Saturday, September 5th, 2 PM, we will present a free concert of music from New Amsterdam/New York, namely, music that would have been heard in the early days of European settlement in what is today New York City. Included are selections from the ninth edition of the Bay Psalm Book, the first music printed in the New World, as well as music by Dutch and English composers. We are celebrating the first bell tower constructed in the city, on Governor's Island in 1625 by music from De Gruytters' Beiaardboek and by change ringing (on handbells) Plain Bob Major, one of the change ringing patterns devised in the 17th century. Also on the program are dances, such as would have been heard in the taverns of New Amsterdam, and sacred works by William Billings, a wandering singing master who travelled throughout New England.
The concert takes place at Trinity Lutheran Church, 309 St. Pauls Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10304.