre-concert discussion with Tonos del Sur Director Sarah Cranor and BLEM board treasurer and colonial-era Latin American music specialist, Paul Borg.

Location: Trinity Episcopal Church, 111 S Grant St.

Come to Closing Night when we announce the theme for BLEMF 2023!

Date: May 22 - 27, 2022

Location: Various Venue in Bloomington, IN 47402.

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