Christ Church Cathedral
Strawberry Fields
Handel, Sancho, and English Country Dances
Artist: Ruckus Early Music
Pre-Concert Chat: 07:00pm hosted by Suzie LeBlanc with members of Ruckus Early Music
Runtime: 60 minutes, no interval
Strawberry Fields is a joyous feast of rustic dances from the 18th century. Featuring Ruckus’ dazzling arrangements of Ignatius Sancho’s 12 Country Dances for the year 1779 and the evergreen trio sonatas of George Frederic Handel, this program will have audiences craving to get on their feet.
“Ruckus is a big continuo band… that creates these incredibly thick, resonant, groovy textures. They can lean into syncopation and have fun with rhythm games and also approach the melody in a more bass-heavy way.”
– The Strad
New York City’s ensemble Ruckus has a unique and playful approach to the world of early music, drawing inspiration from the groove of American roots music and the rhythm of jazz. The group’s fresh take on English Country Dances from the 18th century, with their gavottes and minuets, presents a pairing of Handel’s music with the British African composer Ignatius Sancho, and a wink to the Beatles’s hit song.
Country dances in the 18th-century were among the most available and widely used music of their day, bringing people together through the joyous ritual of social dancing. In Strawberry Fields, our country dances come from Ignatius Sancho: a once-enslaved person living in London in the late 18th-century who, upon gaining his freedom, lived a vibrant life as a shop owner, musician, and abolitionist. Ignatius Sancho is unknown to many today, yet was a crucial figure in London at the end of the 18th century in music and politics alike. He was very likely the first person of African descent to vote in England, and his writings helped ignite the abolitionist movement. He published many compositions, including right at the end of his life, his 12 Country Dances. Originally set for the harpsichord, they are playfully written and set with delightful titles. Ruckus lights these tunes on fire with their infectious energy and colorful arrangements for violin, flute, and big band continuo
Click here to read programme notes by Clay Zeller-Townson
Generously sponsored by The Graham & Gayle Cooke Foundation
PROGRAMME
Charles Ignatius Sancho (c. 1729 – 1780)
Lady Mary Montagu’s Reel – Culford Heath Camp -Ruffs and Rhees
from The 12 Country Dances for the Year 1779
G. F. Handel (1685-1759)
Trio in G, op. 5 # 4
Tempo Ordinario – Allegro – Passacaille – Gigue – Minuett
Charles Ignatius Sancho
Bushy Park – Lord Dalkeith’s Reel
G. F. Handel
Trio in E Minor, op. 5 #3
Andante – Allegro – Sarabande – Allemande – Rondeau – Gavotte
Charles Ignatius Sancho
Royal Bishop – Lindrindod Lasses – Strawberries and Cream
G. F. Handel
Trio in D major, op. 5 #2
Largo (B minor trio) – Adagio – Allegro – Musette – Allegro – Musette – Marche – Gavotte
Charles Ignatius Sancho
Duchess of Devonshire’s Reel – Trip to Dillington
All of One Mind – Mungo’s Delight – Lady Mary Montagu’s Reel
[Encore: Strawberry Fields Forever]
Ruckus Early Music
Ruckus is a shapeshifting, collaborative baroque ensemble with a visceral and playful approach to early music. Described as “the world’s only period-instrument rock band” (San Francisco Classical Voice), Ruckus’ core is a continuo group, the baroque equivalent of a jazz rhythm section: guitars, keyboards, cello, bassoon and bass. The NYC-based ensemble aims to fuse the early-music movement’s questing, creative spirit with the grit, groove and jangle of American roots music, creating a unique sound of “rough-edged intensity” (New Yorker) that’s “achingly delicate one moment, incisive and punchy the next” (New York Times). The group’s members are among the most creative and virtuosic performers in North American early music.
Ruckus’ debut album, Fly the Coop, a collaboration with flutist Emi Ferguson, was Billboard’s #2 Classical album upon its release. Performances of Fly the Coop have been described as “a fizzing, daring display of personality and imagination” (New York Times). The Boston Musical Intelligencer describes the group as taking continuo playing to “not simply a new level, but a revelatory new dimension of dynamism altogether… an eruption of pure, pulsing hoedown joy.”
Ruckus is the “house band” for Hudson Hall’s baroque opera productions, directed by R.B. Schlather. The New York Times reviewed the 2023 production of Handel’s Rodelinda, praising Ruckus’ unconducted playing as “mercurial, almost improvisatory spirit that responded to the drama in real time.” The ensemble made its Ojai Festival debut in 2022, performing a wide range of music: from Bach, to the improvisational scores of Roscoe Mitchell and George Lewis, to a recital featuring Anthony Roth Costanzo, and an original opera by bassist member Doug Balliett. Recent highlights include debuts at the Shriver Concert Hall Series in Baltimore, Boston’s Celebrity Series, the Caramoor Festival, and NYC’s Town Hall.
