presents THE MARK OF ZORRO with

Tina Chancey: viol, early violin, recorders Grant Herreid: early guitar, shawm, recorders, tenor

FAIRBANKS AND THE FILM 1920 marked a major turning point in the career of movie star Douglas Fairbanks. Not only did he marry Mary Pickford, the most popular actress in silent film, he also embarked on a new screen career. After World War I, audiences had grown bored with the cheerful, boy­meets­girl romantic comedies that had made Fairbanks so popular, so he decided to try a different tactic. A short story by Johnston McCulley, "The Curse of Capistrano," had appeared in the pulp magazine, All­Story Weekly. Fairbanks decided to capitalize on his physical agility and devil­may­care attitude to make a film of the story, renamed The Mark of Zorro, in 1920. Zorro became the prototype for a new kind of hero ­ the swashbuckling adventurer.

WAS ZORRO REAL? Although the author might have drawn his inspiration from such characters as the 17 th c. avenging cat Puss in Boots, Alexander Dumas’ 19 th c. Count of Monte Cristo, the legendary Robin Hood, the American Revolution’s Swamp Fox (‘zorro’ means ‘fox’ in Spanish) and other masked crime fighters, McCulley’s Zorro really stands on his own. Zorro’s vast popularity, spurred by the long­ running Walt Disney TV series from the 50s, set the stage for a host of other human and semi­ human avengers and superheroes beginning with the Phantom, Batman, Buck Rogers, Superman and the Green Hornet, appearing first in 1930s comic strips and comic books, and later in film and animation.

THE STORY Fairbanks’ film closely follows the author’s original plot. The Mark of Zorro is set in the 1840s in Spanish­ruled Southern California (though in truth Mexico ruled there after 1827), and the story opens as Don Diego Vega (Fairbanks) returns from Spain to find his family and friends being menaced by a corrupt governor and his henchmen. While Don Diego appears to be an effete dilettante, in reality he is Zorro, a master swordsman who has dedicated his life to fighting evil tyrants. Dressed in a purple cloak and black mask, Zorro torments his enemies further by carving a "Z" on the bodies of his adversaries while laughing in their faces.

While modestly budgeted in comparison to later swashbucklers, The Mark of Zorro serves up a succession of spectacular swordfights and gravity­defying stunts in lieu of an opulent production. Among the highlights is a scene where Zorro leads the soldiers of arch villain, Captain Juan Ramon, on a wild goose chase through the village, and the climactic duel between Zorro and Ramon.

The public was obviously ready for a new brand of escapism because The Mark of Zorro became a box office smash and encouraged Fairbanks to create a new gallery of swashbuckling heroes, including D'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers (1921), Robin Hood (1922), The Thief of Bagdad (1924), Don Q Son of Zorro (1925), and The Black Pirate (1926). HESPERUS AND SILENT FILM Silent films were never totally silent; they were seen with a variety of accompaniments. Some theaters rented the original Hollywood score composed for the picture and hired an orchestra or arranged it for a small group of musicians. If that were too expensive, a few musicians would find their own music to suit. Other theaters had an organist or pianist improvise a soundtrack or play popular music of the day. HESPERUS does something a bit different; we accompany silent films with music that has a connection to the action on the screen. For Robin Hood we play English Renaissance music; for The General, music from the Civil War. For The Mark of Zorro, we’re playing music from Old and New Spain­­Spanish and Native American music from the 16 th­ 18 th centuries. We think that this music gives audiences a real sense of place and time. What do you think? Let us know.

For a list of pieces used, or to comment on our presentation, contact us at [email protected].

HESPERUS Innovative, historically­informed and multi­cultural, HESPERUS’ collaborative artists perform a variety of programs designed to bring musical history alive including silent movie soundtracks of early music, musical portraits of a single culture through time, fusions of European early music with American traditional styles, and single­genre early music programs from medieval to Spanish and British Colonial music. Whatever the genre, HESPERUS performs with creative energy, technical assurance and a sense of fun.

Founded in 1979 by the late Scott Reiss and his wife Tina Chancey, HESPERUS has appeared throughout the US, Southeast Asia, Latin America and Europe, most recently at Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Lincoln Center, the Carmel Bach Festival and the Cloisters, as well as at festivals in Italy, Germany, Indonesia and Bolivia. The ensemble can be heard in three Hallmark Channel specials (including the Emmy­nominated Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland), the film Sleepy Hollow, and on 16 recordings on the Koch International, Dorian, and Maggie’s Music labels. The ensemble’s most recent recording ‘An Early American Quilt’ was released in 2007.

Most recently, HESPERUS has completed a Chamber Music America residency in Williamsburg, Virginia and will be an ensemble in residence at Gettysburg College this year, as well as a resident ensemble at the Roanoke Island Festival Park in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. For more about HESPERUS visit www.classactsontour.com.

TINA CHANCEY is a founding member and director of HESPERUS. She plays Old Time and Irish fiddle; kamenj, lyra, rebec and vielle; viola da gamba; and French baroque pardessus de viole, on roots music from Sephardic and blues to early music and jazz standards. A frequent guest artist with Ex Umbris and the Terra Nova Consort, she is a former member of the Folger Consort, the rock band Blackmore’s Night, and the multi­media music theater ensemble QUOG. She teaches, performs, records, produces recordings, and directs the SoundCatcher workshop­­teaching amateur musicians how to play by ear. Her newest solo recordings are ‘The Versatile Viol: Tina Chancey plays Scottish and Irish Music,’ and ‘Tina Chancey plays Leclair on Pardessus de Viole,’ which will appear in June. Dr. Chancey has been given a Lifetime Achievement Award by Early Music America. In November­December 2008 she was an Artist in Residence at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, also presenting school programs in Hong Kong and Macau for the U.S. Embassy.

GRANT HERREID performs frequently on early strings, winds and voice with Ensemble Viscera, Hesperus, Piffaro, ARTEK, and My Lord Chamberlain's Consort, as well as the Kings Noyse, the Newberry Consort, Apollo’s Fire, Quicksilver, the Folger Consort, New York City Opera, and the New York Consort of Viols. He teaches at Yale University, Mannes College of Music, and directs the New York Continuo Collective, a group dedicated to the art of 17th century continuo song. He is a stage director and musical coach for the Seattle Academy of Baroque Opera workshop with Stephen Stubbs, and he recently played theorbo for the Chicago Opera Theater’s production of Monteverdi’s Ritorno d’Ulisse, and Aspen Music Festival’s production of Cavalli’s Eliogabalo, both conducted by Jane Glover. He has created and directed several theatrical early music shows, and devotes much of his time to exploring the esoteric unwritten traditions of medieval and Renaissance music as a founding member of the group Ex Umbris.