A Golden Wire

Parker Ramsay, harp
Arnie Tanimoto, viola da gamba
Nola Richardson, soprano

“Some Consorts of Instruments are sweeter than others (a thing not sufficiently yet observed;) as the Harp and Base-Vial agree well.” - Francis Bacon

The sounds of the viola da gamba and the baroque harp are seldom heard in many recital halls, and even more seldom together in consort. Arnie Tanimoto and Parker Ramsay began collaborating in 2019, captivated by the sound of two peculiarly resonant and intimate instruments in consort. Sonorous and haunting, the collaboration has grown into a mission to revivify music which might be considered academic or too cerebral.

At the Zürcher Gallery, listeners will get a taste of the various repertoires which Arnie and Parker have come to love, particularly from England and France. Vocal and consort repertoire from the Tudor period will contextualize later virtuoso music for the bass viol, the likes of which was played in the courts of European monarchs after English Catholics fled the excesses of the Reformation and the English Civil War. These musicians’ influence could even be heard in the famed music of Monsieur Ste. Colombe and Marin Marais, whose music will end the program.

The musical journey is reflective of their respective musical passions. Having trained in the English sacred music tradition, a steady of diet of Tudor counterpoint lay at the core of Parker’s artistic formation at King’s College, Cambridge. For Arnie, the music of Marin Marais is his bread and butter as a virtuoso gambist, and one of foundational areas of repertoire with which we first began collaborating.

At Zürcher Gallery
33 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012

Admission is $20.
Tickets can be purchased at the door.
All proceeds go to the artists.