NCMF Winter Baroque Concert

On the shortest days of the year, when the warmth of candlelight and the intimacy of live music seem especially welcome, the Newburyport Chamber Music Festival performs its annual Winter Baroque concert.

The program features the stormy Italian writing of Dario Castello and Benedetto Marcello, then shifts to the quiet spirituality of Heinrich Biber’s Rosary Sonata No. 1, “The Annunciation.” J.S. Bach’s Sarabande from Cello Suite No. 6 brings the program to a moment of profound introspection. The concert reaches beyond the Baroque era with composer Garth Knox’s “Stranger,” a folksy work that pairs the violin's dialogue with the shimmering sound of the viola d’amore.

A unique world-premiere piece, commissioned by NCMF, “The Towne” will be presented by composer and harpsichordist Nicola Canzano, a member of the Juilliard faculty. The piece, written in the style of a Baroque trio sonata, offers an exciting musical portrait of Newburyport’s past, drawing upon much-loved 18th-century characters engaged in a musical conversation shaped by storm and stillness, history and invention, familiar instruments and unexpected sounds