Program

Henry Purcell (1659–1695)

Be welcome, then, great Sir

Music for awhile

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john blow (1649–1708)

Ground

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Henry Purcell

Sweeter than Roses

Here the Deities approve

An Evening Hymn

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benjamin britten (1913–1976)

Canticle I: My beloved is mine and I am his

The last rose of summer

About the Artists

Described by the Boston Globe as “one of the finest Baroque tenors on the circuit … his tone classy, clear and refined, encompassing fluid lyricism and ringing force,” American Tenor Aaron Sheehan portrayed the title role in Boston Early Music Festival’s recording of Charpentier’s La descente d’Orphée aux Enfers which won Best Opera Recording at the 2015 GRAMMY Awards.

A first-rate interpreter of Bach, Handel and Mozart, Aaron Sheehan has performed with American Bach Soloists, Boston Baroque, Boston Early Music Festival, Calgary Philharmonic, Charlotte Symphony, Handel and Haydn Society, North Carolina Symphony, New York Collegium, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Music Works, National Symphony of Peru, Seattle Symphony and Tafelmusik.

His extensive concert repertoire includes Bach Easter Oratorio, St Matthew Passion, St John Passion, Mass in B Minor, Magnificat, Handel Alexander’s Feast, Messiah, Samson and Saul, Monteverdi Vespers, Mozart Mass in C minor and Requiem and Rameau Cantatas.

He made his professional operatic début with Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) as Ivan in the world première staging of Mattheson’s Boris Gudenow, for which Opera News praised his voice as “sinous and supple”.  His further roles for BEMF have included L’Amour and Apollon in Lully’s Psyché, Actéon in Charpentier’s Actéon, Monteverdi’s Orfeo, Eurimaco Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, Liberto/Soldato L’incoronazione di Poppea, Acis in Handel’s Acis and Galatea, Orfeo in Campra’s Le Carnaval de Venise and leading roles in operas by Cavalli, Weill and Satie.

Other staged performances have included Apollon and Trajan in Rameau’s Le Temple de la Gloire with Philharmonia Baroque, The Orpheus Project with New Zealand Dance Company, Eumete Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria with Opera Atelier, Dom Pedro and Ottavio in Campra’s L’Europe galante for the Centre de Music Baroque de Versailles at the Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci, and Mr By-Ends The Pilgrim’s Progress with Gloriae Dei Cantores, and the title role in Gluck’s Orphée with Pacific Music Works.

Aaron Sheehan recently made his débuts at the Handel Festival in Halle in La resurrezione and performed Jonathan Saulwith Philharmonia Baroque and in the BAROCKTAGE festival at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin in Scarlatti’s Oratorio a Quattro Voci under Fabio Biondi.  Other recent performances include Orlando Orlando generoso, ‘Versailles, a royal domain’ and Demetrius in Graupner’s Antiochus and Stratonica with Boston Early Music Festival, Mozart Mass in C Minor at the Handel and Haydn Society, Messiah with Les Violons du Roy in Quebec and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa.

His forthcoming engagements include Thespis and Mercure Platée with Philharmonia Baroque, Charpentier’s Actéon and songs by Purcell with Opera Lafayette, a recording of Ulysse in Desmaret’s Circé and performances of Lully’s L’idylle sur la paixwith Boston Early Music Festival and Messiah with New Jersey Symphony.  (Several other future performances were cancelled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

A native of Minnesota, Aaron Sheehan holds a BA from Luther College and a MM in Early Voice Performance from Indiana University. 

Award-winning early keyboard specialist and director Adam Pearl is in demand as a performer of both solo and ensemble music. He has performed throughout the United States as well as in Europe, South America, and Asia. Pearl has been principal harpsichordist for Philadelphia’s baroque orchestra, Tempest di Mare, since 2005. He also performs with ensembles such as Chatham Baroque, the Folger Consort, the Catacoustic Consort, the American Bach Soloists, the Bach Sinfonia, Modern Musick, and various modern symphony orchestras. He has recorded on the Chandos, Dorian, and Plectra labels.

A lover of Baroque opera, Pearl has directed numerous productions with American Opera Theater and Peabody Chamber Opera. From the keyboard, he has led performances of Blow’s Venus and Adonis, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Cavalli’s La Calisto and La Didone, Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea, Charpentier’s David et Jonathas, and Handel’s Acis and Galatea, Giulio Cesare and fully staged productions of Messiah and Jephtha.

Pearl is a member of the Historical Performance faculty at the Peabody Conservatory. His duties include teaching harpsichord, coaching ensembles, vocal coaching, teaching classes in continuo, baroque ornamentation, harpsichord tuning, and harpsichord literature. He directs the Peabody Renaissance Ensemble’s singers and directs Baroque opera productions. He also has taught at various early music workshops, including the Amherst Early Music Festival, the Madison Early Music Festival, and the Rocky Ridge Music Festival.

Pearl holds the degrees of BM in piano performance and both MM and DMA in harpsichord performance, all from the Peabody Conservatory. His doctoral research was an exploration of the links between rhetoric, declamation, and the harpsichord music of the French Baroque. He is a laureate of the 2001 Jurow and 2004 Bruges international harpsichord competitions.