Johnson County Community College
Press Release
College Information and Publications
913-469-8500
Julie Haas, Associate Vice President, Marketing Communications, ext. 3120
Peggy Graham, Writer, ext. 3425
Tyler Cundith, Sports Information Director, ext. 3122
8/25/09
Story by Peggy Graham
Dame Emma Kirkby and Jakob Lindberg breathe new life into old music
Dame Emma Kirkby, soprano, and Jakob Lindberg,lute, celebrate the genius of two of England’s greatest composers in Orpheus in England — Dowland and Purcell at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, in Polsky Theatre of the Carlsen Center, Johnson County Community College. Artist Insights begin at 7 p.m.
The first half of the program are works by Dowland (1563-1626), the greatest English composer for the lute, known for his melancholy songs. This program includes his best known works such as Come, heavy sleep and Lachrimae. The second half is a range of solo songs by Baroque composer Purcell (1659-1695) celebrating the 350th anniversary of Purcell’s birth and a suite of dances arranged for lute.
The two performers bring the best of their art forms – Kirkby with a voice of purity and simplicity, Lindberg with a 10-course Renaissance lute by Sixtus Rauwolf.
Kirkby is known as the “Queen of Early Music,” and BBC Music Magazine named her in the top 10 of The 20 Greatest Sopranos in April 2007. Originally Kirkby had no expectations of becoming a professional singer. As a classics student at Oxford and then a schoolteacher, she sang for pleasure in choirs and small groups, always feeling most at home in Renaissance and Baroque repertoire. She joined the Taverner Choir in 1971 and in 1973 began her long association with the Consort of Musicke, taking part in the early Decca Florilegium recordings with both the Consort of Musicke and the Academy of Ancient Music. She found a niche with a sound appropriate for early instruments.
To date she has made more than a hundred recordings of all kinds, from sequences of Hildegarde of Bingen to madrigals of the Italian and English Renaissance, cantatas and oratorios of the Baroque, works of Mozart, Haydn and J. C. Bach. Despite all the recording activity, Kirkby still prefers live concerts, especially the pleasure of performing favorite programs, such as this one, with a colleague. As an early music specialist, she is valued as a teacher and inspiration to subsequent generations of musicians.
Kirkby was named a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 2007 and was awarded an honorary doctor of music degree by Oxford University in 2008. Kirkby performed previously at Yardley Hall with the Academy of Ancient Music in 1997.
Lutenist Lindberg was born in Djursholm, Sweden, and developed his first passionate interest in music through the Beatles. He is now one of the most prolific performers in his field. It is particularly through his live solo performances that he has become known as one of the finest lutenists in the world today; he has given recitals in many parts of Europe, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Australia, Canada and the United States. Lindberg also teaches at the Royal College of Music in London, where he succeeded Diana Poulton as professor of lute in 1979. He has numerous recordings and is the first lutenist to have recorded the complete solo lute music by Dowland; his recording of Bach's music for solo lute is considered to be one of the most important readings of these works.
Tickets for Kirkby and Lindberg are $30, available by calling the Performing Arts Series box office, 913-469-4445, or online at www.jccc.edu/TheSeries.
Performing Arts Education will offer a master class with Emma Kirkby for students who want to work on early music. Students are asked to stay throughout the approximately two-hour and 30-minute class so they can learn from the experiences of others. Observers will be allowed. For more information, contact Angel Mercier, Performing Arts Education program director, 913-469-8500, ext. 4221.
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