Coming up in Philly music: Breaking the Commandments with Piffaro

How many sins would you commit for love? Piffaro’s next foray into Spanish Renaissance music opens with the heroine telling her priest she has broken all ten of the commandments. Piffaro has joined forces with the Philadelphia Artists' Collective to create a combination of music and text that evokes the spirit of an evening in a 17th-century Spanish theater. The musical portions will feature two early-music stars: Soprano Julianne Baird and countertenor Drew Minter. Texts by classic Spanish playwrights will be delivered by actors J Hernandez (winner of the Phindie Critics Choice Award for Best Performance by a Supporting Actor) and Amanda Robles (a New-York-based University of the Arts graduate). The musical selections will include ballads, theater music, popular Renaissance songs, instrumental music, and religious music played on Piffaro’s historically authentic Renaissance instruments.

Piffaro, the Renaissance Band, will present ¡Ay Amor! Dying of Love in 17th-century Spanish Theater on Friday, February 24, 2017, 7:30pm at the Trinity Center for Urban Life, 22nd and Spruce Streets, Philadelphia; and on Saturday, February 25, 2017, at 7:30pm at the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, 8855 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia. There will be another performance Sunday, February 26, 2017, at 3pm at Christ Church Christiana, Wilmington, Delaware. Tickets ($29 to $49; free for youth and full-time students) are available in advance online, by calling (215) 235-8469, and at the door.