In the late 1400s, central France was home to many of the brightest and best composers in Europe, a generation that played a major role in shaping the newly emerging Renaissance style. Many of their secular polyphonic works are preserved in a group of manuscripts that were copied in the Loire Valley region around 1470. Join the Quilisma Consort for an exploration of the composers recorded in the books known as The Loire Valley Channoniers, performed on reproductions of Renaissance-era recorders, on Sunday, April 22, 2012, at 3:00 p.m. at the historic Loring-Greenough House, 12 South Street, Jamaica Plain.

Afternoon tea follows the program

The Sunday Afternoon at the ‘Greenough House series recreates the atmosphere of 18th and 19th century “musical afternoons” in the 1760 Loring-Greenough House on the first and third Sundays of each month, October through May. Tickets are available at the door: donation $15 ($10 seniors, students and JPTC members). Space is limited; reservations are suggested—call 617-524-3158 or email lghouseconcerts@aim.com.

A Renaissance instrumental ensemble, the Quilisma Consort are Lisa Gay (director), Melika M. Fitzhugh, and Carolyn Jean Smith. They have been exploring the beautiful music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance together since 2004. The Quilisma Consort has been featured in the concert series of MIT Chapel, King's Chapel, the Boston Recorder Society, and the Loring-Greenough House. For more information, see www.quilisma.us.

Melika M. Fitzhugh (recorders, vihuela, guitar, viola) is a long-standing member of the world music ensemble Urban Myth where she plays many instruments including fiddle, bass, and percussion. She came to the Quilisma Consort to focus on early music. She has a degree in music composition from Harvard University.

Lisa Gay (recorders, harp, voice) founded the Quilisma Consort in 2004 to satisfy her addiction to early music. An avid recorder player and fan of Orlando de Lasso since childhood, she has performed in The Christmas Revels in Cambridge and Chicago, and with ensembles such as Calliope, The Masqued Phoenix Consort, and Ars et Amici. She studies recorder with John Tyson.

Carolyn Jean Smith (recorders, vihuela) received an MA in Early Music from the Longy School. She has performed with Stämbandet, Serendipity, and Cantata á Trois and has studied with Ford Weisberg, Sonja Lindblad, and John Tyson. She has performed in several venues, including the Society for Historically Informed Performance Concert Series, and can be heard on Nordic Voices, a CD by Stämbandet under the Nordic Sounds label.

Built in 1760, the Loring-Greenough House, a local landmark listed on the Massachusetts and National Registers of Historic Places, is located at 12 South Street (at the Civil War Monument) in Jamaica Plain, MA. It is owned and managed by the non-profit Jamaica Plain Tuesday Club, Inc. as a historic house museum and site for art and music presentations. The Loring-Greenough House is wheelchair accessible. For more information on the Loring-Greenough House, see www.loring-greenough.org.

For reservations or directions, call (617)524-3158, or email lghouseconcerts@aim.com,