AGAVE
“Powerful presence… profound playing”
— Early Music America
“A fantastic countertenor, one of the best in the business… it was the interaction between Agave and Mr. Mobley that created the real magic.”
— San Francisco Classical Voice
Watch/Listen
Esteban Salas: Taedat animam meam. Reginald L. Mobley with Agave Baroque
Matthias Weckmann: Fantasia ex D · Agave Baroque
Florence B. Price : Sympathy. Reginald L. Mobley with Agave Baroque
David Pohle: Herr, wenn ich nur dich habe. Reginald L. Mobley with Agave Baroque
Recent News
Available Programs
Unchained Harmony
Join the GRAMMY-nominated baroque band AGAVE for an electrifying program of selections from their forthcoming album, Unchained Harmony. One of the greatest violin virtuosi of the 17th century, Bohemian fiddler Heinrich Biber's works can be described as a dinner party of disparate sound worlds – using unconventional violin tunings to achieve unique tone colors, chord possibilities, and what he called “artificial harmonies.”
Lend me a Tenor
Neither a solo instrument nor a true tenor voice, the alto viola was an irreplaceable part of chamber music from the early 17th century with its unique tone and range.
AGAVE features the viola in unusual chamber instrumentations from the 17th through 19th centuries, including works by Austrian virtuosi Johann Heinrich Schmelzer and Heinrich Biber, the father and son team of Johann Sebastian and Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, and the great pre-classical master, Johann Gottlieb Graun.
The Musical Miracle
with Cecilia Duarte, mezzo-soprano
Before he became one of 18th century Mexico’s most important composers, Ignacio de Jerusalem was renowned in both Italy and Spain as The Musical Miracle – a gifted violin virtuoso and composer who blended the musical styles of his native Naples and adopted home of Cadíz and brought it across the Atlantic to both the theaters and Cathedral of Mexico City.
Lux Perpetua Music of Sorrow and Hope
with Michele Kennedy, soprano
Cecilia Duarte, mezzo-soprano
Reginald L. Mobley, countertenor
Nils Neubert, tenor
Jonathon Adams, baritone
Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu Nostri delves deep into the human emotional landscape, from darkest woe to tender love and shining hope.
Mozart in the Rainforest
The grandson of Black Brazilian plantation slaves, José Mauricio Nuñes Garcia overcame racism and intrigue to become court composer to King João V. Sherezade Panthaki and Agave Baroque present music by Nuñes Garcia and his great inspiration, Mozart.
Where Art Thou, God of Dreams?
Agave Baroque and acclaimed tenor Nils Neubert explore the rich and ribald history of English theater music from 1670-1770, as Italian, French, and native English influences worked to craft a uniquely British musical sound.
Peace In Our Time
Experience the extraordinary music written in the shadow of the devastation of the Thirty Years’ War. Journey from heartwrenching sorrow to radiant hope with countertenor Reginald L. Mobley’s luxurious voice and Agave Baroque’s rich string textures.
American Originals
AGAVE and countertenor Reginald L. Mobley celebrate two centuries of music of Black and brown composers from the United States, Mexico, Cuba, and South America, including new transcriptions of songs by the remarkable Florence B. Price. The recording of this program earned AGAVE and Reggie a GRAMMY® nomination in 2021.
BACH: All in the Family
Over the course of two centuries, one family produced some 85 professional musicians in a relatively small region in northern Germany. From the shadow of the Thirty Years’ War all the way to the Age of Enlightenment, AGAVE performs the ingenious counterpoint, vivacious melody, and breathtaking virtuosity of many, many Johanns.
AGAVE: In Her Hands
The exciting follow up program to their GRAMMY-nominated album American Originals, AGAVE and soprano Michele Kennedy explore images of motherhood and the feminine divine through the ages and across continents as told through the voices of female composers.