THE BALTIMORE CONSORT CHRISTMAS PROGRAM 12/20/10

I'm a child of rock and roll. The Southern Woman That I Married? Not so much. She's fond of saying, "I start with Bach and work my way back." Given her druthers, it would be all Renaissance, all the time. And I've come to appreciate the delicate civility of the music.

So we're lucky to live in the Lehigh Valley, home of Larry Lipkis, one of the founding members of The Baltimore Consort. I've listened to a lot of Early Music cds, I've got a reasonably discerning ear, and I tell you that none do it better than The Consort.

We look forward to their Christmas concert every year. This year, we began to worry. We didn't see it advertised. And when we went to The Consort's website, it came up as unavailable. So I emailed Larry. "Don't worry," he said. "Trinity Church...Monday the 20th...I look forward to seeing you there."

Well, I was there. And it was wonderful. Period tunes, period instruments, a lovely soprano, played with skill and energy and humor. If you get the chance, if they come to your town, don't miss them. If they're not comeing to your town any time soon, buy a cd. Wonderful stuff.