August 4, 2024; 5:00pm: “Family Ties”

Courante, Cape Cod’s baroque chamber ensemble performing on period instruments, will present “Family Ties,” on Sunday, August 4th at 5:00pm at St. Andrews by the Sea, 12 Irving Ave. in Hyannis Port. The program features music by three prominent and influential musical families of the 17th and 18th centuries: the Gibbonses and Purcells of England, and of course, the Bach family.

Music from The Indian Queen will open and close the first half. This semi-opera was a joint effort by the famous Henry Purcell, who tragically died before completing the score, and his kinsman, Daniel, who was called upon to complete the work. Short works by Orlando, Christopher, and Edward Gibbons will complement the Purcell selections.

The second half of the program is devoted to the music of four members of the Bach family. It includes youthful compositions by Johann Christian and Carl Phillipp Emanuel Bach, an aria transcription with basso continuo believed to have been written by Anna Magdalena Bach, and a trio sonata by Johann Sebastian Bach, written for his son Wilhelm Friedemann to practice on the organ.