This concert illustrated the birth of early orchestral music with an ensemble including vocals, violins, sackbuts, cornett, and organ. Much of the music was played from newly-transcribed versions of the original texts, and because of the dynamic combination of strings, brass and more -- became the "Big Band!" concert.
Among the pieces performed by the Funks were two remarkable eight-part sonatas by the Venetian composer Francesco Usper (b. ca.1565? - 1641). The original manuscripts for this music were in a European collection prior to World War II and wer completely destroyed or lost as a result of wartime hostilities. The music survives today only because the famed musicologist Alfred Einstein made a handwritten copy for his personal reference in 1902. The Funks obtained a microfilm copy of Einstein's notes from the collection of his papers at Smith College, and used a computer music program to create a legible score and parts for performance purposes.
Featured compositions and composers were: