Programs for Tour

Elizabeth’s Pleasure: Musical delights from the late Tudor age

In the age of Shakespeare, England’s indomitable Virgin Queen was said to have danced the galliard every morning. Our program showcases the energy, passion, humor and sublime melancholy of the times, from mirthful consorts by Thomas Morley and Anthony Holborne to poignant lute songs by John Dowland, and from rollicking country dances to ethereal polyphony for two strings. The era’s expressive vocal masterpieces cast a spell of longing, while handfuls of gemlike songs, dances, and consorts, both Elizabethan classics and little-heard treasures, sparkle with the band’s improvisatory elaborations.

Joie Musicale: Music of the French Renaissance

 For playfulness, grace, and sheer delight, it’s hard to beat the music of renaissance France. With the burgeoning of the music printing business, professional and amateur musicians were clamoring for ever more material. Publishers Attaignant, Phalèse and Le Roy & Ballard responded, preserving the fruits of an age of musical taste and ingenuity, with dance tunes and chansons ranging from light and saucy to achingly tender. Lute songs plumbed the depth of human feeling; intimate madrigals by Lassus served as fodder for spellbinding, virtuosic instrumental meditations by composers abroad, from Giovanni Bassano to Diego Ortiz. Join Plaine & Easie as the whole ensemble jams on some of this era’s most evocative and festive hits.

Continental Connections: Across the Water in the English Renaissance

London in the Renaissance was the seat of power for a royal family of bewilderingly complex heritage, which showed varying degrees of Frenchness, Germanness, or Spanishness in the way they spoke, the food they ate and the music they loved. English composers made free with the languages and tunes of their colleagues abroad, who in turn put their own spins on England's exported musical hits. Our program gives a sample of this vibrant musical mélange with a multilingual array of pop tunes and dances alongside lute songs, madrigals and show-stopping instrumental numbers. Serious and bawdy, danceable and cerebral, English, Italian, French, Dutch, Spanish, you name it, it's a program for and about everyone!

Outreach Offerings

Shakespeare’s London in Music and Dance

This 45- to 60-minute program can be adjusted to fit audiences from adults to large school groups:

This program offers some of the music from our Elizabethan program – poignant lute songs, robust consort music, rollicking country dances, and virtuosic divisions. Short period readings and informal commentary evoke the character of Shakespeare’s world and the plays from which some of the tunes are taken. The musicians offer an up-close look at the noble lute and at the violin family from the early days of its development, sharing information about off-shoulder technique and the unusual five-string bass violin. For elementary school assemblies, there’s a chance to sing along with us.

Shakespeare’s World in Music and Dance 

This 45- to 60-minute participatory program is suitable for family performances and classroom groups:

In between some of our lute songs, consort music, country dances, and virtuosic divisions, the ensemble invites children and families to make music with us. Singable tunes from Thomas Ravenscroft and a cheeky round from Shakespeare combine with the street cries of the London tradespeople to bring Elizabethan culture to life. A simple country dance taught and accompanied by the band brings everyone to their feet, and we end with a chance to try the galliard, the Queen’s daily exercise.

From Country to Courtly: Dance of the English Renaissance 

A one- to two-hour dance  workshop suitable for ages 6 to adult:

No experience is necessary for this feast of dances, taught and accompanied by Plaine & Easie in English renaissance style. The sociable ease of English country dance draws everyone in, and you’ll be improvising your own galliard steps in no time. Wear comfortable shoes!

Elizabethan Consort and Lute Song 

This afternoon or all-day workshop for adult early music players can contain any or all of the following elements, to be scheduled as appropriate:

• A lecture-demonstration on arrangement, ornamentation, and improvisation in Elizabethan music;

• A master class for singers, lutenists, and consorts in Renaissance music;

• Coached reading sessions of Elizabethan repertoire, including both classics and little-known gems, for singers and instrumentalists.