The Boston Early Music Festival is set to dazzle audiences by showcasing an astounding array of musical talent from December 2024 through June 2025. With events that celebrate the rich history of music, from Renaissance polyphony to Baroque masterpieces, attendees can anticipate performances by world-renowned ensembles and soloists. Highlights include The Tallis Scholars' exploration of chant and polyphony, Francesco Corti's harpsichord virtuosity, and the powerful narrative of Agave's debut. Each event promises a unique journey through time with music that has shaped our cultural landscape.

A Celebration of Musical Heritage: Boston Early Music Festival Events 2024-2025

The Boston Early Music Festival unfolds a rich tapestry of musical history in 2025, celebrating diverse eras and cultures through an impressive lineup of performances. From the virtuoso Francesco Corti's harpsichord and organ renditions to the poignant narratives of the Agave ensemble, these events explore a vibrant confluence of tradition and innovation. With highlights including the compelling voices of Stile Antico, the lively vigor of Les Arts Florissants, and Jordi Savall's historically informed interpretations, this series offers an unforgettable exploration of music's enduring legacy.

A Symphony of Time: The Boston Early Music Festival's Enriching Journey Through History

The Boston Early Music Festival is set to captivate audiences with a series of remarkable performances from February to June 2025. This year's lineup features a dazzling array of events that span genres and centuries, showcasing the talents of world-renowned musicians and celebrating the rich history of early music. From the captivating organ concertos of Handel and the poignant compositions of lesser-known composers to the vibrant renditions of Renaissance polyphony, each event promises a unique journey through time and sound. Join us as we delve into the details of these extraordinary performances.

A Harmonious Gathering: Boston's Early Music Festival Celebrations

The Boston Early Music Festival 2025 brings a series of riveting performances celebrating music from the Renaissance to the Baroque period. From Stile Antico's polyphonic Renaissance journey to Jordi Savall's Baroque explorations, this festival showcases an exceptional lineup of artists and ensembles, each offering their unique interpretations of historical masterpieces. With performances that include works by Vivaldi, Monteverdi, and Palestrina, the festival promises an enriching experience for all classical music enthusiasts, celebrating the immense contributions of past composers and the vibrant renditions by today's musicians.

Celebrating the Harmonies of the Past: Boston Early Music Festival 2025

This year's Boston Early Music Festival promises an unforgettable journey through the annals of musical history, showcasing a diverse array of performances by world-renowned ensembles and virtuosos. From the vivid reinterpretation of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons by Les Arts Florissants to the evocative chamber music of Ensemble Castor, each event offers a unique glimpse into the enduring legacy of early music. Join us as we explore the rich tapestry of sounds that have shaped our musical heritage, guided by the expert hands of today’s most talented musicians.

Boston Early Music Festival 2025: A Celebration of Timeless Melodies

Dive into the captivating world of the Boston Early Music Festival 2025, where orchestral, recital, and chamber music come alive through the works of Lassus, Dowland, Handel, and more. Held at the New England Conservatory and Emmanuel Church in Boston, this festival features performances by acclaimed artists such as The Tallis Scholars, Aaron Sheehan, and Trio Medieval. Experience an unforgettable journey through time as these musicians bring historical compositions to life, bridging the past and present in a celebration of musical excellence.

Exploring the Harmonious Tapestry: Boston Early Music Festival 2025

This June, Boston will resonate with the rich tapestry of early music as the Boston Early Music Festival hosts a series of captivating concerts. The festival will showcase an array of performances featuring renowned artists and ensembles. From chamber music to orchestral wonders, the festival promises a deep dive into the works of composers like Bertali, Lassus, and Hildegard von Bingen. With acclaimed performers like Aaron Sheehan and The Tallis Scholars gracing the stage, this festival is a must-attend for music enthusiasts.

A Symphony of Timeless Melodies: Boston Early Music Festival 2025

EPSG:4326

Boreas Quartett Bremen

New England Conservatory

A Feast of Favorite Consorts for 2 to 16 viols.

ExtravaGamba!

Starry, Starry Night: Music of Monteverdi, Rossi, Carissimi and Steffani.

Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble & Friends

Constantinople with Hana Blažíková, soprano

Emmanuel Church Boston

The Keyboard Mini-Festival returns in 2025 with 3 outstanding recitals.

Keyboard Mini-Festival

First Lutheran Church of Boston

An Operatic Nanny Romp through 17th-Century Italy.

Concerto Romano

Vanitas vanitatum et omnia vanitas: Music of Rossi and Carissimi.

Vox Luminis

The Organ Mini-Festival returns in 2025 with 3 outstanding recitals.

Organ Mini-Festival

The Power of Love: Music of Rameau, Couperin, Bach, Corelli and others.

Théotime Langlois de Swarte, violin & Justin Taylor, harpsichord

Rivers of Splendor: Handel’s & Telemann’s Water Music.

Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra

Enrico Gatti, violin, Marcello Gatti, flute & Friends

Songs without words: Music of Palestrina, Victoria, Grandi, Gabrieli and Merulo.

The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble

Caritas abundant in omnia / Love abounds in everything: Music of Hildegard von Bingen and Leonel Power.

Trio Medieval with Catalina Vicens, organetto

Inspired by the Sistine Chapel: Music of Morales, Palestrina and Allegri.

The Tallis Scholars

Murder, Mayhem, Melancholy, and Madness: Music of Johnson, Dowland, William Lawes, Tomkins and Purcell.

Pacific Musicworks with Danielle Reutter-Harrah, soprano

Music of Keiser, Handel, Bach and Telemann.

Ensemble Castor with Sherezade Panthaki, soprano

A Gallery of Kings: On the Uses and Abuses of Power, ca. 1300.

The Boston Camerata

Amor Temporalia: Music of Bertali, Schmelzer, Valentini and others.

Acronym

The Excellency of Wine: Songs of Love, Laughter, and Drinking by Dowland, Guédron, Moulinié and Henry Lawes.

Aaron Sheehan, tenor & Paul O’Dette, lute

Jubilate! Music of Lassus, Palestrina, Gombert, and Andrea Gabrieli

The Tallis Scholars & The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble

One of the most versatile musical personalities of his generation, Jordi Savall has thrilled millions of Early Music lovers around the world for over half a century. A tireless researcher and an eternally engaging performer, he made his Boston début with BEMF in 1989 and has remained a favorite and a friend ever since. Join him and his legendary ensemble Hespèrion XXI for a stunning journey through Baroque music from England, Peru, Mexico, Spain, and more.

Jordi Savall & Hespèrion XXI

New England Conservatory of Music

Don’t miss a blockbuster musical event as one of Early Music’s definitive ensembles, Les Arts Florissants, are joined by the invigorating violin virtuoso Théotime Langlois de Swarte—hailed by Gramophone for his “seemingly effortless blend of control and abandon.” These incomparable instrumentalists commemorate the original publication of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in 1725. Experience this iconic masterwork anew as Vivaldi’s beloved concertos are presented alongside Venetian music that inspired the great composer—or was inspired by him—with selections by Monteverdi, Uccellini, Geminiani, and Corelli.

Les Arts Florissants

In this brilliant and vividly contrasted program, Stile Antico selects pieces from the ensemble’s award-winning discography to create a thrilling journey through some of the greatest music of the Renaissance. Renowned for their fresh, vibrant, and moving performances of Renaissance polyphony, join these accomplished singers as they celebrate their 20th anniversary and share this truly unique collection of some of their favorite pieces. Exuberant works by composers such as Byrd, Gibbons, Tomkins, and Praetorius rub shoulders with tranquil motets by Taverner, Clemens non Papa, and Tallis, as well as the alluring sounds of Huw Watkins’ virtuosic The Phoenix and the Turtle, written especially for the ensemble. Allegri’s timeless Miserere completes this mouthwatering program.

Stile Antico

St. Paul's Parish

Explore the turbulent crossroads of revolution, the rum industry, and the transatlantic slave trade in the Caribbean, South America, and Europe in a fascinating program with the San Francisco–based Agave in the string ensemble’s BEMF début alongside star countertenor Reginald Mobley. These GRAMMY-nominated collaborators explore works by Black British composer, rum merchant, and abolitionist Ignatius Sancho as well as Brazilian master José Mauricio Nuñes Garcia, grandson of sugar cane plantation slaves. Discover the unique and compelling voice of Cuban composer and music historian Esteban Salas and hear Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s setting of the earliest published text in Haitian Creole. From heartbreaking love songs to elegant chamber works and joyous expressions of faith, experience the music of a changing world through the eyes of composers whose stories are finally being told.

Agave

First Church in Cambridge

Join us for a one-of-a-kind event featuring the stunning virtuoso Francesco Corti performing a solo work for harpischord and joining with our own all-star BEMF Chamber Ensemble and director Robert Mealy to present two Organ Concertos by Handel on the magnificent Richards, Fowkes & Co. Opus 10 organ at Boston’s First Lutheran Church. Celebrating the biennial conference of the American Handel Society—February 6–9, 2025 in Boston—the program will showcase two selections (No. 1 and No. 4) from Handel’s innovative Opus 4, which first established the form of the organ concerto.

Francesco Corti, harpsichord & organ with the BEMF Chamber Ensemble

For a thousand years, plainchant represented the heart of Western “classical” music. The legendary voices of The Tallis Scholars revisit this living tradition with a transcendent celebration for the Christmas season. Director Peter Phillips leads his beloved ensemble in their 36th consecutive season performing for BEMF audiences with a journey through centuries of chant music and the polyphony constructed from it, from boundary-pushing chants composed by 12th-century abbess Hildegard von Bingen, to Renaissance works including chant-based motets such as Nunc dimittus by Lassus and Salve regina by Obrecht, Victoria, and Franco, to the medieval In dulci jubilo melody set by Praetorius and Pearsall, and to Arvo Pärt’s reconceptualizing of the chant tradition, inspired in part by Eastern Orthodox practices.

Join the singers, dancers, instrumentalists, and directors of the GRAMMY-winning BEMF Chamber Opera Series for a special presentation of two masterworks by Telemann. Enjoy a rare staged performance of Telemann’s lovely serenata, Don Quichotte auf der Hochzeit des Comacho, which sees Don Quixote and his squire Sancho Panza stumble upon the wedding of wealthy sheep rancher Comacho to the beautiful Quiteria—but her childhood sweetheart Basilio is ready to disrupt the festivities even if it’s the last thing he ever does! Woven throughout the entertainment will be movements from Telemann’s delightful orchestral suite Burlesque de Don Quichotte, a work that uses strikingly evocative music to depict various episodes from the classic novel by Cervantes.

Telemann’s Don Quichotte

A Venetian Duel of Bows: Music of Vivaldi, Tartini, Veracini, and Locatelli

Venice Baroque Orchestra

Ein Deutsches Barockrequiem: Texts from the Brahms Requiem set by German Baroque masters

Boston Early Music Festival

Jun 15, 2025

Boreas Quartett Bremen

Jun 14, 2025

ExtravaGamba!

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Boston Early Music Festival