Pilgrims' Progress: Music of the Plimouth Colony Settlers 1590-1650

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Featuring Seven Times Salt
Part of the American Ancestors 2020 Four Nation Concert Series
American Ancestors Research Center, 99-101 Newbury Street, Boston, MA
Thursday, February 13, 6:00 – 7:30 pm; Cost: $20

 

Contrary to what the history books tell us, the Plimoth colonists, or “Pilgrims” as they were later called, were a highly diverse, sometimes fractious group of Separatists and Anglicans, religious zealots and irreverent opportunists from many walks of life. They brought with them experiences of music as varied as their reasons for coming to the New World. This hour-long performance follows the settlers from their homes in turbulent 1590s England to religious refuge in the Netherlands, and onward to challenging new lives on the unfamiliar shores of New England. We'll mark the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower landing with music of the Elizabethan tavern and theater, spirited catches by Thomas Ravenscroft, selections from the Dutch ‘t Uitnement Kabinet, stirring psalms from the Ainsworth Psalter, and vigorous tunes from Playford's English Dancing Master, all performed with period instruments and dialect.

Seven Times Salt

 is a Boston-based early music ensemble specializing in repertoire of the 16th and 17th centuries. Praised for creative programming and an “impeccably balanced sound,” the group has performed since 2003 at venues throughout New England including Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Plimoth Plantation, Boston Public Library, New England Folk Festival, WGBH radio, and many others. The group has researched and presented original programs for music festivals, college residencies, theatrical productions, historical societies, and their own self-produced concert series. The musicians of Seven Times Salt delight in blurring the lines between “art music” and folk tunes, and feel at ease performing in the concert hall, the dance hall, or the beer hall! In Winter 2019, Seven Times Salt released their latest album "Pilgrims' Progress," which will be offered for sale after this evening's event.

About the American Ancestors 2020 Four Nation Concert Series:

 The landing of the Mayflower on the shores of Massachusetts in 1620 forever changed the history and cultures of four nations: America, England, the Netherlands, and Wampanoag. In 2020 American Ancestors and New England Historic Genealogical Society will host a Four Nation Concert Series to examine how the themes of the Mayflower story—exploration, innovation, religious freedom, self-governance, immigration, and Thanksgiving—have been expressed through the historical and more contemporary musical traditions of each nation. Held quarterly in February, May, August, and November 2020, this series combines musical performance with scholarly discussion and features a wide range of artists, instruments, customs, and topics. 

View the full concert line-up.