The early Baroque was a time of experimentation, when stylistic elements of Renaissance polyphony met and mingled with the developing practice of basso continuo. England and Italy saw a blossoming interest in virtuosic instrumental music which later became 18th-c. suite and sonata forms. Contrasting moods and tempi of these early works would later develop into standardized Baroque sonatas with their own florid style of melodrama. Loosely-organized instrumental suites have one foot in the older world of consort music and familiar dance forms, and the other in the new, filling out the harmonies with a continuo section. Mystic River Baroque employs a broad palette of timbres and characters to highlight the colorful, mercurial music of Castello, Cima, Locke and others.

Mystic River Baroque
Emily O’Brien, recorders
Rebecca Shaw, viola da gamba
Kelly Savage, harpsichord