With acclaimed vocalists, the Concord Ensemble, along with instrumentalists Brent Wissick and Robert Mealy.

For the finale to its season of great composers, the Consort presents music of Italy and Italian-influenced English music of the late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth centuries. Luca Marenzio (c.1553-1599), sometimes referred to as "the Schubert of the madrigal," was a Roman composer whose lyrical and expressive virtuoso madrigals are magnificent examples of the form—serious settings of artful erotic poetry. The English composer, theorist, and educator Thomas Morley (c.1557-1602), like many English musicians, was not immune to the charms of Italian music and wrote his own madrigals, balleti, and canzonetti. Along with the vocal works of these masters, the program includes music, both Italian and English, for violin band and lute.

This concert coincides with the opening of the Folger exhibition, Music in Early Modern England, and the Washington Early Music Festival.