Chirping of the Nightingale (Children’s event for families)

Programme

John Playford (1623–1686)

Chirping of the Nightingale

Thomas Ravenscroft (1592/1593–1633)  

The Nightingale, the merry Nightingale

Well fare the Nightingale


Canon à 5

John Playford

All in a garden green

Daphne

Boatmen

Virgin Queen

Bobbing Joe

Thomas Ravenscroft

The Elves Dance

The Fayries Dance

The Satyres Dance

The Urchins Dance

Nicola Matteis (1650–1714)

Ground after the Scotch humour

John Playford

Hang sorrow

Whitehall Minuet

Friday night

Would you have a young virgin

Parson's farewell

Pauls Steeple or the Duke of Norfolk – a Division on a Ground

Interval

Henry Purcell (1659–1695)

A new Ground in e

Anonymous (ca. 1700)

Ground

John Playford

St. Martin's

Grim King of the ghosts

Henry Purcell

Ground

John Playford

Strawberries and cream

Greensleeves

Over the Hills and far away

Blackheath

Schiarazula Marazula

An Italian Rant

Lumps of pudding

Performers

lautten compagney BERLIN 

Martin Ripper, recorder

Birgit Schnurpfeil, violin and musical direction  

Ulrike Becker, viola da gamba 

Peter A. Bauer, percussion 

Christoph Sommer, lute 

Hans-Werner Apel, chitarrone & baroque guitar 

Daniel Trumbull, organ & harpsichord 

Programme Notes

“Mr Playford’s English Dancing Master” is the title of a dance manual compiled by John Playford in 1651. The book became so popular that it went through no fewer than 17 further editions over the following decades. Since the music was originally notated only as single-line melodies to accompany the dance instructions, it leaves performers with a wide scope for creativity, interpretation, and improvisation.

For many years now, lautten compagney BERLIN has brought these delightful pieces to life in concert with great success. In this programme, the ensemble goes beyond the instruments of the 17th century and enriches the sound world with subtle touches of modern percussion and sound effects—building a lively bridge between past and present.

With Chirping of the Nightingale, the musicians present a vibrant concert programme that aims at nothing less—and nothing more—than offering the audience spirited entertainment and sensual pleasure.

Biographies

The lautten compagney BERLIN is one of the most renowned and innovative ensembles for early music. Founded in 1984 by Hans-Werner Apel and Wolfgang Katschner, it has been shaped to this day under Katschner’s direction by its unmistakable sound, stylistic versatility, and extraordinary programming. In 2025, the ensemble received the Opus Klassik as “Ensemble of the Year” for the second time. With creative concert formats and collaborations with international artists and institutions, the lautten compagney has conquered stages worldwide. One of its great successes was Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo at the Semperoper Dresden with Rolando Villazón.

Its interdisciplinary openness is reflected in numerous word-and-music projects with figures such as Corinna Harfouch and Sophie Rois. In addition to concert projects, the ensemble also produces its own opera productions, combining historical performance practice with contemporary theatrical aesthetics. Giving around 100 concerts a year, the lautten compagney appears at major festivals and tours internationally, including China, Colombia, and Mongolia. In Berlin, it collaborates with partners such as the Humboldt Forum and the Neuköllner Oper, while also investing in young talent development and music education.

More than 60 CD recordings document the artistic breadth of the lautten compagney, including the award-winning albums Timeless, War and Peace, and Dancing Queen.

With over 40 years of experience, the lautten compagney is a vibrant voice of early music – rooted in tradition, bold in experimentation, and always in dialogue between past and present.