By Amanda VailWelcome to the second installment in our series of interviews with Early Music America member artists. For this session, we spoke with Mary Anne Ballard of The Baltimore Consort.
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EMA: The Baltimore Consort has a pretty extensive discography. What kind of process is it to choose which of your varied pieces or concerts are included in the recordings?
MAB: If it's good enough for a live audience, it's good enough to be recorded, so the process of choosing is no different from that for assembling a concert program. The only limiting factor is the need to achieve variety on the CD, in case we are drawing from a list of pieces that spans several concerts.
EMA: How do you attempt to convey the unique sound of Renaissance instruments into an electronic medium?
MAB: The variety of instruments played by the Baltimore Consort makes it tricky to get a good recorded sound. Having a good sound engineer who is tuned to the different acoustic properties of each instrument is an important place to start. The Dorian engineers once sent the gemshorn player into a nearby stairwell in order to get proper balance with the rest of the group on the stage.
EMA: What drew your consort together?
MAB: In our case, it was the desire to play the Morley Consort Lessons, which are arranged for Elizabethan "mixed consort" or "broken consort," an ensemble consisting of violin (or treble viol), flute (or recorder), lute, cittern, bandora, and bass viol.
EMA: And what keeps you going?
MAB: We are all friends after 30 years, and we realized early on that we worked well together.
EMA: What are the most challenging, or rewarding, aspects of touring?
MAB: The actual tour is the tip of the iceberg, and usually completely enjoyable. What is difficult is the preparation--finding sponsors, and making elaborate fool-proof travel arrangements that work. In 30 years, we have never been late to a concert or canceled, although we have had a couple of sponsors cancel due to snow (after we put chains on the van and managed to get there).
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The Baltimore Consort's December 20th concert, Wassail! Wassail!, was presented in honor of Early Music America's 25th Anniversary. Learn more about The Baltimore Consort, and view a list of this season's concerts, at their website: http://www.baltcons.com. You can also get to know them via YouTube here.
For more information on Early Music America member ensemble concerts presented in honor of EMA's 25th Anniversary during Winter 2010 and Spring 2011, please click here.
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