“The Twelve Days of Christmas” to Showcase Twelve Musical Instruments

Family of dulcians.

To complement this year’s A Renaissance Christmas program entitled The Twelve Days of Christmas, Gary Berkenstock, the Chicago Early Music Consort’s artistic director, decided it would be fun to include a like number of instruments for these concerts. Many of the 12 instruments will be familiar to those Door County residents who have attended previous performances of the annual Christmas treat sponsored by Midsummer’s Music Festival.

But the consort will also introduce three “new” old instruments this year: the dulcian, the shawm, and the treble viol. The other nine instruments are the lute, theorbo, bass viol, vielle, soprano, alto, and tenor recorders, crumhon and rackett. A cornucopia of instrumental delights!

For fun, Berkenstock will be reporting the 2009 PNC Christmas Price Index (CPI) costs for all the gifts enumerated in The Twelve Days of Christmas (just over $21,000 last year). As an added bonus, Gary will also report on the purchase price for all 12 musical instruments. Guess which “true love” costs more?

Family of shawms.

This year’s A Renaissance Christmas, featuring The Twelve Days of Christmas, will be presented on December 11, 12, and 13. Friday night’s performance is a concert/dinner at Bjorklunden in Baileys Harbor. The festivities start at 5 pm with a wine and hors d’oeuvres reception, a dinner by Alexander’s, and the concert. The cost is $60 per person (tax included) and advance reservations are required.

Saturday night’s concert on December 12 at 7 pm is at Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church in Ellison Bay. The cost is $20 per adult (tax included). Youth 17 and under are free. For the first time ever, this event includes a post-concert reception with holiday treats and an opportunity for people to meet the musicians!

The treble viol.

The series ends on Sunday, December 13 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in north Ephraim (next to the Green Gable shops) at 2 pm. This also includes a post-concert reception for people to meet the musicians and enjoy holiday treats. The cost is $20 per adult (tax included) and youth 17 and under are free.

To learn more, call 920.854.7088 or visit http://www.midsummerSmusic.com.