Photo via Early Music Now
Les Goûts Réunis - Early Music Now Promo Image
Milwaukee’s Early Music Now (EMN) was founded in 1986 with the mission of creating “connections with the past through historically informed presentations of music composed before 1800.” They bring world renowned musicians to Milwaukee performing medieval, Renaissance and early Baroque music.
Their first program this season features Cabaret Baroque, an ensemble consisting of Corina Marti, recorder and harpsichord; Michal Gondko, 11-course lute; and Shalev Ad-El, harpsichord. The title of the concert, “Les Goûts Réunis,” refers to the contrasts and cross-influences of the Italian and French composers of the Baroque period.
Marti is an internationally recognized soloist and chamber musician specializing in medieval and Renaissance music. Her research has extended the repertoire of this period, and she has been instrumental in the reconstruction and restoration of keyboard instruments and flutes of that time. She continues to teach at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, a music academy and research institution in Basel, Switzerland specializing in mediaeval music.
Gondko, a world-renowned lutenist, is the founder and artistic co-director of La Morra, a world-renowned ensemble specializing in Late Mediaeval and Renaissance music. Originally from Warsaw, where he studied classical guitar, he now lives in Basel, dedicating himself exclusively to the lute. Ad-El is an Israeli harpsichordist and conductor. Performing and conducting all over the world, he is a founding member of Il Gardellino and is a current member of the Berlin Philharmonic.
“Les Goûts Réunis” (Tastes United) is also the name the French composer François Couperin gave to his collection of 10 instrumental pieces he published in 1724. Couperin wished to examine and explore the differences and similarities of the French and Italian music at that time.
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While Couperin (1669-1733) and Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) may serve as the stars of the French and Italian school of composers for the period spanning the late 16th and late 17th centuries, the program also includes compositions by René Mesangeau (c. 1568-1638), Jacques Champion de Chambonnières (c. 1602-1672) and the French lutenist Denis Gualtier (?–1672). The Italian composers include Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) and Vincenzo Pellegrini (c. 1560-c. 1631).
The program contrasts Italian and French styles as well as including compositions of Italian music in the French style and French music in Italian style. Of note is the unusual trio of duo harpsichord, lute, and recorder which focuses on a collection of suites composed in 1724 by François Couperin. The concert opens with Couperin’s Troisiême Concert Royal interlaced with pieces by Gaultier. They are followed by sonatas composed by Corelli and Scarlatti. “Our youngest composer will be Domenico Scarlatti, a contemporary of J. S. Bach,” Marti said. “His compositions will be played by Shalev Ad-El. It’s a great pleasure to share stage with him again. Shalev and I will be playing the harpsichord provided by Early Music Now.”
Please note: On November 22, Early Music Now brings Bella Voce: Handel's Complete "Messiah" to the St. Joseph Chapel (1515 S. Layton Blvd.) for a historically faithful rendition of the complete “Messiah” using Baroque instruments.
Cabaret Baroque will perform “Les Goûts Réunis,” 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 914 E. Knapp St. For tickets and more information, visit https://www.earlymusicnow.org/
