Clavichordist Kevin Birch will perform a program of early music at the Oasis of Music from 12:30-1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 3, at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Lewiston.

According to Wikipedia, the clavichord is a Western European stringed rectangular keyboard instrument that was used largely in the Late Middle Ages through the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras. Historically, it was mostly used as a practice instrument and as an aid to composition, not being loud enough for larger performances. The clavichord produces sound by striking brass or iron strings with small metal blades called tangents. Vibrations are transmitted through the bridge(s) to the soundboard.

Birch will be showcasing the instrument in celebration of a new clavichord by Martin Kather (2020) fashioned after an illustration in Michael Praetorius’  Syntagma Musica (1619),  and perform the music of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck and Friends.

Birch holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Iowa with previous studies at New England Conservatory in Boston and the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam. Since 1992, he has served as director of music at St. John’s Catholic Church in Bangor, where he also serves as executive director of St. John’s Organ Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and stewardship of E.&G.G. Hook’s Opus 288 built for St. John’s in 1860. He is a member of the music faculty at the University of Maine’s School of the Performing Arts in Orono and serves on the Liturgical Commission for the Diocese of Portland. And he is also a member of the Netherlands Clavichord Society and the Boston Clavichord Society.

He has performed solo recitals in the US, Canada, Europe, and in South America, and for several national conventions of the Organ Historical Society. He is especially devoted to the many fine historic organs in Maine on which he enjoys frequent opportunities to study and perform.

The Oasis of Music is a weekly music series of short performances of roughly thirty minutes in length, running from September to May. Admission is free, with donations accepted. The musical genres vary greatly, in largely, but not exclusively, acoustic formats. COVID restrictions of optional mask-wearing and social distancing are observed. Performances are held in the downstairs chapel. For more information, call 207-344-3106.

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