THE INTIMATE HANDEL features solo sonatas from George Frideric Handel’s Opus 1 chamber sonatas, plus a trio sonata and a work for solo harpsichord.  This is a rare opportunity to hear some of Handel’s lesser-known works.  Handel is well known for his large works involving voices, such as his numerous Operas, Oratorios, and Anthems.  Additionally, two of his most popular works are for orchestra, Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks.  His smaller works for solo violin and continuo, solo recorder and continuo, trio sonatas, and solo works for harpsichord are less frequently performed.  These are charming works mostly from Handel’s time spent in Italy. The solo sonatas follow the Corellian form and style of the sonata da camera and sonata da chiesa.  A pre-concert lecture on Handel will be given at 6:00 PM by noted WFMT radio host Carl Grapentine.

The Ars Musica Chicago season concludes with THE FIRST LADY OF HARPS: Elizabeth Cifani Performs a History of Medievel and Renaissance Harp Music.  This concert-lecture is a rare opportunity to hear virtuoso Elizabeth Cifani and her collection of early harps (or replicas thereof). This is a chance to hear harp music performed in the way it was intended to be performed. The harp is an exceptionally old instrument dating at least as far back as the Biblical era.  With the beginning of music notation in the Middle Ages, works, mainly vocal but also for instruments, began to be written down. Thus, a repertoire which is performable on the harp began to develop.  Instrumental music in type and quantity exploded during the 1500s with the advent of music printing. We begin to get works specifically written for harp and ensemble works that include parts either expressly for or suitable for performance on the harp.  During this extended period of time the instrument developed numerous types and designs.  Each has its own sonic quality, size, and method of playing each of these different styles of harps.  This concert will be a lecture concert which explains the instruments and their suitability for the music performed on it.  Ms. Cifani is a genuine harp virtuoso and owing to her schedule with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and her teaching at Northwestern University, she rarely gives solo recitals.