Susanna Unbound
Breaking the Rules
in 17th Century Europe
Viol Consort
Erica Rubis & Margaret Humphrey | treble viol Maryne Mossey | tenor viol
Julie Elhard & Rebecca Humphrey | bass viol
Wednesday, oct 16 | 7:30 pm
University Club St. Paul
Susanna Unbound tells the story of a 17th Century "Me too!" movement. The instrumental ensembles of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries were called in England 'consorts', a misspelling of 'concert' which, like 'concerto', probably comes from the Latin verb conserere meaning 'to combine together'. Consorts were either 'whole' or 'broken,' the former and by far the most popular consisting of members of the same family - such as viols. The practice of playing in 'whole consort' began in fact in the latter part of the fifteenth century, becoming widespread in the following century. Most consort music is for treble, alto, tenor, and bass viols, and the two main types of composition are the fantasia, and that based on a cantus firmus.