Classical Saturday | Tempesta di Mare

With Julianne Baird, narration and concept; Sarah Fleiss, soprano, and Joyce Lindorff, harpsichord Enjoy songs and instrumental selections from the music room of Eleanor “Nelly” Parke Custis Lewis, George Washington’s step-granddaughter. Includes narration about her music teacher, vocal exercises, and performances for her Grandfather-President’s most valued guests in Philadelphia just after the end of the Revolutionary War. Musical selections from the Francis Hopkins Collections of early American music will transport audiences into the history of Philadelphia, and early colonial and early federal American culture. Musical selections by Hopkinson (“My Days have been so wondrous free”), Arne (The Soldiers Tired), and Paisiello (“Nel cor piu non mi sento”), among others. Born in Philadelphia in 1737, Francis Hopkinson was an active participant in the cultural life of Philadelphia during the 1750s. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress from New Jersey and a signer of the Declaration of Independence and after the Revolution. Hopkinson’s literary productions include essays, satirical tales, and orations. His musical output is wide-ranging: from to ballads, songs, works for harpsichord, sacred songs, and an oratorio. And he also made extensive collections of contemporary music from England and from the European continent. $28 ($18 members)