Dryden Ensemble Honors Pumpkins And Politicians in Fall Concert

By Nancy Plum In a performance fitting for the season, the Dryden Ensemble presented music of autumnal reflections at Princeton’s Unitarian Universalist Congregation on Saturday afternoon. As fall colors blanketed the region, “Of Pumpkins & Politicians” explored the changing season, political satire, and the “spirit of ’76” — but 1676, not a recent century. Featuring lutenist Daniel Swenberg and soprano Nell Snaidas, Saturday afternoon’s program showcased music of several 17th-century European composers, as well as musical settings of English political satire. Joining Swenberg and Snaidas for the humor and precise Baroque interpretation were instrumentalists Lisa Terry playing viola da gamba, and guest artists baroque oboist Priscilla Herreid and harpsichordist Caitlyn Koester. One of the most prominent Baroque collections of songs was the Musicalische Kürbishütte by German poet Heinrich Albert.

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