On the afternoon of Saturday, October 31, the group called Musica Spira (“music breathes”) presented a concert in the abbey church. They were founded by co-directors Grace Srinivasan and Paula Maust in order to bring to life the underrepresented stories of early modern musicians, especially works by women. In the words of The Wilson Center, they wish to “draw musical traditions of the past and present them into renewed conversations about the importance of life and values.” To that end, they have performed in various cities in the eastern United States. In addition to sopranist Srinivasan and harpsichordist Maust, the perfomers were Amy Domingues (viola da gamba) and violinist Freya Creech. After the concert, which began with “The Plaint” by Henry Purcell and concluded with a piece celebrating the Old Testament heroine Judith, the quartet and the more than forty persons who attended the concert had a reception in the monastery’s community room (“calefactory”).
