Duo Antiche brings you old music with new energy, engaging audiences with fresh takes of some of music’s oldest works.
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Jennifer Burks, soprano, is known for her “lovely, gleaming soprano voice” and “effortless virtuosity”. She is a versatile performer and has a passion for early, baroque, and classical concert repertoire. Jennifer has an extensive performance history spanning opera choruses, competitions, and concert appearances with groups such as Boston Baroque, Odyssey Opera, Boulder Bach Festival, and others. She holds an MM in Vocal Pedagogy from the New England Conservatory of Music and currently has a thriving voice studio where she helps singers of all ages find confidence and joy in their voice.
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Brian Bartling is a lutenist, guitarist and bassist based in Providence, RI. His musical journey began with the string bass and classical guitar, then later gravitated to the sonic possibilities of historical plucked instruments.
Brian holds a graduate degree in Music Theory from the New England Conservatory of Music. He has performed with various ensembles, including the Hope Collective, the Boston Lyric Opera, the Charles River Sinfonietta, and the Rhode Island College Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist, he specializes in the Baroque lute and its repertoire.
Jennifer and Brian began collaborating in 2022. They enjoyed working together so much, that they have continued performing together in the great Boston area and Rhode Island, recently dubbing themselves Duo Antiche (Ancient Duo). They perform works spanning the 16th and 17th centuries from composers such as John Dowland, Chiara Margarita Cozzolani, Robert Johnson, and other renowned and little known composers. Each of their performances bring energy, life, and light to music’s oldest and most treasured tunes.
Who we are…
Upcoming Programs
The Sad Declension of My Time: Songs from the English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642-1651) may have predated the American revolution by over 100 years, but it established a crucial precedent to the American resistance against royal authority and the cause for individual rights and freedoms. It was also a notable time for music, when composers such as William Lawes, Nicholas Lanier, and Matthew Locke were writing in a highly manneristic and experimental style. Bursting with dissonant harmonies and dramatic contrasts, this music is highly emotive and appealing even to modern-day listeners. It is also very intimate, as it was often accompanied by a single theorbo, or a large long-necked lute. In this program, soprano Jen Burks teams up with theorbist Brian Bartling to present music from a time of political turmoil, executed kings, and extraordinary song!
Early Summer 2026 | Dates TBD
Watch
Ma bergère est tendre et fidèle by Michel Lambert
If I Could Shut the Gate by John Danyel
Come Again by John Dowland
O Preaclara Dies by Chiara Margarita Cozzolani
Have You Seen the Bright Lily Grow attr. to Robert Johnson
Past Engagements
Like as the Lute Delights: Songs of Love, Myth, and Passion
Music for voice and lute by Dowland, Danyel, Moulinié, and Handel
February 22nd 2026 | 3pm New School of Music | Cambridge, MA
February 1st 2026 | 3pm Somerville Music Spaces | Somerville, MA
November 20th 2025 | 12pm Third Thursdays at Noon Concert | Grace Church Providence
November 18th 2025 | 8pm Nakamichi Concert Series | Stonehill College