Welcome to our October Newsletter!
Trick or Treat!! It might be spooky season, but Sarasa is positively looking forward to bringing a delectable smorgasbord of music from Scandinavia with our upcoming November concert-set, Nordic Circle! Featuring Sarasa audience favorites, Carley DeFranco, soprano and Krista River, mezzo soprano, the program promises to be both heart-warming and fun-filled.
Up Next:
The idea behind Nordic Circle is to take our audiences on a sweeping journey of music collected from a region rich in musical culture, from the early Baroque to pop culture. Sarasa is excited to present forgotten manuscripts found in Sweden’s Uppsala University Library, portray Finland’s very own Mozart, Erik Tulindberg, savour the gorgeous melodies of Edvard Grieg, and pay homage to the indelible musical imprints made by ABBA & Björk, and much more!
Nordic Circle
Friday, November 13, 2026 at 7pm at Brattleboro Music Center, Brattleboro VT (tickets at bmcvt.org)
Saturday, November 14, 2026 at 7pm at Friends Meeting House, Cambridge MA
Sunday, November 15, 2026 at 3:30pm at Follen Church, Lexington MA
A fascinating selection of music from Scandinavian nations spanning the early Baroque to the present day, including works by Capricornus, Strungk, Grieg, Tulindberg, ABBA and more! Featuring Sarasa audience favorites Carley DeFranco, soprano and Krista River, mezzo soprano.
With Carley DeFranco, soprano; Krista River, mezzo soprano; Megumi Stohs Lewis, Joy Grimes, violins; Anna Griffis, viola; Jennifer Morsches, Timothy Merton, cellos; Dušan Balarin, theorbo/guitar; Michael Beattie, organ
Composer highlight:
Very little is known about the 17th-century Swedish composer/woman of letters/actress, Johanna Eleonora de la Gardie (Gardy) (1661-1708). She belonged to a group of noblewomen who cultivated an intense sense of piety and sought a true, spiritual freedom through God. Significantly, de la Gardie was part of the very first all-women cast of actors in Sweden to perform Racine’s Iphigénie in 1683-1684, introducing the public to French Classicism; she had the lead role. The text and music to her psalm Welt, ich will nichts ("World, I am want of nothing’) can be found in the famous Düben collection at Sweden’s Uppsala University Library, where two of the other early Baroque works on our program by Nicolaus Adam Strungk and Samuel Friedrich Capricornus are located.
Food central:
Smorgasbord (smörgåsbord) is a Swedish feast for the eyes!
