Enjoy CD's and two free tickets to 8 concerts from the following 8 fabulous New York City Early Music Ensembles:

Parthenia -- viola da gamba quartet performing music from Elizabethan times to today
www.parthenia.org

PARTHENIA is a dynamic string ensemble that explores the extraordinary repertoire for viols of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries - from Elizabethan England to the court of Versailles. Since 1989 this critically-acclaimed, New York-based viol consort has been performing to the delight of audiences across the United States and Europe. The consort of viols, much loved by musicians in Renaissance Europe, is the precursor of today's string quartet. Parthenia is devoted to bringing passionate viol consort performances to the contemporary listener. The name Parthenia was one of the poetical names for the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I of England.

ARTEK -- Gwendolyn Toth, Director - early baroque vocal and instrumental music featuring a very large continuo group (rhythm section!)
www.artekearlymusic.org

ARTEK has gained a reputation for exciting, dramatic performances of baroque music. Audiences love ARTEK concerts for their compelling musical settings of beautiful poetry and infectious dance rhythms that infuse the performances with vitality and spirit. Founded by director Gwendolyn Toth in 1986, ARTEK currently consists six singers plus instrumentalists playing violin, viola da gamba, cello, harpsichord, organ, harp, lute, theorbo. ARTEK stands for "The Art of the Early Keyboard."

Tiffany Consort - Renaissance vocal music
www.tiffanyconsort.com

THE TIFFANY CONSORT was founded in 2003 to bring together several of New York's finest singers with the intention of presenting virtuosic choral music from all periods, one voice to a part, under the direction of acclaimed director Nicholas White. While the core of the ensemble is 8 soloists, the number of singers varies according to the specific repertoire to be performed. In addition to their trademark performing style of one voice to a part, the group's main interest lies in juxtaposing works of Medieval and Renaissance composers with those of 20th Century or Modern day composers.

My Lord Chamberlain's Consort - Elizabethan chamber and vocal music
www.angelfire.com/music7/mylordchamberlains

MY LORD CHAMBERLAIN'S CONSORT, four singers who play instruments (harp, lute and recorder) plus three instrumentalists playing viol, lute and guitar, was formed in 1997 to present a complete performance of John Dowland's landmark First Book of Songs or Ayres in its 400th anniversary year. The New York Times called the Consort "a whimsically named new grouping of distinguished early music practitioners. . . . excellent . . . thrilling . . . noble and expressive." Dowland's First Book carries a dedication to Sir George Carey, the Queen's Lord Chamberlain, from whom MLCC takes its name. Carey also was a patron of William Shakespeare's acting troupe, The Lord Chamberlain's Men.

New York Consort of Viols -- viol consort music from medieval times to newly commissioned works
www.nyconsortofviols.org

THE NEW YORK CONSORT OF VIOLS, acclaimed for its presentations of Renaissance and Baroque repertoires, also explores the world of medieval music through the use of earlier instruments such as rebecs, vielles and other medieval fiddles. As contemporary composers discover the resources of the viol, the Consort, under the direction of Judith Davidoff, has been commissioning new works for viol consort and performing them in juxtaposition with their earlier counterparts. In addition to appearing in concert, the New York Consort of Viols has an ongoing program of workshops and residencies for amateur and pre-professional gambists covering technique, consort playing, early bowed strings, and reading from tablature and early notation.

Amor Artis -- Chorale and Orchestra performing great choral works of all periods.
www.amorartis.org

AMOR ARTIS is a distinctive chamber chorus and orchestra founded by director, Johannes Somary. It features dynamically balanced programs of well-known favorites together with important works rarely heard. The ensemble has achieved considerable recognition internationally through its many concerts and extensive discography, encompassing more than forty recordings. One of the first and foremost presenters in New York of lesser-known Baroque masterpieces, Amor Artis has distinguished itself through authentic versions in style and setting, paving the way for the performances of these works given in the United States today. Amor Artis, a Latin name which means "Love of Art" and which was also the name of a musical ensemble in Renaissance Florence.

Four Nations Ensemble -- chamber music of the European masters
www.fournations.org

Founded in 1986, by director Andrew Appel, The FOUR NATIONS ENSEMBLE brings together soloists who are leading exponents of period instrument and vocal performance to present great music from the Renaissance through the Viennese Classical masterpieces of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. For more than a decade, Four Nations has developed a leading presence on the early music scene in New York and across the country. With a core ensemble of harpsichord or fortepiano, violin(s), flute, and cello, the Ensemble explores and performs the major masterpieces of the 17th and 18th centuries, from trio sonata to piano trio and quartet. Four Nations has performed at major houses and series throughout the United States including The Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center. The Ensemble has participated in festivals such as The Boston Early Music Festival, New York's Mostly Mozart, Amherst Festival, New Haven's International Festival of Arts & Ideas, Virginia Waterfront International Arts Festival, Chautauqua, The Indiana Early Music Festival, The Redwoods Festival in Santa Rosa, California, and Brasilseguridade in Rio de Janeiro.

Brooklyn Baroque -- ensemble music of Bach and his contemporaries
http://hometown.aol.com/brookbaroq/myhomepage/profile.html

BROOKLYN BAROQUE debuted in the fall of 2000, when the long-standing duo of Andrew Bolotowsky, baroque flute, and Rebecca Pechefsky, harpsichord, were joined by cellist David Bakamjian. Since then, the group has performed regularly at New York City's historic Morris-Jumel Mansion, as well as in several venues outside New York City, where the opportunities to hear Baroque music played on period instruments are not as frequent as in the New York Metropolitan area. Brooklyn Baroque specializes in music of Bach and his contemporaries, but its concerts often range further back into the 17th century or as far forward as Beethoven. The ensemble seeks to recapture the more leisurely sensibilities of the 18th century, when people were not constantly checking their timepieces and rushing off to catch trains. Brooklyn Baroque's CD of Northern Lights, featuring three generations of German composers, was released in the spring of 2005.