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Rare baroque works, Songs of Springtime, and the words of Langston Hughes
BSR Classical Interludes, March 2026
Gail Obenreder
Yes, March is here—sometimes springlike and sometimes wintry! But here’s some great music from around the region, no matter what the weather. There are songs about flowers and spring (how we need them!), Langston Hughes in words and music, an unusual string quartet grouping, and two rarely performed baroque works—a sacred cantata and a secular opera. Take your pick!
Variant Six & Filament: Crux
Friday, March 6, 7:30pm
Church of the Gesu, North18th and Cabot Streets, Philadelphia
Saturday, March 7, 3pm
Market Street Music, First & Central Presbyterian Church, 1101 North Market Street, Wilmington
Philadelphia chamber ensembles Variant 6 and Filament will present Crux, a performance of Dietrich Buxtehude’s seldom-performed Membra Jesu Nostri. The work, an hour-long devotione decantata (“sung devotion”) is a cycle of seven cantatas set to the poetry of 13th-century ascetic Arnulf von Leeuwen. The Filament trio (Evan Few, Elena Kauffman, and John Walthausen) will be joined by instrumentalists Heather Miller Lardin, Kevin Payne, Donna Fournier, and Gretchen Gettes. Variant Six vocalists are Jessica Beebe, Rebecca Myers, Kristen Dubenion-Smith, James Reese, and Harrison Hintzsche. Tickets for both these concerts are also available at the door.
Choral Arts Philadelphia: Flora and Fauna: Songs of Springtime
Saturday, March 7, 4pm
Church of the Holy Trinity/Rittenhouse, 1904 Walnut Street, Philadelphia
Programmed to coincide with the Philadelphia Flower Show, this choral concert celebrates the coming of spring by presenting two 20th-century song cycles along with other works. Featured will be Benjamin Britten’s charming Five Flower Songs, Op. 47 and Gerald Finzi’s reflective Seven Poems of Robert Bridges, Op. 17, with texts Britain’s Poet Laureate (1913-1930). Conductor Donald Meineke conducts the chorus, which will sing other seasonal works by Orlando Gibbons, Luca Marenzio, and Thomas Morley.
Philadelphia Chamber Music Society: Owls
Wednesday, March 11, 7:30pm
American Philosophical Society/Franklin Hall, 427 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia
At first glance, Owls might look like a regular string quartet, but this bass-forward group presents original arrangements of music from the 1600s to the present with distinctive instrumentation and a downtown sensibility. Alexi Kenney (violin), Ayane Kozasa (viola), and cellists Gabriel Cabezas and Paul Wiancko will present works ranging from Couperin forward, including two compositions by Wiancko. This is their PCMS debut, and the hourlong concert will also be livestreamed on a pay-what-you-wish basis.
Brandywine Baroque: Comus, by Thomas Arne
Friday, March 13, 7:30pm
Sunday, March 15, 3pm (sold out)
The Barn at Flintwoods, 205 Center Meeting Road, Wilmington
This 1738 masque was adapted from a work by John Milton, and Thomas Arne’s music, his first major success, helped to cement the composer’s reputation. Some lyrics were taken from other Milton works, and this chamber opera featuring gods and mortals and virtue triumphing over vice had a successful London run. The Brandywine Baroque orchestra will feature vocalists Laura Heimes (soprano), Tony Boutté (tenor), Augustine Mercante (countertenor), and Graham Bier (bass), with Trina Tjersland as Spirit. The Sunday performance is sold out, but you can call the box office to check availability.
Lyric Fest: Dream Keeper: The Life, Letters, and Lyrics of Langston Hughes
Saturday, March 14, 3pm
Race Street Meeting House, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia
Sunday, March 15, 3pm
Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, 19 South 38th Street, Philadelphia
This organization devoted to song will feature two narrators—acclaimed storyteller Charlotte Blake Alston and UPenn Chaplain Rev. Charles (Chaz) Lattimore Howard—telling Hughes’ story, often in his own words. Songs setting Hughes’ text are by composers Robert Owens, Margaret Bonds, Undine Moore Smith, Rosephanye Powell, Rollo Dilworth, and others. The concert features Charlene Canty (soprano), Kenneth Overton (baritone), pianist Laura Ward (Lyric Fest co-director), and the Singing City Choir, conducted by artistic director Dilworth. Note that the two concerts have the same repertoire but are ticketed separately.
Featured image: Owls, from left to right: Gabe Cabezas, Ayane Kozasa, Alexi Kenney, Paul Wiancko. (Photo by Ashley Gellman.)
Image description: Four performers dressed in mostly black clothes, holding cellos and a viola, pose in a room with framed art behind them.
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