Coming up in Philly Music: Piffaro brings a Renaissance toe-tapper online

On Friday, May 15, Piffaro will release a YouTube video of one of the liveliest and most enjoyable concerts it has presented. Every item on the program is a Renaissance dance selected from the massive collection of toe-tapping, colorful dance music assembled by the Renaissance composer Michael Praetorius.

An old school dance party

Renaissance dance music has always been one of Piffaro’s specialties, but they usually scatter dance pieces among other types of music. This program danced from beginning to end when Piffaro presented it in March of 2019. The selections covered the whole range of Renaissance dance forms, from the dignified processional music of the pavane to the raucous peasant dances that create a rousing finale at many of Piffaro’s concerts.

The concert was a multicity collaboration. The New York based early music group Sonnambula added bowed strings to the sound of Piffaro’s Renaissance wind instruments. Sonnambula was the ensemble-in-residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art when it partnered with Piffaro, and the two groups repeated the program at the Metropolitan in June.

Philadelphia’s busy music photographer, Sharon Torello, filmed the Philadelphia performance, and Piffaro will present the video with four of the musicians conducting a live chat. Piffaro codirectors Bob Weimken and Joan Kimball will join Sonnambula’s music director, Elizabeth Weinfield, and her husband, violinist Jude Ziliak. The video will remain on YouTube through Sunday, May 17, if you can’t make the first showing.

What, When, Where:

Piffaro, the Renaissance Band will present “Dancer’s Delight” with a live chat on Friday, May 15, at 7:30pm. The video will premiere on YouTube. See their homepage for several other Piffaro videos, including some brief informative looks at Renaissance instruments and the music of their time.