For Christine Gevert, founding artistic director of Crescendo, music from centuries past is anything but a relic. It is a living, breathing art form, full of drama, emotional complexity and, occasionally, surprises. As the regional choral and period-instrument ensemble launches its 23rd season, Gevert is once again bringing forgotten masterpieces into the present.
“Early Music has been my lifelong passion and the focus of my specialization in Europe and South America,” Gevert said. “Bringing this repertoire to our audiences in a nuanced way that does justice to its incredible depth, intensity, and beauty is deeply important to me.”
The season opens Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 with “Galant Fire — Masterpieces of Venice and Naples,” featuring the Crescendo Chorus, a period string ensemble and guest soloists Douglas Ray Williams, Caroline Christopher, Laura Evans and Kevin Ray.
Among the program’s highlights is Antonio Vivaldi’s “Laetatus sum,” a rarely heard choral work whose manuscript was rediscovered in 2017. Its obscurity, Gevert explained, was not entirely accidental.
“In the case of the Vivaldi piece, the bias stretches right back to his own lifetime; his work was intentionally mislabeled and ‘rebranded’ under the name of a more famous contemporary to financially benefit the owners of the manuscript.”
Rediscovering works like this is what Crescendo is all about.
“It is a privilege to champion repertoire that is underrepresented in modern concert halls,” Gevert said. “So much incredible music has been silenced over time due to historic cultural biases, lost manuscripts, or the simple fact that modern performing editions do not yet exist.”
Crescendo was recently awarded a $50,000 grant from the Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Charitable Foundation. The funding will support a large-scale production during the 2027-28 season devoted to historic female composers, including Antonia Bembo, Marianna Martines and Amalia of Saxony.
“Female composers not only faced immense restrictions in their own eras, but remain underrepresented today,” Gevert said.
As a music editor, arranger and specialist in early music transcription, Gevert often prepares performing editions herself, making otherwise inaccessible works available to contemporary musicians.
“Crescendo has a proud history of presenting U.S. and East Coast premieres of early music, and being part of this rediscovery process is profoundly exciting for both our performers and our audiences.”
The season also ventures into new territory with Celtic and Gaelic repertoire from Ireland and Scotland, presented alongside English traditions in two December programs, “The First Spark” and “A Celtic Wintertide.”
“We are introducing Irish and Scottish Celtic and Gaelic repertoire alongside English traditions, which is a first for Crescendo,” Gevert said.
The holiday concerts will feature soprano and historical harpist Zoe Vandermeer, who sings while accompanying herself on triple harps, as well as recorder player Tricia van Oers. Vandermeer will contribute an original composition, while Gevert will introduce new arrangements of English and Welsh holiday tunes.
“In our Holiday concerts, we juxtapose early music with folk tunes and contemporary arrangements,” Gevert said. “This gives our audiences something familiar to connect with, offering the joy of hearing and singing along with beloved carols.”
The programming continues into spring with “The Paris Confluence,” featuring works by Telemann, Bach and Marais, followed by April’s “Sovereign Grandeur,” a dramatic exploration of a 1701 London musical competition inspired by the myth of “The Judgment of Paris.” The season concludes June 12 with “Forgotten Voices,” a solo keyboard program featuring early female composers.
Throughout the season, audiences can expect ambitious vocal writing, including compositions with as many as 10 independent vocal parts and contemporary works requiring improvisation.
“This music is highly ‘text-driven’ and strongly appeals to both the emotions and the intellect,” Gevert said, “which is the unifying thread running through all of our productions this season.”
“Galant Fire — Masterpieces of Venice and Naples” will be performed Saturday, Oct. 31, at 4 p.m. at Saint James Place in Great Barrington and Sunday, Nov. 1, at 4 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church in Lime Rock. For the full season schedule and tickets, visit crescendomusic.org.
Meg Sher, executive director of the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village.L. Tomaino 
Some of the donated cookbooks that will be at the swap in Wassaic.D.H. Callahan
Playwright Darrah CloudProvided
