by Stephen Brophy

Last night the folks at the Handel and Haydn Society put together a sweet little package of Monteverdi and madrigals, spiced up with some Shakespearean wit, to help us celebrate Valentine’s Day. This show, Zest for Love, will be repeated tomorrow at Sanders Theatre in Cambridge, at 3 p.m.

The Society called back Laurence Cummings, who had previously conducted Monteverdi’s Orfeo for them, to put this confection together. He called on some of the core members of the H&H chorus, including Paul Guttry (whose bass voice stood out particularly for this listener), and 5 players of stringed instruments (including a theorbo) for a program that moved back and forth from the lachrymose to the playful, touching on most other love-inspired emotions along the way. This group was joined by a pair of actors, Nikkole Salter and Lee Aaron Rosen, who delivered the Shakespeare (sonnets, soliloquoys, and one duet from Taming of the Shrew).

Cummings challenged the audience soon after the start of the proceedings to forego their usual part of the ritual – applause – until the end of each half. This turns out to be more difficult than it sounds, because musical performances so often raise us to a state of emotional stimulation that can only be released by vigorously slapping our hands against each other. But we managed.

The period represented by the music chosen, mid-1500s to mid-1600s, falls outside of the Baroque/Classical realm on which the Society usually focuses its energy, The concert location, in Jordan Hall, contributed to the relative intimacy that the musical selections and the pared-down ensemble successfully established with its audience. And the informational notes in the program, composed by Teresa Neff, provided enough contextual information to make anyone who read them feel more completely a part of the whole event. All in all, an evening that any music lover would deem a success.

[Watch for an interview with H&H Musicologist Teresa Neff to be posted here in the next few days.]