Collectio Musicorum - Upcoming Performances

On Friday, October 18th, Collectio Musicorum will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a concert featuring music from the Carmina Burana manuscript.  This 13th century manuscript is a compilation of works in Latin and German that were popular among wandering scholars and monks, and range from the very pious to the very ribald.  Although the musical notation in the manuscript is not decipherable, around one quarter of the texts also appear in other sources, and it is from these works that the concert program is assembled.  Some of the named authors to be heard are Philip the Chancellor, whose place in the history of music is paramount; Gottried of St. Victor, from the famous monastery which was the center of Parisian theology; and Walter of Chatillon, author of an epic poem on Alexander the Great and vindictive lover.  The incredible stories behind the music we will perform will make this a night to remember.  Also included are a piece from the manuscript's passion play and drinking songs in several languages.  

 Music from English Court Masques

 Date: Friday, April 12, 2024

Time: 8 pm, followed by a reception 

Location: Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art 338 Lighthouse Avenue Staten Island, NY 10306 Bus: 54, 74, and 84 buses and the #15 SIM express bus 

Tickets: $15 Purchase online at https://www.tibetanmuseum.org/event-details/music-from-englishcourt-masques-with-collectio-musicorum OR at the door 

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, March 6, 2024 

The English Court Masque was the most extravagant theatrical event of its time. Evolving during the 16th century, it reached its climax in productions at the court of King James I and his successors in the 17th century. Wildly elaborate and focusing on praising the monarch, these theatrical extravaganzas featured both professional and amateur performers, and combined florid poetry and music with sumptuous scenery and costumes. 

It is not possible to resurrect masques in the 21st century; too much source material has disappeared. However, enough music has survived to present a concert of selections from several of them, and that is what Collectio Musicorum, under the direction of its artistic director Jeff S. Dailey, will do on Friday, April 12th. Dr. Dailey, joined by tenor Alex Longnecker, gambist Patricia Ann Neely, and lutenist Christopher Morrongiello, will perform highlights from four 17th -century masques — Lord Hay’s Masque, The Masque of Beauty, The Masque of Queens, and The Masque of Oberon. 

The Jacques Marchais Museum provides a suitably exotic setting for this music. Constructed in 1947 to imitate a Himalayan temple, it will be illuminated by candlelight to evoke the luxurious surrounding of the Stuart court. In her 2022 book, The Buddha and the Bard, author Lauren Shufran draws connections between Buddhist teachings and Shakespeare’s plays. While she acknowledges that Shakespeare did not reference Buddhist texts in his works, she points out that he drew upon problems of the human condition, and that the Buddha did the same. This concert, unlike Collectio Musicorum’s last performances, will not contain texts by Shakespeare, but will focus, instead, on lyrics by his younger colleague, Ben Jonson, who wrote the poem eulogizing Shakespeare in the First Folio. Jonson, the principal masque writer of the early 17th century, was also a convicted murderer, who avoided hanging through a legal technicality. He was also a prolific annotator of the human condition. The music for these masques is by a variety of composers, including Robert Johnson, Thomas Campion (who also wrote some of the texts), Thomas Lupo, and Alfonso Ferrabosco. 

Dr. Jeff S. Dailey, a longtime friend of the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art, has been displaying his collection of Himalayan musical objects at the Museum since 2021. In April 2024, part of his collection will be exchanged with new objects and instruments never before seen by the public. This performance celebrates this collection update. Collectio Musicorum celebrates 10 years of concerts this year, and is pleased to return to Staten Island, the location of its first performance. About the Ensemble Collectio Musicorum, Inc. is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt corporation whose mission is to present the best possible performances of music from the earliest of times. Founded by Dr. Jeff S. Dailey, it presents concerts and workshops focusing on music that is not heard anywhere else. Collectio Musicorum is a member of Early Music America and the New York Opera Alliance. Further details may be found here: https://collectio-musicorum.blogspot.com/ Music 

Director Jeff Dailey studied musicology and theatre history at New York University where he received his PhD in 2002. He is an active instrumentalist, musicologist, conductor, and stage director. His publications include studies of Medieval and Renaissance music and theatre, Eugene O’Neill, Beowulf, Donizetti, and Gilbert and Sullivan. He has been president of the Greater New York Chapter of the American Musicological Society since 2008. Now retired as a college professor and administrator, Dr. Dailey devotes his time to researching the musical cultures of the Himalayas. 

For further information or to set up an interview: Call (917) 796–6112 or Email: drjsdailey@aol.com Website: https://collectio-musicorum-upcoming.blogspot.com/ ### Media services provided by: Gotham Early Music Scene, Inc. 340 Riverside Drive # 1-A, New York, NY 10025 www.gemsny.org

Four hundred years ago, in 1623, a book was published in London that changed the course of history.  Shakespeare’s First Folio, published seven years after his death, contains many plays that would have been lost if this book never appeared. 

In this, the quadricentennial anniversary of what has been called the world’s “most influential book,” Collectio Musicorum will perform music from the First Folio, from plays that were first published there and which would have been lost forever if this book had never appeared.

Songs and dances from As You Like It, Macbeth, The Tempest, and other plays are on the program.   The performers include Chad Kranak, Alex Longnecker, Christopher Preston Thompson, singers; Christopher Morrongiello, lute; Patricia Neely, viola da gamba; Jeff Dailey, recorder. 

The concert will feature some music from manuscripts in the Drexel Collection of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, which is right across the street.  Joseph Drexel donated his rare collection of 17th century English Music to the precursor of the NYPL in the 19th century.  New York City is indeed a rich resource for the study of Shakespeare.  There are more copies of the First Folio here (6 in the NYPL, 2 in the Morgan Library) than in London (which only has 5).

The concert will take place on Friday, October 27^th at 8 PM at Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church, 152 West 66th Street, New York, NY 10023.  It is easily accessible to the #1 subway.  Admission is free. 

Highlights from the concert will be performed on Thursday, October 26^th at St. Malachy’s Chapel, 239 West 49^th Street in Manhattan at 1:15.  This concert is also free. 

Edipo Tiranno--Free Performance on May 20, 2022 

Musicians from Collectio Musicorum will perform music by Robert Johnson, the "heretic priest," and a few other early Scottish composers at the Gotham Early Music Scene's Midtown Concert Series on Thursday, October 10th, at 1:15 PM.  Now in its 22nd year, the Midtown Concert Series concerts takes place just about every Thursday afternoon in the chapel at St. Bartholomew's Church, 50th Street and Park Avenue.

Here's the program:

Collectio Musicorum (“Collection of Music”) presents a concert of music from Scotland, dating from the twelfth through the eighteenth centuries.  It takes place at Christ and St. Stephen’s Church, 120 W 69th St, New York, NY 10023, on Friday, October 18^th at 8 PM.  Admission is Free.