La Grande Bande
La Grande Bande
Sunday, February 20 – 7:30 p.m.
St. John’s Episcopal Church, 1111 Cooper Avenue South, St. Cloud
Some of the most beautiful, forgotten musical gems were created in the early Baroque period (before around 1660). This “Splendors from Baroque Italy” program showcases some of these musical treasures by the Caccini sisters, Salvatore, and Gabrielli. From love songs to sacred pieces and musical acrobatics to technical brilliance, you will be enthralled with everything this performance has to offer. This performance features a varied selection of vocal and instrumental works for numerous instrumental combinations. lagrandebande.org
Concert sponsors: Bill and Chip Martin-Chaffee
Alyssa Anderson, mezzo-soprano
Maryne Mossey, viola da gamba & ‘cello
Michael Thomas Asmus, harpsichord
La Grande Bande strives to present innovative, unique, and inspiring musical programs right in the heart of southern-Minnesota farm country. With performances called “warm and sensitive” by the Star Tribune, we seek to reintroduce classical music to our communities using the instruments and techniques that the first audiences might have heard. LGB is composed of musicians from across the United States and from around the world who are specialists in the field of Early Music—music written between c. 1600-1800—and who play on historical instruments and sing in an historical manner.
Our goals are to present “masterworks” alongside lesser-known compositions, illustrating the extensive musical production during the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries; to foster musical growth in the younger generations through directed-educational events, open rehearsal sessions, or masterclasses; to reinvigorate the older generations with outreach concerts, pre-concert talks, open rehearsals, and beyond. We see incredible value in resurrecting the music written by the great masters of our past; it’s a historical, cultural, and musical lesson rolled into one.
La Grande Bande is a period instrument orchestra and chorus founded as a non-profit organization by Michael Thomas Asmus in 2011. lagrandebande.org