November 23rd, 2011: COMING THIS WEEKEND: SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY SPECIALS
CDs and music editions make wonderful gifts, and this weekend only, we're offering special pre-holiday discounts on multiple orders. 20% off on multiple CD orders; 10% off on multiple edition orders. Thanks for choosing to make a difference with your holiday spending by supporting us and other small and local businesses. More information here
November 22nd, 2011: "MIGNONNE, ALLONS" VIDEO PASSES 11,000 HITS
Quite a week for milestones.
November 20th, 2011: "UNQUIET THOUGHTS" BLOG PASSES 10,000 HITS
A noteworthy milestone, we think.
October 20th, 2011: TONIGHT ON WSKG-TV: US
We can't watch it, since we have no television. If you can, let us know how we did!
October 14th, 2011: "MASTERFUL MIGNARDA EXPLORES ALL 'EXPRESSIONS' OF LOVE" A very nice review of our WSKG-TV appearance last week, by Lee Shepherd, of Broome Arts Mirror. The concert will air next Thursday, October 20th.
October 12th, 2011: MIGNARDA MUSIC STORE ON FACEBOOK
Facebook friends, we're trying out a new gizmo: now you can preview and buy our music right on Facebook - purchase CDs, or preview and download a track at a time, or an album at a time. Check it out!
October 7th, 2011: A DIFFERENT SORT OF SATURDAY QUOTE
Yes, we did have a wonderful time last night. But read the proverbial rest of the story at Unquiet Thoughts.
October 7th, 2011: THANKS, BINGHAMTON
A thousand thanks to our fabulous audience and our incredible hosts at WSKG-TV last night! We really enjoyed getting to know so many of you after the concert. The production staff was amazing: warm, welcoming, and total pros. We really felt as if we were in good hands, and it was a lovely evening. Thanks to all.
September 23rd, 2011: MIGNARDA AND *YOU* ON TV!
We wanted to let our local friends know that we've been invited to appear on WSKG-TV's 'Classical Expressions' series this season. The program will include some of our favorite Italian songs, French airs de cour, and a preview of songs from our next CD featuring the music of John Dowland.
We'll be taping the show in front of a live studio audience, and if you're able to get down to Vestal, NY, we would love to see some familiar faces in the audience. Join us on Thursday, October 6th - audience reception at 7:30; taping begins at 8:00. Admission is free, but reservations are required - email the station at RSVP@wskg.org or call (607) 729-0100 x338 to reserve a place.
September 5th, 2011: INDIGO ROAD IS BACK IN PRINT!
We're pleased to announce that Ronn McFarlane's Indigo Road tablature edition is now back in print and available from our friends at the Lute Society (UK) .
August 15th, 2011: ANOTHER BLOG POST & NEW VIDEO
A blog post in honor of the feast of the Assumption, with a video of the Ave Maria chant which we recorded (together with Francisco Guerrero's splendid polyphonic setting) for our 2010 release "Harmonia Caelestis". Here's the blog post, and the video.
August 9th, 2011: 'THE WILLOW SONG' - A BLOG POST & A NEW VIDEO
A blog post on one of our more popular songs, originally recorded on our 2007 release "My Lord of Oxenford's Maske". Read the post here, and check out the video here.
July 20th, 2011: AN IMPROMPTU CONCERT IN ITHACA
We had such a lovely time last weekend in Cleveland that we're going to do it again at home. This impromptu and very informal concert, in celebration of the release of our latest recording, will feature an hour of songs and lute solos from the Italian Renaissance, and will begin at 4pm in the Narthex of St. Luke Lutheran Church in Collegetown, with a wine and cheese reception to follow. This is the Ithaca-area premiere of music from our new CD, and will be our only local performance this summer. We'd love to see you there!
July 20th, 2011: AN IMPROMPTU CONCERT IN ITHACA
We had such a lovely time last weekend in Cleveland that we're going to do it again at home. This impromptu and very informal concert, in celebration of the release of our latest recording, will feature an hour of songs and lute solos from the Italian Renaissance, and will begin at 4pm in the Narthex of St. Luke Lutheran Church in Collegetown, with a wine and cheese reception to follow. This is the Ithaca-area premiere of music from our new CD, and will be our only local performance this summer. We'd love to see you there!
July 1st, 2011: A HOUSE CONCERT IN CLEVELAND - JULY 16th
We'll be performing music from our latest release at a house concert in Cleveland Heights, Ohio on Saturday, July 16th. We'd love to see you if you're in the area. Let us know if you'd like to attend, and we'll send you info about the location.
June 22st, 2011: OFFICIAL SFUMATO RELEASE! Our new CD, Sfumato, is now available. Pre-ordered copies have shipped in the last day or two, and online and MP3 downloads are available.
This afternoon's blog post contains a bit about this project, and about how this CD was conceived, recorded, and produced. Check it out.
June 17th, 2011: MIGNARDA/NAXOS PARTNERSHIP DELIVERS LUTE SONGS TO 42 COUNTRIES
We just received our first quarterly report from Naxos, and were delighted to see that they're reporting over 14,700 streams from 42 countries - just in the first quarter that our music has been available through ClassicsOnline and Naxos Music Library.
If you ask us, it's a wonderful use of 21st century technology to distribute this centuries-old music; a phenomenon beyond the wildest imaginings of Victoria, Verdelot, and even Vincenzo Gallilei, whose world was rather smaller than ours.
May 27th, 2011: PRE-ORDER OUR LATEST CD! Sfumato, our latest CD, is nearly ready, and we're very pleased with this high-resolution recording with its stunning live sound. We think it's our best yet, and we hope you'll agree. You may pre-order today for shipping on June 30th and be among the first to hear it. Order by June 15th, and we'll list your name among our patrons on the liner notes.
May 1st, 2011: AND ANOTHER NUTHER NEW BLOG POST
Musings on programming and marketing in the brave new world of the music biz. Features another sneak preview from the new album.
April 14th, 2011: MIGNARDA IS ON PANDORA RADIO!
We are delighted to announce that our award-winning 2006 release, Divine Amarillis, has been accepted by Pandora Internet Radio. Pandora only accepts 30% of the music submitted for their review, and even then, not always the entire album. We're already hearing from new fans who wouldn't have found us any other way.
February 18th, 2011: MIGNARDA IS AVAILABLE ON NAXOS!
We are very happy to announce that Mignarda MP3s are now available on Naxos Music Library and Naxos' ClassicsOnline! A couple of former colleagues at academic libraries have already written to say that Harmonia Caelestis is among the featured new albums on NML.
February 13th, 2011: SPCA BENEFIT IN WEST DANBY, NY
We're very happy to report that we raised nearly $1,000 this afternoon for the Tompkins County SPCA, the first open admission, no-kill shelter in the United States, now celebrating its 10th year.
February 10th, 2011: TWO NEW YOUTUBE VIDEOS
For those of you who missed it, here's the encore and one other piece from our performance in Cleveland on Sunday afternoon.
February 7th, 2011: A FINE TIME IN WRETCHED WEATHER
Thanks to everyone who braved the icy streets of Cleveland to come to the concert at St. John's Cathedral yesterday. We had a lovely time and were happy to meet so many of you.
January 25th, 2011: MP3 SINGLES NOW AVAILABLE
We are trying out a new idea - for us at least. Responding to requests from our audiences, we have just made available a few MP3 singles of pieces that we frequently perform live but which have not been included on our CDs. They're available now on Cd Baby, and will be making their way to iTunes, Amazon, etc. in a few weeks. Let us know if you like this idea, and we'll make it a regular feature.
January 17th, 2011: WARMING UP WITH DOWLAND
It was -7 when we woke up (that's not wind chill, mind), but it was toasty at Wilburland, and it got even warmer when the Alexes cranked up their viols and joined us for several hours of Dowland. A very productive day, and lots of fun.
January 15th, 2011: A NEW REVIEW
Thanks to Monica Hall for a nice review of Harmonia Caelestis in the December 2010 issue of Luke News (UK), which finally made it to our hillside this afternoon.
January 10th, 2011: LECTURE-RECITAL AT ITHACA HS
Thanks to Heather Miller Lardin of NYS Baroque and Amanda Eubanks Winkler for a lovely morning with Ithaca High School's combined English Lit/History classes. These fortunate students get to enjoy a 10-session project with an assortment of NYS Baroque musicians (and friends!), and some really wonderful musicologists as lecturers.
January 5th, 2011: OUR DOWLAND / KICKSTARTER PROJECT IS BEING FUNDED
As you can see from the widget at right, the Dowland Project was successfully funded as of this evening, thanks to our 41 Kickstarter backers. We've been working hard rehearsing the material and have already scheduled studio time in a couple of weeks. We will continue our current work-in progress, a recording of 16th century Italian lute songs, and plan to record the Dowland Project concurrently.
To our Dowland project backers: We will be sure to send along regular updates - perhaps even an advance MP3 download - along the way. It typically takes us eight to nine months to record, edit, mix, write liner notes, and design the CD booklet and cover materials. Manufacturing may take another month. So you should expect to have a copy in your hands (together with additional premiums) some time in October. We'll keep you posted.
We appreciate your patience as we bring this project to fruition, and we sincerely thank you again for your support.
December 18th, 2010: RON & DONNA ON THE AIR
Ithaca - we'll be returning to WVBR's Nonesuch tomorrow afternoon with DJ Peter Fraissinet. Tune in to 93.5 from 2-3pm. This is a rare opportunity to hear us trade the lute for the banjo and croon a few trans-Atlantic ballads and Christmas tunes.
December 17th, 2010: THE DOWLAND PROJECT IS HAPPENING!
That's right...a pledge last night has put us right at our goal, which means that the Dowland Project will be funded on January 5th, thanks to all of you. We're so amazed and grateful at your generosity that we're nearly at a loss for words. This particular project is very special to us, and it's going to be that much more so for having been funded by our friends and supporters.
December 16th, 2010: MIGNARDA'S 3rd ANNUAL BENEFIT FOR THE CAROLINE FOOD PANTRY
Ithacans, we'd love to see you on Wednesday night (December 22nd) out at St. Thomas' Slaterville Springs. It's easy to get to: 15 or 20 minutes from the Commons - straight out RT 79. And you deserve a treat for all the hard work you've been doing getting ready for the holidays. Treat yourself and help our neighbors in need.
November 26th, 2010: THE DOWLAND PROJECT
Today we're officially launching The Dowland Project, Mignarda's much anticipated and long-awaited foray into the lute songs of John Dowland. Many of you have heard us perform this music live in concert and have asked for our Dowland CD - now you can help us to create it.
As you may know, our recordings are entirely self-produced on our own label; we have no artist representation or outside source of funding for what we do save CD and edition sales, and the proceeds of our concerts and lecture/recitals. We have been fortunate to have had help from one or two patrons to produce our seven previous recordings, but this time we've decided to try our hand at 'crowdsourcing' via Kickstarter.com.
You may have heard about Kickstarter, as we did, on NPR. It's been described by the New York Times as 'micropatronage' - a new way to fund creative ideas and other ambitious endeavors with online pledges from supporters. Every Kickstarter project must be fully funded before its time expires or no money changes hands. We have to reach our goal of $3,000 by our deadline of January 5th or we get nothing.
You may pledge any amount at all, and to assure that your money will not be wasted on a failed project, you are not charged unless the funding goal is met. If we exceed our goal, contributions will go toward another much-needed lute. Those of you who play the lute understand that just keeping the instrument in strings is an expensive proposition, and that part of the success of our sound is dependent on an instrument that is pitched where the voice is most expressive.
Please visit our Kickstarter project page for a new video, a complete description of the project, and a list of tokens we're offering in return for your contribution.
Thanks, as always.
November 8th, 2010: BACK TO CLEVELAND, FEBRUARY 2011
For those of you in Cleveland who've written to say you're sorry you missed our CD release concert in South Euclid, you'll have another chance to hear the same program in February. This special, off-series concert in the intimate Marian Transept of the sanctuary of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist downtown will feature the same program of sacred Latin motets.
October 26th, 2010: A NEW REVIEW OF HARMONIA CAELESTIS
Thanks to Dan Hathaway and Mike Telin for a nice review in today's ClevelandClassical.com. Our favorite bits:
"Anyone who has any doubts about the successfulness of arranging polyphony for a single voice and plucked instrument will be convinced from the opening track of this album...Nothing seems to be missing and the piece has been transformed into something newly beautiful in the process.
As we have come to expect, Stewart and Andrico are marvelous as a team, delivering evocative and highly nuanced performances of well-chosen repertory. This soothing and centering recording, recorded in an old church in Newfield, NY, can serve as an occasion for contemplation, meditation, or just provide mesmerizing background music. One could listen to them for hours on end."
October 16th, 2010: NEW BLOG POST: IS IT LOUD ENOUGH?
The phenomenon of tuning into the music’s subtleties and tuning out the hectic noise of everyday life is a gift we are pleased to share with those who care to listen.
October 14th, 2010: MILLENNIUM OF MUSIC
"Three from Mignarda"...The live stream of the Millennium of Music episode featuring three of our CDs is now available online. Thanks to Robert Aubry Davis for this!
October 9th, 2010: LISTEN TO US ON SIRIUS XM SATELLITE RADIO THIS WEEKEND
Millennium of Music program host Robert Aubry Davis has just written to let us know that the episode featuring our music will air on Sirius XM satellite radio this weekend. Episode #10-38, originally aired 9/12/10.
October 7th, 2010: CD RELEASE CONCERT IN CLEVELAND
Clevelanders, we'll be performing music from our latest release on Friday, October 29th at Sacred Heart Parish in South Euclid. Please join us!
October 7th, 2010: MILLENNIUM OF MUSIC
We've just discovered that in mid-September while we were in Oregon, the nationally-syndicated early music radio program "Millennium of Music" featured three of our CDs - our second appearance on the program. The archive isn't available online yet, but it looks as though Robert Aubry Davis devoted an entire 60-minute program to us.
August 24th, 2010: MP3s ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR HARMONIA CAELESTIS
MP3s...Get 'em while they're hot! CDBaby has just posted the MP3s from our latest CD, Harmonia Caelestis. They'll be available eventually on i-Tunes, Amazon, etc, but for those of you who've forsaken CD collections, you can have them today from CDBaby.
August 15th, 2010: HARMONIA CAELESTIS IS AVAILABLE NOW Harmonia Caelestis, our latest recording, featuring sacred polyphonic motets of 16th century Spanish composers arranged for solo voice and lute, has arrived as promised and is now available for online ordering directly from us. MP3s will be available from iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby, and your favorite download sites soon.
Stay tuned for news of CD release concerts in Cleveland and Ithaca.
July 30th, 2010: HARMONIA CAELESTIS IS AT THE MANUFACTURER Harmonia Caelestis, our latest CD, is finished...edited, mixed, mastered, designed, and at the manufacturer! If all goes well we hope to have it in our hands on August 15th as planned. Clevelanders, we'll be there the weekend of the 15th, so if we see you, we'll hand-deliver your copy. Thanks so much to everyone who pre-ordered a CD!
June 17, 2010: ADVANCE SALES AVAILABLE FOR OUR LATEST CD Harmonia Caelestis is nearly finished and is scheduled for an August 15th release. As many of you know, we met singing sacred chant and polyphony in a small schola dedicated to providing music for a weekly Latin Mass in Cleveland, so this project has been particularly meaningful for us.
We're trying something new with this release: offering advance orders at the reduced price of $12 plus shipping. We hope this will help us to better judge the number of CDs to manufacture, and therefore reduce our upfront costs a bit. Those who order before we finish writing and designing the liner notes (probably mid-July or so) will find their names listed therein.
May 31, 2010: VIDEO FROM CORNING MANSION
Thanks to Kelly Ferjutz and to the Christopherson family for being such gracious hosts on such a hot day. We had a lovely time, and it was wonderful to meet some new friends. Here's a clip from the concert:
April 23rd, 2010: PHOTOS FROM THE JOHNSON ART MUSEUM
Thanks to Matt Hintsa of the Cornell Daily Sun for sharing a few of his photos from "An Evening at the French Renaissance Court", sponsored by Cornell University's Johnson Art Museum in March. A lovely evening of French renaissance food, wine, poetry, harpsichord and of course, lute song, inspired by the museum's exhibit "An Earthly Paradise: the Art of Living at the French Renaissance Court...".
April 21st, 2010: NATIONAL MUSIC MUSEUM IN SEPTEMBER
If you happen to be in Vermillion, South Dakota on September 24th, we'll be appearing at the National Music Museum on the way back from the west coast.
April 10th, 2010: JOIN US AT BRATENAHL'S CORNING MANSION IN MAY
Clevelanders, we'll be appearing on the Bratenahl Chamber Music Series at the Corning Mansion on Sunday, May 30th. Details as they materialize on our concert listing page.
March 5th, 2010: SHAKESPEARE IN SEPTEMBER
We've just gotten word that we've been engaged for the sixth annual Joint Authorship Conference of the Shakespeare Fellowship/Shakespeare Oxford Society to be held September 16-19 , 2010 in Ashland, Oregon. This will be our second appearance at the conference, and it looks as if it will coincide with our forthcoming publication, Shakespeare's Lute Book. Kismet.
February 12th, 2010: ONE CONCESSION TO THE 21st CENTURY
Well, we've finally taken the Facebook plunge, and we have to admit that it's kind of fun. We've set up a public page, which means you don't have to be a Facebook addict to check us out - although Facebookers may post comments and photos.Thanks to everyone who has become a fan - an excellent way to keep up with our activities, by the way. www.facebook.com/mignarda
February 10th, 2010: LECTURE/RECITALS AT CORNELL
We spent a delightful three hours at Cornell this morning & afternoon with Marty Hatch's (enormous!) classes, untangling the intricate process of turning dusty 500-year-old manuscripts covered in mouse droppings and obscure dialects into living, breathing, passionate music. Great classes; great questions. Thanks, Marty, et al!
January 24th, 2010: BACK IN THE STUDIO
If anybody's looking for us this week, we'll likely be back at Electric Wilburland, working on the latest recording. Stay tuned for preview clips and updates.
January 20th, 2010: MIGNARDA OPENS FOR THE NEWFIELD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHOIR!
We had an absolutely wonderful time this evening, as the opening act for the wonderful choir at the Newfield Elementary School, directed by Sunny Miller. After our visit there last Spring, the kids learned a few of "our" tunes, and tonight, before a full house, they performed an all-renaissance concert, with a real live lute accompaniment. Congratulations and thanks so much to Sunny for passing this lovely music on to the next generation!
January 4th, 2010: HAPPY NEW YEAR: OUR TROPHY ARRIVED
Well, lookee here...our trophy arrived in the mail. Guess they weren't kidding.
December 27th, 2009: A SNOWY DAY AT WILBURLAND
Spent a nice day (Ron's birthday, by the way!) at Wilburland, getting a start on the next CD.
December 13th, 2009: JOIN US IN CLEVELAND ON ST. LUCY's DAY
We'll be back in Cleveland this weekend for the 2nd annual "Mignarda & Friends" St. Lucy's program, this year featuring sacred chant and polyphony for treble voices, followed by lute song for the season. Details on our concert listing page.
December 10th, 2009: YOU RAISED $500 FOR THE FOOD PANTRY!
Thanks a million to the wonderful crowd that turned for our annual benefit concert in Slaterville Springs, NY - in lousy weather - to raise $500 for our local Caroline Food Pantry. What a meaningful way to celebrate the season!
November 10, 2009: FRENCH CHANSONS OF THE 16TH CENTURY IS NOW AVAILABLE
At long last and after several interruptions, our performing edition of 16th century French chansons is now available. This wonderful music is featured prominently on our new CD, Au pres de vous, and contains many rare chansons newly arranged from original part-songs. Chansons are formatted for ease of performance with several intabulations for solo lute next to their vocal models. Since the popularity of 16th century French chansons was a pan-European phenomenon, settings are from a variety of sources, French, Italian, Flemish, German and English. We're pleased to offer this edition of 42 rare chansons and lute solos at a cost of less than one dollar per piece.
November 8th, 2009: THIS AFTERNOON: AU PRES DE VOUS AT THE LYCEUM SCHOOL IN CLEVELAND, OH
We'll be back in Cleveland this weekend for our first performance at the Lyceum since new Headmaster Luke Macik has been at the healm. We're so grateful to be continuing our wonderful relationship with this amazing school, and to have gotten to know Luke a bit while we were last in town. Join us!
October 25, 2009: THIS AFTERNOON: MUSIC AT GRACE CONCERT SERIES, ELMIRA, NY
We hope you'll join us this afternoon at 4pm for our first appearance at the beautiful Grace Epicopal Church in Elmira, NY. Thanks to Gerald Wolfe for the invitation.
October 23, 2009: ITHACANS: CATCH US TODAY ON WSKG 90.9 FM
We'll be visiting once again with WSKG's Bill Snyder at noon today to talk about and play a few songs from our program of Tudor music, which we'll be performing Sunday for the Music at Grace Series at Grace Episcopal Church in Elmira, NY. Tune in. Better still, join us in Elmira on Sunday afternoon! Details on the concert listings page.
October 9th, 2009: A NEW YOUTUBE VIDEO
We've just recorded a handful of new videos, mostly songs from the new CD, at Electric Wilburland. Here's the first of them; we'll post more as we have time to edit them.
September 24th, 2009: MP3 DOWNLOADS NOW AVAILABLE FOR AU PRES DE VOUS AND ALL OTHER CDS
We know that many - if not most - of you have transcended the antiquated realm of CD collections, so we wanted to let you know that CD Baby has finally added single-track and full-album MP3 downloads to their listing for our new CD (as well as the previous ones). They'll make it to Amazon, and iTunes eventually, but they're available right now at CD Baby.
September 27th, 2009: AN ALMOST IMPROMPTU CONCERT AT ST. THOMAS' SLATERVILLE SPRINGS, NY
We're so darned pleased at the release of our new CD and at the award for Divine Amarillis that we've decided to do a local concert as a dual celebration. Ithacans, join us this Friday, October 2nd for a sampling of French music from the 16th and 17th centuries - representing both CDs. Thanks to Cullie Mowers for throwing the party.
September 15th, 2009: NOW AVAILABLE: MIGNARDA'S NEW CD, AU PRES DE VOUS
We're happy to announce the release of our 6th CD, Au Pres de Vous. Recorded in the warm and vibrant acoustic of an old country church, our latest release explores the important marriage of music, poetry and dance tunes of sixteenth century France. It will be a while before the CD is available on Amazon and other online outlets, but you can buy it directly from us right here! Single-song and full-album MP3 downloads will be available soon at Amazon.com, CD Baby, iTunes, or your favorite download site.
We'll be scheduling performances in New York and Ohio to celebrate this release, and we'll let you know about those when the time comes. In the mean time, we've posted some sample sound clips at the link above - drop by and give it a listen!
September 1st, 2009: DIVINE AMARILLIS WINS 2009 JPF AWARD IN NASHVILLE
Yep, you read it right. We've just been notified that our 2006 release Divine Amarillis: Airs De Court 1570-1640, won Best Album in the Classical Voice/Opera Solo category during Sunday night's 5-hour "Just Plain Folks" award ceremony in Nashville. JPF is a community of over 50,000 independent musicians and host of the world's largest music awards.
Just Plain Folks? Solo? Nashville? Opera?? Don't ask us. Despite a pool of 42,000 albums in 96 genres - there was, alas, no category for lute song duo, or even anything in the realm of early music. We have no idea who nominated us for the award, and are generally stunned at winning first place when looking at the considerable competition in this category.
But we'd like to think that this award really means something for the entire lute world: Our diabolical plan concerted effort to reach the mainstream listening audience with passionately performed music for lute and voice is working.
August 28th, 2009: ITHACANS: TUNE IN TO THE BOHEMIAN POTLUCK HOUR SUNDAY
If you're in the Ithaca area, you can hear us on the air live this Sunday August 30th from 2 to 3 PM on WVBR 93.5 FM. The program is Nonesuch, which airs Sundays 10 AM - 3 PM with host/producer Peter Fraissinet filling in for Tracey Craig. We'll be sharing some advance snippets from our brand new CD Au pres de vous, recorded right here in Newfield by Will Russell at Electric Wilburland and due for a September release. There will also be a few surprises toward the end of the show, so tune in from 2-3.
August 1st, 2009: LECTURE/RECITALS: We've updated our list of lecture/recital programs, and are booking now for academic year 2009/2010. We're always delighted to create something designed specifically for you, so don't hesitate to contact us if you have an idea for something different
July 12th, 2009: SINGLE DOWNLOADS NOW AVAILBLE FROM CDBABY
CD Baby has made some changes to their service this weekend, one of which will allow single-cut MP3 downloads, even music that isn't on any of our CDs. This is a very exciting development, since we'll be able to record a song and get it out to you immediately. Stay tuned.
July 10th, 2009: JOIN US OCTOBER 25th IN ELMIRA, NY
We're delighted to announce our first appearance on the Music at Grace Concert Series, at the beautiful Grace Episcopal church in Elmira, NY. Details as they materialize on our concert listings page.
July 1st, 2009: WE'RE EXPECTING TWINS!
Apparently we really like early 16th century French music: our next CD has surprised us by by morphing into our next two CDs. So look for volume one of Au Pres de Vous in the autumn, to be followed by volume two - including a few part songs, soon after.
April 11, 2009: UPCOMING PERFORMANCE IN CLEVELAND
We're happy to announce that we'll be taking our Tudor program to our old neighborhood in Cleveland in May. Join us for a bit of time-travel through the 118-year reign of England's Tudor dynasty. Saturday, May 16th at the Lyceum School in Cleveland's Little Italy. Details on our concert listings page.
April 7th, 2009: WORKING ON A NEW CD
We've been at Electric Wilburland this week, editing some of the material we recorded around the first of the year for our new CD. It's sounding great so far, and we're looking forward to a release in early autumn. Stay tuned for details.
February 17, 2009: COMING IN MARCH: LUTE SONG OF THE TUDOR COURTS
Join us for a bit of time-travel through the 118-year reign of England's Tudor dynasty. Sunday, March 22nd in Ithaca, NY. Details on our concert listings.
January 14, 2009: WE'RE ON A NEW SERVER
We'll spare you the gory details, but after five stable years we have reluctantly moved our domain and our web site to a new host. We love the new host, but we hate the repercussions of this move, particularly the bit about how all the links to us in Google don't work anymore. One of the reasons we moved was to avoid this redirection nightmare, but it's going to take a few weeks to sort itself out. In the mean time, if you have linked to us, or bookmarked us as mignarda.eglanteria.com, please be sure to make the change to: www.mignarda.com. Sorry for the nuisance!
January 6, 2009: ANOTHER NEW REVIEW
We were surprised and very pleased to see that Lute News, the newsletter of the Lute Society (UK) managed to find time to squeeze in a review of Duo Seraphim for their December 2008 issue. Read the full text here.
December 28th, 2008: BACK IN THE STUDIO
An amazingly generous and demanding patron has ordered us back to the recording studio this week to work on our latest project: a new CD recording of early 16th century French chansons. We're especially excited to be featuring the sublime music of the inexplicably obscure Philip Van Wilder, but we'll also include his more well-known contemporaries Claudin de Sermisy, Orlando Lassus, and Thomas Crecquillon, with lute solos from the prints of Attaignant and Phalese. So if you're looking for us for the next week or so, we'll likely be at Will Russell'sElectric Wilburland. Thanks, Russ.
December 20th, 2008: $1,000 FOR THE CAROLINE FOOD PANTRY!
We're very grateful to everyone who came out to Slaterville Springs, NY on a Thursday night just before Christmas and made our benefit for the Caroline Food Pantry a great success. We raised nearly $1,000 to support St. Thomas' important work, and we met a lot of awfully nice people in the process. Thanks to Cullie Mowers for making it happen. Stay tuned for a few sound clips from the concert coming soon.
December 16th, 2008: VIDEO FROM THE ST. LUCY'S CONCERT IN CLEVELAND
Thanks to Clyde Rinsema, who came all the way from Chicago to video our performance (oh...and also to hear his talented daughter, Rebecca!), we have a few Dowland songs from the concert in Cleveland on December 13th. They're on our YouTube page.
This program has been in the works for many years, and we couldn't have done it without a lot of help. We must particularly thank Fred Lautzenheiser for his research and invaluable guidance in finding, selecting, interpreting, and preparing the chants and motets proper to St. Lucy's day for the first half of the program. (It's not as if a church musician had anything else important to do a week and a half before Christmas.) Rebecca Rinsema tackled some of John Dowland's most challenging repertoire (to gorgeous effect!), and gamely left Ithaca with us at 5am on an eight degree morning in order to get to Cleveland in time to rehearse with the other singers. And hats off to some of the bravest singers in Cleveland, who prepared a challenging program of chant, polyphony, and part-songs in - well let's just say not nearly enough time. Sara Segal, Ray Lyons, and Greg Heislman, thanks so much for making this long wished-for program a reality.
December 8th, 2008: THANK YOU, SYRACUSE
We had a lovely time on Saturday, December 6th, performing for nearly 100 very nice folks in the magical acoustic of Pebble Hill church. Thanks to everyone who came, and especially to Bette Kahler, our wonderful host at Pebble Hill.
We'll repeat the program on Thursday, December 18th at St. Thomas' Episcopal Church in Slaterville Springs, NY, just east of Ithaca. Join us! More info here
November 7, 2008: A NEW REVIEW
Some nice words about Duo Seraphim from Richard Banks:
"...As a jaded and sated holiday listener, I am drawn to anything lacking in kitsch, and there is nothing I've heard this season further from the manufactured art of American Christmas than Duo Seraphim ...There are a lot of ways to get at the holiday spirit; Duo Seraphim has chosen the road less traveled, putting together a unique and substantial collection of latinesque works, adorned only with voice and lute."
November 5, 2008: UPCOMING PERFORMANCES IN DECEMBER
We're looking forward to celebrating the debut of our new Christmas CD, Duo Seraphim with concerts in Bath, Syracuse, and Slaterville Springs, NY. We hope you can join us if you're in the area. Stay tuned to our concert listings for details.
September 15th, 2008: THANKS, SYRACUSE & ITHACA!
Many thanks to our wonderful audiences the weekend of September 13th & 14th, who despite a plethora of other choices in both cities, ventured out to hear lute song (and much tuning) in the midst of two days of sudden steam bath-like heat and humidity. We've added a few MP3 clips from the Ithaca concert below.
And kudos to Jaime Gould Kibelsbeck, Rebecca Rinsema, Adam Perl, Jonathan Vance, and Geoffrey Royall, who endured (and, we hope, enjoyed) a summer-long seminar in the intricacies of 16th century performance practice, and who gamely tackled the utterly confounding inconsistencies of Early Modern French spelling and pronunciation. It's a treat to work with you all.
MP3 clips from "Au pres de vous" in Ithaca, NY - September 14, 2008:
(with profound thanks to Bob Spear, who suffered both from the dreadful heat that evening, and from an unexpected "phase shift", as he puts it, when, um, someone kicked his mic stand. Bob, you're a trooper.)
MP3 clips from "Fire & Ice" in Binghamton, NY - March 30, 2008:
The MP3s below are recordings from a performance in Binghamton NY last spring, featuring the more Italianate music of Dowland, with a few Italian songs from Musical Banquet, and one by Monteverdi. We were very pleased to be joined by Alexander Rakov on treble and bass viol. These mp3 files are short samples of about one minute each:
New scores coming Summer 2009
We are back at work on producing performing editions of historical music, after having been diverted by life's little interesting events. Our forthcoming edition, French chansons of the 16th century is scheduled for printing this summer. Sign up to be notified when this title is available.
New downloads available
We have added several new pdfs to our downloads page, including a lute quartet arrangement of Dowland's Queen Elizabeth's galliard, a lute duet arrangement of Victoria's Duo seraphim (from our latest CD), Fors seulement by Albert de Rippe, a Fantasye by Vallet, and an arrangement of a Scots tune, Royal lament.
Stay tuned for more lute ensemble pieces, and don't forget to take them with you to those summer lute courses!
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