Forbidden Ground

Bimbetta combines 17th-century Baroque music with cabaret, theater, showy costumes and pop culture, and puts an edge on it all with a female perspective.

By: Jillian Kalonick
   Today’s popular musicians may face objections for their lyrics or racy music videos, but in 17th-century Italy and Spain it was dance music with repeating bass lines — the passacaglia and the chacona — that were considered morally objectionable.
   "One was banned by the church because it supposedly made people too passionate," explains Holly Chatham of the early-music ensemble Bimbetta. The group will perform Forbidden Ground, a program featuring the censored dances, at the Peddie School in Hightstown Feb. 22.
   Founded in 1994, the group combines 17th-century Baroque music with cabaret, theater, showy costumes and pop culture, and puts an edge on it all with a female perspective. "We don’t do a regular ‘stand-up and sing’ — it’s not a typical early-music concert," Ms. Chatham says. "We really make an effort to bring it to today’s audiences." Bimbetta is made up of Ms. Chatham, who plays the harpsichord, sopranos Sonja Rasmussen, Nell Snaidas and Catherine Webster, and cellist Joanna Blendulf.
   Their unique style is showcased in a variety of programs, including "Power and Desire in the 17th Century," which they describe as "women’s night out with composers Monteverdi, Frescobaldi, d’India, and a couple of other guys who don’t know what hit them," and "War of Love (La guerra d’amore)," the basis for their album of the same name, released in 1997.
   Though not as complete an experience as seeing one of Bimbetta’s concerts, War of Love weaves works by Henry Purcell (1659-1695) and Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) with their own spoken-word dialogue. The ensemble performs Purcell’s "What can we poor females do?" and "No, resistance is but vain," and offer their own perspective on the pieces, which were written as if from a woman’s point of view.
   They follow Tori Amos’ "Leather" (from her 1992 album Little Earthquakes) with "Tu dormi" by Jacopo Peri (1561-1633), providing an interesting segue for those not familiar with early music. The album art features Bimbetta’s members perched on a tank sporting helmets — hardly demure classical-music performers.
   One of Bimbetta’s goals is to educate younger audiences about the joys of early music. "It’s a wonderful feeling — we do a lot of outreach with students from elementary to college-age," says Ms. Chatham, who also is director of music at Marymount School in New York City. "These are the audiences of tomorrow, we want them to appreciate the music and enjoy it. It’s people like us who open the door to them."
   Founded in 1993 by five women who wanted to break boundaries around classical and early music and had grown tired of the formality of classical music concerts, Bimbetta originated at the Early Music Institute at Indiana University’s School of Music. Though there has been transition in the ensemble’s members, the goals of Bimbetta have not changed.
   "The new members bring styles and insights," says Ms. Chatham, who joined Bimbetta in its fifth season. "It changes as far as details, but the concept and mission has stayed the same. It’s very democratic, as each person brings ideas that we use, and everyone’s views come together for the program.
   "Our female perspectives come into play. The cabaret feel, the music is the beginnings of opera, it was avant-garde in its day. It’s alive music — it lends itself to the stages.
   "We take different things that we experience every day and weave them into vignettes, whether it’s a pop song that’s based one of these songs, or if it’s something encountered in a song," she explains.
   It is these touches that allow contemporary audiences to feel comfortable with the music Bimbetta is presenting and have fun with it.
   And what of their name?
   The founding members were looking for something that Americans could say at sight and would convey Italian 17th-century music. They researched and found the word in a 17th-century book. Bimbetta, which means "little girl" in Italian, worked for them, says Ms. Chatham. "It had some connotations."
Bimbetta will perform at the Mount-Burke Theater at the Peddie School, South Main Street, Hightstown, Feb. 22, 8 p.m. Tickets cost $20. For information,call (609) 490-7550. On the Web: www.peddie.org/capps. Bimbetta on the Web: www.bimbetta.com