Songs and Dances from The Tempest |
Folger Consort recording
Folger Consort
First performed in May 1998, Songs and Dances from The Tempest marked a rare confluence of modern, twentieth-century composition and the instruments of the Elizabethan era. The work arose from conversations between the award-winning composer James Primosch and Christopher Kendall, a founding member of the Folger’s resident early modern music ensemble, the Folger Consort.
Primosch decided that music written for Folger Shakespeare Library should have a Shakespeare theme, ultimately choosing his texts from a single play, The Tempest. With its Caribbean setting, The Tempest is also the Shakespeare play most associated with North America and the New World.