Newberry Consort

The stroke of midnight on Fat Tuesday divides the pagan revelry of Carnival from the penitential mood of Ash Wednesday. The Newberry Library’s early-music ensemble, the Newberry Consort, explores that sharp split with four gigs of Venetian music titled “What a Difference a Day Makes.” Carnival originated in Venice in 1268, and many of the pieces are from composers associated with the canaled city and its famed church of San Marco.

For these concerts, the Consort leaves its home to perform in three local churches. Music director David Douglass offers two reasons for the move: “There are many more performers, who need a larger space, and the penitential part works better in a sacred setting.”

Each concert’s first half features scores such as “Schiarazula Marazula,” a once-banned Jewish fertility dance, while “De Profoundis,” based on Psalm 130, comes after the intermission.

Additionally, the Consort honors the legacy of one of its founders, Howard Mayer Brown. This renowned musicologist from the University of Chicago, Douglass notes, “gave early-music performance its voice as an integral part of older cultures.” Brown believed that 16th- through 18th-century scores should be played on the instruments available at the time of their composition. Accordingly, the eight musicians switch among sackbuts (early trombones), shawm (proto oboe), dulcian (primitive bassoon), harps, lutes, bagpipes and 12-foot recorders. Five singers provide choral accompaniment.

Brown’s invaluable collection of nearly 1,300 early-music scores remains housed at the Newberry. Coincidentally, the historian was in Venice for Carnival when, on February 20, 1993, he drew his last breath—any day’s ultimate divide.

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