The Catacoustic Consort joins Gut, Wind & Wire and soprano Elizabeth Hungerford at the Indianapolis Early Music Festival for Le Gratie d'Amore. Gut, Wind and Wire's players are all veterans of the Baltimore Consort. The Catacoustic Consort, Annalisa Pappano's ensemble was the grand prize winner of the 2003 Early Music America Live Recording Competition.
A Voice Is Found, A Path Opened
Pappano‘s own musical history is tied in with a member of the older group. "I grew up in a small town in Indiana, Richmond. I was playing the violin when I went to Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan. One of the faculty there was Mark Cudek who's the Artistic Director of the Indianapolis Early Music Festival and a member of the Gut, Wind and Wire. And he's the person who got me excited about early music. He handed me a viola da gamba and I just felt as if I found my voice through that instrument. And since that moment as a little fifteen year old, I haven't looked back. I found what I had to do."
A Family Of Instruments, A Potpourri Of Composers
Since then she's expanded the number of instruments that she plays. "I now play all three of the various violas da gamba; treble, tenor and bass. I'll be playing all three during this concert. We're playing a real variety. In fact, I'm calling it a potpourri concert. There's something for everyone, with English music, Scottish music, Italian music from composers like John Playford and Thomas Campion, Francesco da Milano and Monteverdi. "
Still Another Member Of the Family
In addition, Pappano will bring a fourth instrument to Indianapolis. "It's called a lirone. It's an instrument that looks like a large viola da gamba, but it really was a sort of special effects instrument. It's was used primarily to play chords to add texture to very emotional moments in music. It has a kind of heavenly, ethereal sound that can add a little special something to the music."