If the pandemic taught arts organizations around the world one thing, it was the necessity to (let’s all say it together, now…) “pivot” from what was the norm before. With gatherings both large and small in performance spaces verboten, many—especially musical groups and performers—started offering content online.
Houston’s Ars Lyrica was no exception. The nonprofit organization was founded in 1998 by Artistic Director Matthew Dirst, who is also currently a Professor at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music.
The group’s mission has been to showcase live performances of Baroque and Renaissance music, played on period-accurate instruments and sung in historically-accurate styles.
And while he says they’d been doing livestreams pre-pandemic, Ars Lyrica has seen a surge in digital subscriptions for their concerts. And their very popular YouTube Channel offers more bite-sized clips and excerpts.
“We’ve got digital subscribers now everywhere around the world. The pandemic was a great kick in the pants for that effort. It enforced digital delivery for everything, including local audiences for a year,” Dirst says.
“We learned, like a lot of audiences did, to create that digital audience where it didn’t really exist before. Now, none of us are watching as much online as we did then, but it’s caught on enough.”
In fact, one YouTube clip from their 2017 season opener that features Dennis James playing Mozart’s “Adagio for Glass Harmonica, K356” has been viewed more than 767,000 times.
Though the title for the non-Baroquist is a little misleading. This “glass harmonica” is not what we normally think of, the small metal instrument played by holding it up to one’s mouth. This glass harmonica is a large contraption that rests solidly (and heavily) on the floor while the player is seated behind it. It looks like a giant sewing machine.
Over the years, Dirst (himself a harpsichordist) and Ars Lyrica have collected a number of Baroque and Renaissance instruments like this, making it easier for touring artists who can’t bring their own.
“You certainly can’t bring a glass harmonica on a plane! And because of their [rarity], we’d have to buy an extra seat on the plane with the performer just for the instrument. So it’s more practical just to own them!” Dirst says.
Ars Lyrica will present their 2024-25 season opener, a program titled In Praise of Virtue, on September 20. It will feature countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen and soprano Hannah De Priest singing selections from Bach and Handel. They’ll perform both solo and together, along with a musical ensemble.
The concert will also include selections from Johann Adolph Hasse’s opera Marc-Antonio e Cleopatra. Ars Lyrica’s own recorded version was nominated for a Grammy in 2011.
“Aryeh was here several years ago and is now enjoying a big international career. He has a history with us. And Hannah is on the cusp of a great career now. I think they’ll pair together well,” Dirst says. “And this is the first time we’ve revisited Marc Anthony and Cleopatra in 13 years.”
Other programs this season include Madrigals of Love and War, the return of the popular Crossing Borders (which celebrates music of Hispanic cultures of the Renaissance and Baroque eras), Old Meets New, Handel’s Theodora, and Classical Collaborations.
All will present a wide variety of performers, voices, and instruments. Ars Lyrica also conducts ongoing outreach programs to local schools and organizations.
In their quest use instruments of the period, he also notes that violins, oboes, bassoons, cellos, and flutes looked and played differently in the 17th and 18th centuries than today’s modern versions. And while some musicians may have both a “contemporary” and “classical” version of their instrument, Ars Lyrica makes sure they have the Old Timey one for their performances.
“Take the oboe,” Dirst says. “It’s the same shape, but back then it was made of wood without the black coating and had just a few keys and a lot of holes. Today, they have a succession of keys and hardware and a different kind of reed entirely.”
Dirst is aware to the newbie or uninitiated, “classical music” can all get lumped together, regardless of the time period, composer, or their country of origin. However, he says it’s easier to understand when one thinks about it as…food.
“You go to a Peruvian restaurant one night and eat sushi the next and Italian the day after that. All of those regional cuisines have their own set of spices and ways they are cooked,” he says.
“And music history is very much like that. Every age and culture thinks differently. In the 17th and 18th centuries, homes were a lot smaller and venues more intimate and music was made to accompany activities that have largely disappeared from our culture. Like horse ballet!”
Dirst says that the city and arts supporters of Houston are “very generous” and there’s a reason that Ars Lyrica thrives here in a way that it might not in Dallas, San Antonio or Austin.
“We operate in a city with a lot of interest in culture, museum culture, and musical culture. And there’s access to people who consume that culture and will support it,” he says. “It’s not a city that has a complicated relationship with money, let’s put it that way! We can pursue an agenda here that we might not have in a less generous or inquisitive community.”
Finally, when asked what’s the one thing that he knows in 2024 that he wish he did in 1998, Dirst is momentarily stopped.
“That’s a good question! Truthfully, in 1998 I didn’t think that far ahead! It was just a small group of players and singers who got together occasionally. And we weren’t incorporated until 2003 or 2004,” he says.
“But what I didn’t anticipate that Houston would be such a receptive place entrepreneurially. And that we could grow into an organization that can do some significant work and have a following.”
Ars Lyrica presents In Praise of Virtue at Friday, September 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Zilka Hall at the Hobby Center, 800 Bagby. For more information, call 713-315-2525 or visit TheHobbyCenter.org. $15-$80.
For more information on Ars Lyrics, visit ArsLyricaHouston.org
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
