Piffaro, The Renaissance Band | December 1 and 2, 2013
On December 1st and 2nd, the Friends of Music invited Piffaro, The Renaissance Band to celebrate the season by doing its best, in the words of the program’s title, to "Drive the Cold Winter Away.” Performing both familiar and rare French and English dance tunes, the band mobilized an impressive assembly of historical instruments: sackbut, shawm, dulcian, recorders, bagpipes, lute, guitar, pipe and tabor, and other percussion. Guest soprano Laura Heimes joined the ensemble with Hanukkah songs from the Sephardic Jewish diaspora, as well as sixteenth- and seventeenth-century songs for Christmas and the New Year.