Music of Shakespeare's Plays, New CD by Ensemble Chaconne

Now celebrating its 20th season, Ensemble Chaconne (Peter H. Bloom, Renaissance flute; Carol Lewis, viola da gamba; and Olav Chris Henriksen, Renaissance lute) and mezzo-soprano Pamela Dellal announce the release of their new CD Measure for Measure: The Music of Shakespeare’s Plays (Americas Musicworks CD 1594). The recording presents music that Shakespeare’s audiences would have heard, featuring the great composers of his day (Thomas Morley, Robert Johnson, John Dowland, and others), as well as popular tunes of the period.

Boston, MA (PRWEB) December 7, 2005 -- Ensemble Chaconne (Peter H. Bloom, Renaissance flute; Carol Lewis, viola da gamba; and Olav Chris Henriksen, Renaissance lute) and mezzo-soprano Pamela Dellal announce the release of their new CD Measure for Measure: The Music of Shakespeare’s Plays (Americas Musicworks CD 1594).

The recording focuses exclusively on the late 16th and early 17th century music that Shakespeare’s audiences would have heard, including music by the great composers of his day (Thomas Morley, Robert Johnson, John Dowland, and others), as well as popular tunes of the period. The CD showcases Ms. Dellal’s versatility and dramatic flair in a variety of songs from the plays, from love songs and comic antics to madness and tragedy.

Among the many selections are “Willow, Willow” sung by Desdemona before her murder in Othello; “It Was a Lover and His Lass” (As You Like It); “O Mistress Mine” (Twelfth Night); “Hark, Hark! The Lark” (Cymbeline); “Take O Take Those Lips Away” (Measure for Measure); “Full Fathom Five” (The Tempest), "Go from My Window” from Ophelia’s mad scene in Hamlet; and “Greensleeves,” Shakespeare’s best-known ballad tune (quoted in The Merry Wives of Windsor), an allusion to women of ill repute, recognized by their green sleeves.

Celebrating its 20th season in 2005-2006, Ensemble Chaconne is dedicated to vivid, historically-informed performance of Renaissance and Baroque music on period instruments. Established in 1985, the group has concertized widely, winning praise for its compelling interpretation of repertoire from the 16th through the 18th centuries. The trio enthralls audiences with imaginative, thematic programs that combine celebrated masterpieces and seldom-heard treasures. The group is a member of the New England States Touring Roster and the South Carolina Arts Commission’s Artists in Education Roster, among others.

Ensemble Chaconne’s Measure for Measure was selected as featured concert at the 2002 National Meeting of the American Musicological Society and was hailed by The Portland Press Herald as “the perfect Elizabethan evening.”

Guest artist Pamela Dellal has toured the United States, Europe, Australia and Japan and has recorded for Arabesque Records, Artona, BMG, Dorian, Meridian, and KOCH International. Her singing has been called “outstanding” (The New York Times) and “lushly fluid” (The Washington Post), and she has been praised for her “gleaming vocal colors and firm, steady tone, a sure sense of dramatic portrayal and faultless musicianship” (The Boston Globe).

For JPEG image of CD cover and ensemble: Rebecca DeLamotte, 888-887-7169. Email: delamotte-amw@comcast.net

To purchase CDs: call 888-887-7169 or visit www.americasmusicworks.com

Press contact: Rebecca DeLamotte 888-887-7169

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