Friday, October 23, 2026
Friday’s opening concert sets the tone for the festival with a richly textured Bach program, as Jeffrey Grossman (harpsichord), Kevin Payne (archlute), and Caroline Nicolas (viola da gamba) come together in an evening of warmth, elegance, and expressive depth. This concert will be held from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Peterborough Town House at 1 Grove Street in Peterborough, New Hampshire.
Friday’s opening concert sets the tone for the festival with a richly textured Baroque program, as Jeffrey Grossman (harpsichord), Kevin Payne (archlute), and Caroline Nicolas (viola da gamba) come together in an evening of warmth, elegance, and expressive depth.
This program offers a richly varied journey through the intimate and expressive world of Johann Sebastian Bach, bringing together two of his celebrated sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord with two of his finest solo instrumental works.
Framing the evening are the Sonatas in G major (BWV 1027) and D major (BWV 1028), masterpieces of chamber music that showcase Bach's extraordinary gift for dialogue between instruments. The viola da gamba and obbligato harpsichord engage as equal partners, weaving together lyrical melodies, intricate counterpoint, and spirited virtuosity across movements of profound reflection and joyful energy.
At the center of the program are two remarkable solo works that reveal Bach's genius in different lights. The Suite in C minor for Lute (BWV 997) unfolds through a sequence of contrasting dances and a monumental fugue, combining expressive depth with dazzling craftsmanship. The English Suite No. 3 in G minor (BWV 808) is among Bach's grandest keyboard suites, moving from its expansive prelude through elegant Baroque dances to a brilliant concluding gigue. Richly ornamented and architecturally sophisticated, it displays the full breadth of Bach's imagination for the keyboard.
Together, these works illuminate Bach's unparalleled ability to unite intellectual rigor with emotional immediacy, creating music that remains as compelling and deeply human today as it was three centuries ago.
Buy tickets here or purchase a discounted pass for the entire festival.
The Program
Sonata in G Major for Viola da Gamba and Obbligato Harpsichord, BWV 1027
Suite in C Minor for Lute, BWV 997
English Suite No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 808
Sonata in D Major for Viola da Gamba and Obbligato Harpsichord, BWV 1028
About the Artists
Jeffrey Grossman
(photo © Jon Sachs)
Keyboardist and conductor Jeffrey Grossman specializes in vital, engaging performances of music of the past, through processes that are intensely collaborative and historically informed. As the artistic director of the acclaimed baroque ensemble the Sebastians, Jeffrey has directed Bach’s Passions and Handel’s Messiah in collaboration with TENET Vocal Artists. Recent seasons also include his leading Monteverdi’’s Vespers with the Green Mountain Project in New York and Venice; conducting operas of Haydn and Handel for Juilliard Opera; and a workshop of a new Vivaldi pastiche opera for the Metropolitan Opera. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he holds degrees from Harvard, Juilliard, and Carnegie Mellon University; he teaches performance practice at Yale University.
Caroline Nicolas
(photo © Corey Hayes)
Hailed as “a bright new gamba star” (The Strad Magazine), Canadian cellist and viol player Caroline Nicolas enjoys an international career performing repertoire spanning the Middle Ages to the 21st century. Equally at home in early and modern contexts, she performs with leading ensembles across Europe and North America, including The English Concert, Philharmonia Baroque, Kammerorchester Basel, Ars Lyrica Houston, Pacific MusicWorks, and New World Symphony. She recently completed her tenure as Music Director of New Baroque Orchestra and now serves as Artistic Director of Ars Poetica, collaborating regularly with artists including Jordi Savall, William Christie, Rachel Podger, Harry Bicket, Andrea Marcon, and Kristian Bezuidenhout.
Her debut album, Pièces en solitude, was praised by Gramophone for its “understated beauty,” noting that her performances “judge the music's elasticity of form and tempo to perfection.” The recording was also featured in The Strad, Strings Magazine, and Early Music America. Recent engagements include Newport Classical, Gallery Concerts, Connecticut Early Music Festival, and Milwaukee Early Music Now, and The Seattle Times named her appearance with Emerald City Music a "Top Pick" of the classical season.
A native of Winnipeg, Canada, Caroline studied with Phoebe Carrai at The Juilliard School and with Christophe Coin and Paolo Pandolfo at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel. She now lives in New York City with her husband, lutenist Kevin Payne.
Kevin Payne
(courtesy photo)
Praised for his “graceful” playing by the Washington Examiner, lutenist Kevin Payne is active as a recitalist, accompanist, and continuo player in the Seattle area. He has worked with noted conductors including William Christie, Richard Egarr, Monica Huggett, Jordi Savall, and Masaaki Suzuki. He holds both Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of Music, and was the first lutenist to be accepted to the Juilliard School, where he received a Graduate Diploma in Historical Plucked Instruments.
Recent ensemble work includes performances with Tempesta di Mare, il Giardino d’Amore, New York City Opera, Sinfonieorchester Liechtenstein, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Spoleto Festival, and the Boston Early Music Festival, and he has worked with noted conductors including William Christie, Andrea Marcon, Richard Egarr, Monica Huggett, Jordi Savall, and Masaaki Suzuki. Performance venues include Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, Benaroya Hall in Seattle, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, and the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden, Germany. His playing has been broadcast on a number of national radio programs, including Sunday Baroque and Performance Today.
Payne holds a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Maryland, with additional studies at the Juilliard School in New York, as well as at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland, where he studied with Hopkinson Smith.