November 2, 1998

Romanesca to Perform at Middlebury College Center

for the Arts on Nov. 15

“The sounds … as [violinist Andrew]

Manze emits them, are magic. And that is because Manze has recovered

the pre-Romantic, pre-idealistic esthetic that gives them life.”

—The New York Times

Romanesca, a trio of British musicians known for

their performances and recordings of baroque instrumental music,

will perform on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 3 p.m. in the Concert Hall

of the Middlebury College Center for the Arts on Route 30. The

group’s appearance in Middlebury is part of its first American

tour. The trio’s program, called “Phantasticus,” features

virtuoso violin music of the 17th century.

Romanesca was founded by Nigel North in 1988 with

the aim of presenting music from the 17th and 18th

centuries in a way that is lively, expressive, and communicates

to contemporary audiences. The group has played throughout Europe.

Early Music News (England) said of a recent Wigmore

Hall concert, “Andrew Manze (who has something of a gypsy

fiddler in him), Nigel North and John Toll revealed an ability

to bewitch their hearers through the frenzied energy of their

performance.”

Andrew Manze is “quietly becoming pre-eminent,”

according to Gramophone magazine, amongst the new generation of

musicians specializing in period instruments. A classicist by

training, he has recently been appointed the associate director

of the Academy of Ancient Music.

Nigel North is one of the world’s foremost lutenists,

having specialized in early repertoire since 1975. He has made

numerous solo recordings and appeared at early music festivals

in Boston, Bath, Utrecht and Moscow. North also plays the theorbo.

Harpsichord player John Toll is one of Britain’s

most active early music specialists. A founding member of London

Baroque, he now plays regularly with Andrew Parrott’s Taverner

Players and the Orchestra of Enlightenment.

Tickets for this Middlebury College Concert Series

performance are $9.00 general admission and $7.00 for senior citizens.

To order tickets, please call the College box office at 802-443-6433.