Baroque Chamber Music to Brighten Holiday Season

The holidays are here and everyone needs a little music to get them in the spirit. 

Andover Chamber Music's 15th Anniversary celebration will continue heralding the holiday season with a pair of concerts, this time "The 'French' Baroque Big Band."

Organizers promise that after years of German and Italian Baroque concertos, this concert offers up the elegant and graceful French composers - Rameau, Couperin, Boismortier, Blavet, and Leclair - much of whose music is derived from dance forms of all kinds and frequently decorated with delicate and elaborate ornamentation.

The first performance is on Friday, Dec 2, at 7:30 p.m., at First Church, Congregational, in Cambridge, and the second is on Saturday, Dec 3, at 5 p.m., at in Andover.

Organizers say beautiful Baroque works in the intimate church setting is for which this music was composed.  

For tickets, click the link; Buy Individual Tickets - or go to the web site and select "Order Tickets" from the menu. Senior discount for individual tickets - $5 off the regular price - and all students under 18 come for free.

A little bit about the performance: 

Irina Muresanu & Nurit Pacht, violins; Emily Deans, viola
Jan Muller-Szeraws, cello; Liz Foulser, bass
Andrus Madsen, harpsichord;  Julie Scolnik, flute
Boismortier: Concerto in E Minor, Op. 37 No. 6
Leclair: Duo for two violins in e minor
Leclair: Violin Concerto, Op 10
Blavet: Flute Concerto in A
Couperin: Les Barricades Mysterieuses & La Forqueray for solo harpsichord
Couperin: Pieces en Concert for cello & strings
Rameau: Pieces de clavecin en concert for flute, violin, cello, harpsichord