FLORALIA: A May Day Festival
Our weekend of programming includes a Manhattan and Brooklyn premiere of our newest work, Sir Orfeo and culminates in a free, outdoor May Day celebration in Prospect Park!
Join us as we premiere our version of, SIR ORFEO, an old tale perfect for a spring evening.
Almost seven hundred years ago, a London contemporary of the young Chaucer recorded the ancient Orpheus myth into the Auchinleck Manuscript. In this Celtic-inspired version of the tale, our hero visits the realm of the Fairies rather than the spirits of the underworld. Be transported by Ben Matus’s arrangement of this Middle English legend, which reworks 14th-century English sources to set Middle English Lai to music.
The myth, which continued in an unbroken tradition until at least the 19th century in the Northern Islands (Shetland and Orkney Islands), touches on modern themes of “otherness” and reconciliation.
Feel free to come dressed in the spirit of your favorite mythical creature!
Friday, May 2 @ 7:30pm
Location: All Saints Episcopal
230 E 60th St, NYC 10022
Saturday, May 3 @ 7:30pm
Location: Jalopy Theatre
315 Columbia St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Celebrate the season with us during a free, family-friendly MAY DAY event in Prospect Park, near Alkemie’s homebase. Participants are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch to this casual, drop-in event, which will take place near the Peristyle on the south side of the Park.
May Day is a celebration of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, and Alkemie’s inaugural iteration will include a guided May Day dance, a demonstration of non-amplified medieval instruments, a May Day trivia scavenger hunt, optional participation in short scenes from a medieval play, and face painting!
Participants are encouraged to bring a picnic!
Sunday, May 4 from 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Location: The Peristyle, Prospect Park
Parkside Ave & Parade Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Tickets are free, please register for event and location updates.
General = Free; Supporter = $25 donation
“I was driven by the uniqueness of Sir Orfeo and how that relates to British medieval music and experience. The classical underworld and deities are replaced with the fairies popular to this day in British folklore and Romantasy novels alike. The medieval retelling’s focus on otherness and reconciliation feels both timeless and timely.”
ARTISTS
Tracy Cowart (voice, harps, percussion)
Ben Matus (voice, recorders, medieval bagpipes, percussion)
David McCormick (vielle)
Sian Ricketts (voice, recorders, douçaines)
Niccolo Seligmann (vielles, psaltery, percussion)
Elisa Sutherland (voice, lyre)