The Scen3

Guest harpsichordist joins baroque vocal ensemble A preview by Kelly Dean Hansen, April 1, 2024 Evanne Browne started the Boulder-based Seicento Baroque Ensemble in 2011 to share her passion for the often-neglected music of the 17th Century.  She explains that this is beautiful music audiences will not hear elsewhere, performed in a historically informed way […]

A preview by Marc Shulgold The Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinando I de’ Medici, and Christina of Lorraine were married in Florence in May, 1589, and it must have been a heckuva party. For starters, there was a five-act play performed in the Medici Theater for the newlyweds and gathered guests. Sprinkled between each act were […]

A review by Betsy Schwarm Many ensembles make their mark in part by focusing on the music of the Baroque. Seicento Baroque Ensemble goes one step further, drawing its repertoire largely from the generations preceding the almighty Bach. It might seem a risky practice to build one’s programs around less familiar names. However, Seicento’s audiences […]

A preview by Marc Shulgold Every organization must eventually come to terms with a transfer of leadership. That applies to political bodies, corporations, sports teams and performing arts groups. So it is with the Baroque chamber choir Seicento (pronounced Say-CHEN-toe). This past May, founding artistic director Evanne Browne (now emeritus) moved out of state and […]

Preview article by Betsy Schwarm Boulder-based Seicento Baroque specializes in choral music of the 16th century. Last fall, that focus was expressed in a 500th anniversary commemoration of the Reformation. This spring, the ensemble takes up the secular side of the equation: similarly intricate layers of voices, but significantly higher spirits. The program, to be […]

A preview by Barbara Hamilton A 33-year old man emerged from the shadows, paper in hand. His hands shaking, he nailed the manuscript with 95 theses on the door of the Wittenberg church. Martin Luther’s revolutionary acts of insubordination and protest against the Catholic Church had just begun. All over the world, choral groups are […]

A preview by Marc Shulgold  Evanne Browne chuckled when faced with an unexpected challenge: Pronounce the name of a choral piece to be sung by her choral ensemble Seicento later this month. It’s titled Teponazcuicatl. “I’ve been practicing it,” the conductor said with a laugh. She had no problem translating the title of this charming […]

A preview by Marc Shulgold Before we begin, let’s start with a pronunciation guide. The choral ensemble performing Monteverdi’s glorious Vespers of 1610 later this month is called Seicento. Just say: Say-ee-CHEN-toe. It’s an Italian word meaning 600, but it refers to the cultural world of the Italian Baroque of the 17th Century, a fabulous […]