4. Wildcat Viols

Wildcat Viols

Joanna Blendulf, Julie Jeffrey, Annalisa Pappano and Elisabeth Reed, viols

Concert Sponsors: Friends of Lawrence Selman, Marti Edwards Selman, Robert V. Taylor, H. Ernest Fox, RCA O’Neal, Donald K. Wilson, and The Stocker Family Fund of The Community Foundation

As perfectly crafted tonal illusions, Seventeenth Century viol fantasies are a curious and wild ride. Like an ant running over a patchwork quilt toward unknowable destinations, this ‘quixotic’ form passes deftly through improvisatory moods and textures, by turns entertaining, distracting, and compelling. Viols, similar to guitars, have six strings, tuned in perfect fourths and major thirds, but are bowed expressively like violins and ‘cellos. For our program, Wildcat Viols celebrates their first album with
a complete performance of the Fantazias by Henry Purcell, complete viol sonatas of Giovanni Legrenzi, and selections from Matthew Locke’s ‘Magnifick Consort of Four Parts.’