Journey through 17th-century innovation with three violins, lute, guitar, viol, and harpsichord—a wonderfully large group for us that unlocks thrillingly rich and varied ensemble textures! This exceptional gathering of musicians dives into a vibrant array of works, showcasing music by Isabella Leonarda, Francesco Corbetta, Francesca Caccini, and Heinrich Schmelzer. We are thrilled to launch the Early Music America 2026 Summit here in Seattle as its opening concert.

Thank You Concert Sponsors

Maria & Charles Coldwell

Pay-as-you-wish tickets made possible in part thanks to 4Culture Public Free Access Grant

By Byron Schenkman

The early 17th-century “Age of Galileo” was a time of innovation, exploration, progress and, perhaps inevitably, backlash. It was a time of musical as well as scientific revolution. The scientist Galileo Galilei was the son of a musician associated with the Florentine Camerata, a society which developed a new approach to music centered around expressive declamation of text and careful manipulation of listeners’ emotional states.

What began as a new way of setting Italian poetry and drama quickly spread to purely instrumental music in Northern Italy and beyond. Famous trios of high women’s voices were imitated in the extraordinary repertory of music for three violins which we are featuring in tonight’s concert. The three violins engage in conversation and at times competition, supported by a simple yet essential continuo accompaniment, in this case realized by an ensemble of viol, guitar, theorbo, and harpsichord. Each of us in the continuo ensemble plays from the same simple bass line, filling in the harmonies and providing rhythmic emphasis as needed.

Most of the composers included in our program were employed by famous aristocratic families. Although professional music making was dominated by white Christian men, there were notable exceptions. One of the highest paid musicians at the Medici court in Florence was a woman, Francesca Caccini. And at the same time the principal violinist at the Gonzaga court in Mantua was a Jew, Salomone Rossi.

Sadly the progress of the early 17th century had its setbacks. Caccini was long excluded from histories, anthologies, and programs celebrating her male colleagues’ work; Rossi most likely perished in the destruction of Mantua’s Jewish ghetto in 1630; and Galileo ended his days under house arrest, condemned by the Church for alleged heresy. Nevertheless their work lives on and continues to inspire us to this day.