SFEMS to Begin Year with “Fantastical” Music

The Ars Lyrica Houston Chamber Players, Matthew Dirst, Mary Springfels and Elizabeth Blumenstock (courtesy of SFEMS)

Next month the San Francisco Early Music Society (SFEMS) will present the third of the seven concerts in its 2018–19 season. As usual, the season involves both local and visiting talent; and, since the performance at the beginning of this month was given by the local a cappella choir Cappella SF, next month’s concert will bring in visitors. They will be the trio that calls itself the Ars Lyrica Houston Chamber Players. Members are Director Matthew Dirst (harpsichord), Elizabeth Blumenstock (violin), and Mary Springfels (gamba).

The program they will present has the title Semper Fantasticus. This refers to the “fantastical style” explored by both Italian and German composers during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The adjective basically refers to seeking out particularly unconventional approaches to invention. Some of the more familiar names of composers who took these approaches are Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, Dietrich Buxtehude, and (of course) Johann Sebastian Bach. (Bach will be represented on the program by Dirst playing selections from both books of The Well-Tempered Clavier. The Italian practitioners tend to be less familiar, and they include Antonio Bertali and Francesco Rognoni.

The San Francisco performance of this concert will take place on Sunday, January 13, at 4 p.m.; and the venue will be St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, which is located at 1111 O’Farrell Street, just west of the corner of Franklin Street. Single ticket prices will range between $45 and $12. In addition, there are membership and subscription options for attending three or more concerts with discounts of up to 25%. All information about ticketing options has been summarized on a single Web page. Tickets may also be purchased by calling 510-528-1725.