ALKEMIE EARLY MUSIC ENSEMBLE INC
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Mission Statement
Alkemie champions medieval music through vibrant performances and outreach activities that are rooted in scholarship and reach into our present world. Our multifaceted aesthetic embraces both the realization of written music and improvisation based in oral traditions. We wield the tools of performance practice to make music of the past compelling, while also seeking to extend our artistic vision through inter/cross-disciplinary and multi-media collaborations with artists in widely divergent fields in order to expand the general public’s enthusiasm, understanding, and experience of early music and historical performance.
About This Cause
Alkemie explores and shares the life-affirming and alternative perspectives to be experienced in the sounds of centuries past, specializing in the music of medieval Europe (1100-1550 c.e.) and new music inspired by the materials and history of the same. Comprised of 5 core singer-performers with a dozen degrees and playing even more instruments - including medieval fiddles (vielles), harps, psaltery, scheitholt, recorders, douçaines (early double reeds), and percussion - the ensemble has a particular interest in the porous boundaries between written and improvised music. Grounded in historical performance practice and fed by a love of experimentation and interdisciplinary collaboration, Alkemie’s performance at the Indianapolis Early Music Festival in June 2018 was lauded as “enchanting” and “indicating [the] future health” of the field of early music.” Alkemie was founded in 2013 as a touring ensemble, but incorporated in January 2018 in order to focus its efforts on creating a series of medieval and medieval-inspired concerts in NYC. This decision evolved from a desire to develop a growing number of supporters into a home audience base, and from the realization that we are the only non-profit ensemble dedicated to performing medieval-focused chamber music in NYC. Today, Alkemie creates and performs 4-7 new programs a year, including 2-3 deeply-researched “concert-hall” performances created for arts lovers excited by a deep dive into historical performance practice and culture, 2-4 cross-genre concerts in non-traditional venues (such as a zendo, an artist loft, and a yoga studio) that explore the sonic possibilities that emerge when we work with experts in adjacent fields, and 1-3 audience outreach concerts. Our audience of classical and experimental music enthusiasts is evenly distributed between college-age and retiree. At the onset of the pandemic, we began recording and distributing concerts digitally. The ensemble makes 1-5 national tour appearances annually; these tours help to amortize the cost of creating new shows. Alkemie has begun to release one recording annually - either an “Alkemie Live” recording featuring favorite works from its most recent season or a studio recording. Because medieval scribes omitted many of the directions and information taken for granted by performers of later repertoire, Alkemie relies on the expertise and experience of its members to make a variety of decisions regarding rhythm, dynamics, tempo, instrumentation, form, ornamentation, style, and sometimes even music (which might have been expected to be improvised to a text). Through this dynamic process that lends itself to experimentation and collaboration, Alkemie explores the music of a particular time, place, and/or topic by juxtaposing and fusing music across genres and styles (sacred/secular; monophonic/polyphonic; folk/art; improvised/notated). Our programming leans into finding/amplifying marginalized voices in medieval music, especially in terms of gender and sexual identity. The 5 core co-founding members of Alkemie annually decide/adjust plans for programming and guest artists 1-2 years in advance; rotating members then share responsibility for programming each new program. Two core members currently serve as Co-Managing Directors and are overseen by a 6-person Board.