{"id":2166816,"date":"2025-11-19T17:04:36","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T17:04:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2166816"},"modified":"2025-11-19T17:04:36","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T17:04:36","slug":"striking-a-chord-with-forgotten-history-music-ensemble-lyracle-makes-new-home-in-the-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/striking-a-chord-with-forgotten-history-music-ensemble-lyracle-makes-new-home-in-the-valley\/","title":{"rendered":"Striking a chord with &#8216;forgotten history&#8217;: Music ensemble Lyracle makes new home in the Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<aside>\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p><iframe title=\"Everlit Audio Player\" width=\"100%\" height=\"130px\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\" class=\"perfmatters-lazy\" data-src=\"https:\/\/everlit.audio\/embeds\/artl_zPrG2cV1pAQ?client=wp&amp;client_version=2.3.0&amp;ui_title_icon=headphones\"><\/iframe><noscript><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Everlit Audio Player\" src=\"https:\/\/everlit.audio\/embeds\/artl_zPrG2cV1pAQ?client=wp&amp;client_version=2.3.0&amp;ui_title_icon=headphones\" width=\"100%\" height=\"130px\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">After several years in Boston, a historical music performance ensemble<strong> <\/strong>is making a new home in the Pioneer Valley.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lyraclemusic.com\/\">Lyracle<\/a>, which specializes in music for a solo viol and solo voice, creates and performs shows that explore the ways in which music has impacted everyday lives and communities throughout history. Its co-artistic directors, viol player and cellist James Perretta and mezzo-soprano vocalist Ashley Mulcahy, are also husband and wife.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Musicians Nathaniel Cox, left, Ashley Mulcahy, and James Perretta rehearse on Wednesday, Nov. 12, for their upcoming performance. CHRISTOPHER EVANS \/For the Gazette<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The move came because Perretta recently started a new full-time role as a lecturer of computer science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Like many musicians, Perretta works outside of his performing career, and he \u201cstrikes a really nice balance between the two,\u201d Mulcahy said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>Even outside of Perretta\u2019s new role, the duo are delighted to make the Valley their new musical home, Mulcahy said.<\/p>\n<aside>\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cNeither of us are from Massachusetts, but when he got the job, we spent some time in the Pioneer Valley, and we\u2019re really excited to be part of a place that has such a vibrant arts and culture scene,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t their first time playing in the area \u2014 they performed a show about Colonial American music at Historic Deerfield in September \u2014 but it was Historic Deerfield, not Lyracle, who presented it.<strong> <\/strong>More recently, though, the group held their first self-presented show in the Valley, \u201cEscape to the Stage,\u201d at First Churches of Northampton last Friday, Nov. 14, featuring two local performers, actress Julie Nelson and guitarist\/lutist Nathaniel Cox.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"532\" data-attachment-id=\"419995\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/gazettenet.com\/2025\/11\/19\/striking-a-chord-with-forgotten-history-music-ensemble-lyracle-makes-new-home-in-the-valley\/lyracle-5\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle001-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1745&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1745\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Chrstopher Evans&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NIKON Z 8&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Musicians Nathaniel Cox, left, Ashley Mulcahy, and James Perretta are joined by actor Julie Nelson as they rehearse on Wednesday, November 12, for their upcoming performance \\u201cEscape to the Stage\\u201d this Friday at First Churches in Northampton. Photo by Christopher Evans\\\/For the Gazette&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1762994073&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;Christopher Evans&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;24&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;2000&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0125&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;lyracle&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"lyracle\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Musicians Nathaniel Cox, left, Ashley Mulcahy, and James Perretta are joined by actor Julie Nelson as they rehearse on Wednesday, Nov. 12, for their upcoming performance \u201cEscape to the Stage\u201d at First Churches in Northampton. CHRISTOPHER EVANS \/For the Gazette&lt;\/p&gt;&#10;\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle001-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C204&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle001-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C532&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle001.jpg?resize=780%2C532&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-419995\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle001-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C698&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle001-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C204&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle001-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C523&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle001-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1047&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle001-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1396&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle001-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C818&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle001-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1363&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle001-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C532&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 780w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle001-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C273&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle001-scaled.jpg?w=2340&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2340w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle001-1024x698.jpg?w=370&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Musicians Nathaniel Cox, left, Ashley Mulcahy, and James Perretta are joined by actor Julie Nelson as they rehearse on Wednesday, Nov. 12, for their upcoming performance \u201cEscape to the Stage\u201d at First Churches in Northampton. CHRISTOPHER EVANS \/For the Gazette<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The show told the story of Ann Ford (later known as Ann Thicknesse),<strong> <\/strong>an 18th-century British socialite whose father wanted her to marry a much older man. Ford used her talents as a singer, viol player and composer as a way to escape the potential marriage, hence the name of the show. In 1760 and 1761, she used money borrowed from friends to rent out concert venues to play shows that funded her independence.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Perretta and Mulcahy founded Lyracle in 2018 because they wanted to create opportunities to play together. Perretta was a cellist before he became a viol player, but as he grew his viol skills, the two discovered a \u201cforgotten history,\u201d as Mulcahy called it, of music composed by a solo vocalist and a solo violist, which they explored in their first public program.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe realized, if we keep this focus, only looking at music that was actually composed and written down specifically for one voice and one viol, we will have a very narrow slice of 17th-century English music, and we wanted to get a bigger picture,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-3    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cInstead of asking ourselves, \u2018Who composed for voice and viol, we started asking the question: \u2018Who throughout history made music with our instruments? And\/or was even involved in the music-making process?\u2019\u201d she continued. \u201cSuddenly, you go from just people who composed or whose compositions were written down and survived, to people who performed, people who wrote poetry that was set to music, people who sold instruments, people who were amateurs and made music just for fun, and suddenly you get this much wider, much more diverse group of historical individuals that can become the focus of your concerts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since then, Mulcahy said, \u201cEscape to the Stage\u201d has become their \u201cNorth Star,\u201d and the paradigm within which all of their concert programs fit.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-attachment-id=\"419991\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/gazettenet.com\/2025\/11\/19\/striking-a-chord-with-forgotten-history-music-ensemble-lyracle-makes-new-home-in-the-valley\/lyracle\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle006-scaled.jpg?fit=1919%2C2560&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1919,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Chrstopher Evans&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NIKON Z 8&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Musicians Nathaniel Cox, left, Ashley Mulcahy, and James Perretta are joined by actor Julie Nelson as they rehearse on Wednesday, November 12, for their upcoming performance \\u201cEscape to the Stage\\u201d this Friday at First Churches in Northampton. Photo by Christopher Evans\\\/For the Gazette&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1762994051&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;Christopher Evans&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;24&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;2000&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0125&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;lyracle&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"lyracle\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Musicians Nathaniel Cox, left, Ashley Mulcahy, and James Perretta are joined by actor Julie Nelson as they rehearse on Wednesday, Nov. 12, for their upcoming performance \u201cEscape to the Stage\u201d at First Churches in Northampton.  CHRISTOPHER EVANS \/For the Gazette&lt;\/p&gt;&#10;\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle006-scaled.jpg?fit=225%2C300&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle006-scaled.jpg?fit=768%2C1024&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle006.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-419991\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle006-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle006-scaled.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle006-scaled.jpg?resize=1152%2C1536&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1152w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle006-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C2048&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle006-scaled.jpg?resize=900%2C1200&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 900w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle006-scaled.jpg?resize=600%2C800&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle006-scaled.jpg?resize=450%2C600&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 450w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle006-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C400&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle006-scaled.jpg?resize=150%2C200&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle006-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C1600&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle006-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C2667&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle006-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C1040&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 780w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle006-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C533&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle006-scaled.jpg?w=1919&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1919w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gazettenet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11122025lyracle006-768x1024.jpg?w=370&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Musicians Nathaniel Cox, left, Ashley Mulcahy, and James Perretta are joined by actor Julie Nelson as they rehearse on Wednesday, Nov. 12, for their upcoming performance \u201cEscape to the Stage\u201d at First Churches in Northampton.  CHRISTOPHER EVANS \/For the Gazette<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside>\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cWe all learn history in school, and we mostly learn about it through reading \u2014 sometimes through reading very dry textbooks,\u201d Mulcahy said. \u201cBut I think, at its best, history really has the ability to spark the imagination and allow us to imagine what a lived experience was like for other humans, and, in that, find the through lines that make us human and have made us human for however many centuries.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Besides \u201cEscape to the Stage,\u201d<strong> <\/strong>Lyracle\u2019s other programs also spotlight stories in music history that are lesser-known to Americans. \u201cMusicians of the Tensh\u014d Embassy\u201d spotlights four noble-born Japanese teenagers who traveled across Italy and Iberia in the 1580s to serve as ambassadors of three Christian Japanese feudal lords; \u201cAt Home in Sweden\u201d showcases the ways that the music of 17th-century Swedish nobility made its way to Swedish households; and \u201cExodus and Evolution\u201d traces a Tudor-era Jewish musical family\u2019s migration from Iberia to Italy to England.<\/p>\n<p>Lyracle\u2019s next program in Northampton is slated for Saturday, April 18, also at First Churches. That show, \u201cThe Family Band,\u201d will imagine the story of <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Duchess_Elisabeth_Sophie_of_Mecklenburg\">Duchess Elisabeth Sophie of Mecklenburg<\/a>, Duke August the Younger of Braunschweig, and their children, based on a painting by Albert Freyse showing the family playing viols together, as \u201ca wholesome musical afternoon of 17th-century family fun,\u201d according to the event description.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Until then, Mulcahy and Perretta will take tget settled in their new home.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re really excited to establish some sort of connection to a new community of people interested in music and history,\u201d Mulcahy said, \u201cand to just see how it all goes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For more information about Lyracle, visit <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/lyraclemusic.com\">lyraclemusic.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<aside>\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source gazettenet.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After several years in Boston, a historical music performance ensemble is making a new home in the Pioneer Valley.\u00a0 Lyracle, which specializes in music for a solo viol and solo voice, creates and performs shows that explore the ways in which music has impacted everyday lives and communities throughout history. Its co-artistic directors, viol player [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2166817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[22092,22220,22672,21800],"class_list":["post-2166816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-art","tag-arts","tag-latest-news","tag-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Striking-a-chord-with-forgotten-history-Music-ensemble-Lyracle-makes.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2166816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2166816"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2166816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2166818,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2166816\/revisions\/2166818"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2166817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2166816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2166816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2166816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}