The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge sings a varied program with organ accompaniment this Wednesday night in Overture Hall
Leave a Comment
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
The new season of the popular Overture Concert Organ series, sponsored by the Madison Symphony Orchestra and curated by MSO organist Greg Zelek, begins this Wednesday night, Sept. 11, at 7:30 p.m. in Overture Hall.
All single tickets are $20. (A subscription to all four organ concerts is $63.)
The opening program features the world-famous Choir of Trinity College Cambridge (below), on tour from its home in the United Kingdom.
Adds Zelek:
“Our season opens with the amazing Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, named by Gramophone Magazine as one of the best choirs in the world.
“Conducted by the choir’s music director Stephen Layton (below top) and accompanied on the mighty Klais concert organ (below bottom), this 25-voice choir will present a program of music spanning many centuries that will display its beauty of tone and depth of feeling. These rich voices will make this varied program soar through Overture Hall and leave everyone in the audience breathless.”
Here are some sample reviews:
Virtuoso is the right word. I, for one, can’t immediately think of any more appropriate way of describing singing of such staggering accomplishment. – BBC Music Magazine
Sitting front and center at a recent Trinity Choir of Cambridge concert at Grace Cathedral was, sonically speaking, a heavenly experience. -The New York Times
Here is Wednesday night’s eclectic program:
William Byrd | Sing joyfully
William Byrd | O Lord, make thy servant, Elizabeth
Thomas Tallis | Salvator mundi
Henry Purcell | Thou knowest, Lord
Arvo Part | Bogoroditse Djévo
John Tavener | Mother of God, here I stand
Vasily Kalinnikov | Bogoroditse Djevo
Robert Parsons | Ave Maria
Eriks Esenvalds | The Heavens’ Flock (You can hear a different Esenvalds work, “Only in Sleep,” sung by the Trinity College Choir, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Morten Lauridsen | O magnum mysterium
Jaakko Mantyjarvi | Stuttgarter Psalmen
Herbert Howells | Take him, earth, for cherishing
Herbert Howells | Trinity St. Paul’s
For more information about the Overture Organ Series, detailed background about the Trinity College Choir and how to purchase tickets, call (608) 258-4141 or go to: https://madisonsymphony.org/concerts-events/overture-concert-organ-performances/ or https://madisonsymphony.org/event/organ-trinity-choir/
Tags: #ArvoPärt, #AveMaria, #BBCMusicMagazine, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CambridgeUniversity, #ChoirofTrinityCollegeCambridge, #ChoralDirector, #ChoralMusic, #ConcertOrgan, #DepthofFeeling, #EnglishComposer, #EriksEsenvalds, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GraceCathedral, #GramophoneMagazine, #GreatBritain, #GregZelek, #HenryPurcell, #HerbertHowells, #HomeWebsite, #JaakkoMantyvari, #JohnTavener, #KlaisOrgan, #KlaisOrgelbau, #LIturgicalMusic, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MortenLauridsen, #MotherofGod, #MusicDirector, #MusicReview, #NewMusic, #OMagnumMysterium, #OrganMusic, #OvertureCenter, #OvertureHall, #OvertureOrganSeries, #RobertParsons, #SacredMusic, #September11, #StephenLayton, #SubscriptionConcert, #SubscriptionTicket, #TheNewYorkTImes, #ThomasTallis, #TonalBeauty, #TrinityCollege, #UnitedKingdom, #VasilyKalinnikov, #VocalMusic, #Wednesdaynight, #WilliamByrd, #World-famous, #YouTubevideo, accomplishment, amazing, Arvo Part, audience, Ave Maria, BBC, BBC Music Magazine, beauty, best, blog, breathless, Cambridge University, cathedral, Catholic, centuries, Choir, Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, choral director, choral music, Classical music, classicalmusic, composer, concert organ, curate, depth, depth of feeling, describe, detail, director, Earth, eclectic, England, English, Eriks Esenvalds, everyone, experience, Facebook, famous, feeling, flock, forward, God, grace, Grace Cathedral, Gramophone, Gramophone (magazine), Great Britain, Greg Zelek, heaven, heavenly, Henry Purcell, Herbert Howells, Home, information, Jaakko Mantyvari, John Tavener, Joy, joyful, like, link, liturgical, liturgical music, Lord, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Morten Lauridsen, Mother, Mother of God, Music, Music director, music review, new, New Music, night, O magnum mysterium, opening, organ, organ music, organist, Overture Center, Overture Concert Organ, Overture Hall, Overture Organ Series, performer, popular, post, posting, program, Protestant, psalm, reader, review, rich, Robert Parsons, sacred music, savior, Season, Sept. 11, September 11, series, servant, share, sing, singer, Singing, single, Sleep, soar, sonic, St. Paul, staggering, Stephen Layton, Stuttgart, subscriber, subscription, tag, The New York Times, Thomas Tallis, ticket, tonal beauty, tone, tour, Trinity College, U.K., UK, United Kingdom, Vasily Kalinnikov, video, virtuoso, vocal music, voices, Website, Wednesday, William Byrd, world, YouTube
Classical music: The Madison Early Music Festival will present a Grand Tour of musical styles to mark its success after 20 years. The “tour” starts this Saturday, July 6, and runs through Saturday, July 13. Part 1 of 2
1 Comment
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
A big anniversary deserves a big celebration – and that is exactly what the organizers of this year’s Madison Early Music Festival (below, the All-Festival Concert in 2018) have come up with.
Co-artistic director Cheryl Bensman-Rowe recently wrote about the festival in a Q&A interview for this blog. Here is Part 1 of 2:
This summer marks the 20th anniversary of the Madison Early Music Festival. Can you briefly summarize the progress of the festival over all those years and how you – through audience size, participants, media coverage – measure the success it has achieved?
How successful is this year’s festival compared to the beginning festival and to others in terms of enrollment, budgets and performers? How does this of MEMF’s reach nationally or even internationally compare to previous years?
What can you say about where the festival will go in the coming years?
As the 20th Madison Early Music Festival approaches, we have looked back at how far we have come from 1999 when we were a little festival of 60 participants and faculty. We have grown to our current size of 140 faculty members and participants — fellow lovers of early music.
Last year, we had the largest group of participants when 120 students enrolled. MEMF now attracts students of all ages, from 18 to 91, amateurs and professionals, from all over North America and Europe.
Our success is due to the help and support of many individuals and outside organizations. We could not manage MEMF without the amazing staff at the Division of the Arts at UW-Madison. They help with everything from printed materials, website design and management, social media, grant writing, fundraising, proofreading and on-site assistance at all of our events and more.
Paul and I (below) work with Sarah Marty, the Program Director of MEMF, who keeps things organized and running smoothly throughout the year.
Also, we are grateful to our dedicated MEMF Board, donations from many individuals, grants, and the generosity of William Wartmann, who created an endowment for the festival, and after his death left an additional $400,000 for our endowment. It takes a village!
Not only have we become an important part of the summer music scene in Madison, but we have contributed to the national and international early music community. The 2019 concert series will be featuring artists from California to New York, Indiana to Massachusetts, and from Leipzig, Germany.
We hope to have many old and new audience members join us for this exciting celebration of our 20th year. For future seasons our motto is “To infinity and beyond!” as we continue to build on our past successes.
What is new and what is the same in terms of format, students, faculty members and performers?
This year we have a new program, the Advanced Voice Intensive, which provides an opportunity for auditioned advanced singers who are interested in a capella vocal music from the Renaissance – singing sacred polyphony and madrigals to improve their skills as ensemble singers.
Twenty singers from all over the country will be joining the inaugural program to rehearse and perform music from Italy, England and Germany.
At the end of the week they will sing in a masterclass with the vocal ensemble Calmus (below) on Thursday, July 11, at 11:30 a.m. in Morphy Recital Hall. On Saturday, July 13, they will perform in a FREE concert with the popular Advanced Loud Band ensemble in Morphy Recital Hall.
Here’s the link for all the information about MEMF: https://memf.wisc.edu/
All concerts include a pre-concert lecture at 6:30 p.m. and the concerts in Mils Hall begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $90 for an all-event pass; each individual concert is $22, for students $12. Tickets are available for purchase online and by phone at 608-265-ARTS (2787) with a $4 service fee, or in person at the Campus Arts Ticketing Box Office @ Memorial Union.
We also have two Fringe Concerts this year featuring new vocal ensembles from Wisconsin. On Monday, July 8, at 7 p.m. at Pres House, Schola Cantorum of Eau Claire (below), a 12-voice ensemble directed by UW-Madison graduate Jerry Hui, will perform “Mystery and Mirth: A Spanish Christmas.”
And on Wednesday, July 10, at 7 p.m. at Luther Memorial Church, 1021 University Avenue, the Milwaukee-based Aperi Animam (below) perform “Libera Nos,” a program of sacred vocal music.
The Fringe Concerts are FREE with donations accepted at the door.
Why was the theme of “The Grand Tour” chosen for the festival? What is the origin of the conceit, and what major composers and works will be highlighted?
We decided to celebrate the 20th anniversary by choosing a theme that would be broader than previous years and portray what people might experience when they are 20 years old – traveling abroad on a gap year.
We were also inspired by Englishman Thomas Coryat, aka “The First Tourist.” He published his travelogue Crudities in 1611, an amusing and thorough account of his five months of travel throughout Europe. This tradition of the Grand Tour of Europe continued through the 17th and 18th centuries, especially when wealthy young aristocrats finished their formal schooling.
Several of the concert programs this summer feature quotes from different travelogues, including Coryat’s, as an organizational concept. If you search all over Europe, you find an American at Versailles learning courtly manners, and a fictional Englishman, born in 1620, sending postcards from the Grand Tour.
We will also have a stop at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris with the silent film version of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, and a musical tour of sacred vocal music and madrigals. This theme allowed us to include music from many different time periods from all over Europe — a rich Grand Tour of musical offerings!
The opening concert on this Saturday, July 6, features Dark Horse Consort returning to Madison with Wanderlust, their newly created program for MEMF’s Grand Tour theme. The program follows the misadventures of an English gentleman as he embarks on a continental Grand Tour adventure in search of love and fulfillment.
Our hero’s travelogue includes springtime consort songs by Alfonso Ferrabosco and William Byrd; Erasmus Widmann’s beguiling German dances dedicated to women; the wooing songs of the Italian gondolier; and sultry Spanish airs.
On Sunday, July 7, Alchymy Viols (below) performs “American at Versailles,” an original ballet masque of French baroque music, dance and drama written and choreographed by Sarah Edgar, featuring Carrie Henneman Shaw, soprano; Sarah Edgar, director and dancer; and guest soprano Paulina Francisco. The American on the Grand Tour encounters the exotic world of French baroque manners, dress, dance and love.
TOMORROW: Part 2 explores the rest of the festival next week, including a rare book exhibit and the All-Festival finale on Saturday night
Tags: #ACappella, #ACappellaMusic, #AlchymyViols, #AlfonsoFerrabosco, #AperiAnimam, #ArtisticDirector, #BandMusic, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogInterview, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoxOffice, #CarrieHennemanShaw, #ChamberMusic, #CherylBensman-Rowe, #ChristianChurch, #DarkHorseConsort, #EauClaire, #EndowmentFund, #EnglishMusic, #ErasmusWidmann, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #FelixMendelssohn, #FrenchDance, #FrenchMusic, #GapYear, #Germandances, #GermanMusic, #GrantWriting, #ItalianMusic, #JerryHui, #JohannSebastianBach, #LeipzigGermany, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MadisonEarlyMusicFestival, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MemorialUnion, #MilwaukeeWisconsin, #MusicalStyle, #NorthAmerica, #NotreDamedeParis, #PaulinaFrancisco, #PaulRowe, #PolyphonicMusic, #PresHouse, #ProfessionalMusician, #Proofreading, #RenaissanceMadrigal, #RenaissanceMusic, #RenaissancePolyphony, #SacredMusic, #SarahEdgar, #SarahMarty, #ScolaCantorum, #SilentFilm, #SocialMedia, #TheHunchbackofNotreDame, #ThomasCoryat, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VocalMusic, #WesternEurope, #WilliamByrd, #WilliamWartmann, a cappella, advanced, airs, Alchymy Viols, Alfonso Ferrabosco, amateur, American, anniversary, Aperi Animam, aristocrats, Artistic director, Arts, assistance, audience, ballet, band, Baroque, Baroque music, beyond, big, blog, Book, box office, budget, California, Campus, Carrie Henemann Shaw, cathedral, celebrate, celebration, Chamber music, Cheryl Bensman Rowe, choral music, choreograph, Christian, Christmas, church, Classical music, community, composer, concept, Concert, continental, country, coverage', dance, dancer, Dark Horse Consort, death, design, donation, door, drama, dress, Early music, Eau Claire, endowment, England, Englishman, enrollment, ensemble, Erasmus Widmann, Europe, event, exhibit, exotic, experience, Facebook, faculty, Felix Mendelssohn, festival, film, finale, forward, free, French, fringe, fulfillment, Fundraising, future, gap year, gentleman, German dances, Germany, gondolier, grand, grant, guest, help, important, inaugural, Indiana, individuals, infinity, intensive, international, interview, Italian, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Jerry Hui, Johann Sebastian Bach, Leipzig, like, link, little, loud, Love, lover, lovers, Luther Memorial Church, Madison, Madison Early Music Festival, madrigal, management, manners, masque, Massachusetts, masterclass, material, Mead Witter School of Music, media, MEMF, Memorial Union, Milwaukee, mirth, motto, movie, Music, musical, mystery, national, new, North America, Notre Dame, old, online, organization, outside, part, participant, Paul Rowe, Paulina Francisco, People, performer, polyphony, postcard, Pres House, printed, professional, progress, Q&A, rare, reader, Renaissance, sacred, Sarah Edgar, Sarah Marty, scene, school, schooling, Scola Cantorum, share, silent film, sing, singer, Singing, size, skill, social media, song, soprano, Spanish, springtime, Student, style, subscriber, success, summer, support, tag, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, theme, Thomas Coryat, ticket, time, tour, tourist, travel, traveling, travelogue, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, UW-Madison Arts Institute, Versailles, village, Viol, Violin, vocal, vocal music, voice, wanderlust, wealthy, Website, William Byrd, William Wartmann, Wisconsin, women, woo, written, wrote, years
Music education: The Madison Youth Choirs explore the theme of “Legacy” in three concerts this Saturday and Sunday in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center
1 Comment
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post from the Madison Youth Choirs about their upcoming concerts this weekend:
This spring, Madison Youth Choirs singers are exploring the meaning of “Legacy,” studying works that have endured throughout history, folk traditions that have been passed on, and musical connections that we maintain with those who have come before us. Along the way, we’re discovering how our own choices and examples are leaving a lasting impact on future generations.
In our upcoming concert series in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center, 201 State Street, on this Saturday, May 11, and Sunday, May 12, we’ll present a variety of works. They include Benjamin Britten’s “The Golden Vanity,” Palestrina’s beloved “Sicut Cervus,” Sweet Honey in the Rock’s “Wanting Memories,” the final chorus of Handel’s oratorio Samson, American and Scottish folk songs, and Zoe Mulford’s powerful modern folk piece, “The President Sang Amazing Grace.”
The concert will also pay tribute to our alumni, with selections featured on the very first Madison Boychoir album, and past Cantabile singers invited to join us on stage for “Sisters, Now Our Meeting is Over.”
At the Saturday concert, MYC will present the 2019 Carrel Pray Music Educator of the Year award to Diana Popowycz (below), co-founder of Suzuki Strings of Madison.
DETAILS ABOUT “LEGACY” MYC’S SPRING CONCERT SERIES
Saturday
7:30 p.m. Purcell, Britten, Holst and Ragazzi (boychoirs)
Sunday
3:30 p.m. Choraliers, Con Gioia, Capriccio, Cantilena and Cantabile (girlchoirs)
7:30 p.m. Cantilena, Cantabile and Ragazzi (high school ensembles)
THREE WAYS TO PURCHASE TICKETS:
- In person at the Overture Center Box Office (lowest cost)
- Online (https://www.overture.org/events/legacy)
- By phone (608-258-4141)
Tickets are $15 for adults and $7.50 for students. Children under 7 are free, but a ticket is still required and can be requested at the Overture Center Box Office. Seating is General Admission.
This concert is supported by the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation, American Girl’s Fund for Children, BMO Harris Bank, the Green Bay Packers Foundation, the Kenneth A. Lattman Foundation and Dane Arts with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation, The Evjue Foundation, charitable arm of The Capital Times, and the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation. This project is also made possible by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with additional funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
ABOUT MADISON YOUTH CHOIRS (MYC):
Recognized as an innovator in youth choral music education, Madison Youth Choirs (MYC) welcomes singers of all ability levels, annually serving more than 1,000 young people, ages 7-18, through a wide variety of choral programs in our community. Cultivating a comprehensive music education philosophy that inspires self-confidence, responsibility, and a spirit of inquiry leading students to become “expert noticers,” MYC creates accessible, meaningful opportunities for youth to thrive in the arts and beyond.
REPERTOIRE
SATURDAY
For the 7:30 p.m. Concert (featuring MYC Boychoirs)
Britten
“The Golden Vanity,” by Benjamin Britten (to our knowledge, this will be the first time the work has ever been performed in Madison)
Purcell
“Simple Gifts” by Joseph Brackett, arr. Aaron Copland
“Tallis Canon” by Thomas Tallis
“Sound the Trumpet” from Come Ye Sons of Art by Henry Purcell
Britten
“Ich jauchze, ich lache” by Johann Sebastian Bach
Holst
“Hallelujah, Amen” from Judas Maccabeus by George Frideric Handel
“Sed diabolus” by Hildegard von Bingen
“Bar’bry Allen” Traditional ballad, arr. Joshua Shank
“Ella’s Song” by Bernice Johnson Reagon
Ragazzi
“Let Your Voice Be Heard” by Abraham Adzenyah
“Sicut Cervus” by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
“Agincourt Carol,” Anonymous, ca. 15th century
Ragazzi & Holst
“The President Sang Amazing Grace” by Zoe Mulford, arr. Randal Swiggum
Holst
“Shosholoza,” Traditional song from Zimbabwe
Combined Boychoirs
“Will Ye No Come Back Again?” Traditional Scottish, arr. Randal Swiggum
Legacy Choirs
“Day is Done” by Peter Yarrow, arr. Randal Swiggum
SUNDAY
For the 3:30 p.m. Concert (featuring MYC Girlchoirs)
Choraliers
“Music Alone Shall Live,” Traditional German canon
“Ut Queant Laxis,” Plainsong chant, text attributed to Paolo Diacono
“This Little Light of Mine” by Harry Dixon Loes, arr. Ken Berg
“A Great Big Sea,” Newfoundland folk song, arr. Lori-Anne Dolloff
Con Gioia
“Seligkeit” by Franz Schubert
“Blue Skies” by Irving Berlin, arr. Roger Emerson
“When I am Laid in Earth” from Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell
“Pokare Kare Ana” by Paraire Tomoana
“Ah, comme c’est chose belle” Anonymous, 14th century
“Hope” by Marjan Helms, poem by Emily Dickinson
Capriccio
“Non Nobis Domine,” attributed to William Byrd
“Ich Folge Dir Gleichfalls” from St. John Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach
“Dirait-on” by Morten Lauridsen
Cantilena
“Aure Volanti” by Francesca Caccini
“Ella’s Song” by Bernice Johnson Reagon
Cantabile
“Come All You Fair and Pretty Ladies” Traditional Ozark song, adapted by Mike Ross
“Wanting Memories” by Ysaye M. Barnwell
Legacy Choir
“Music in My Mother’s House” by Stuart Stotts
For the 7:30 p.m. concert (featuring High School Ensembles)
Cantilena
“Aure Volanti” by Francesca Caccini
“Una Sañosa Porfía by Juan del Encina
“Ella’s Song” by Bernice Johnson Reagon
“O Virtus Sapientiae” by Hildegard von Bingen
Ragazzi
“Sicut Cervus” by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
“Agincourt Carol,” Anonymous, ca. 15th century
“Let Your Voice Be Heard” by Abraham Adzenyah
“The President Sang Amazing Grace” by Zoe Mulford, arr. Randal Swiggum
Cantabile
“In a Neighborhood in Los Angeles” by Roger Bourland
“Sed Diabolus” by Hildegard von Bingen
“Come All You Fair and Pretty Ladies” Traditional Ozark song, adapted by Mike Ross
“Wanting Memories” by Ysaye M. Barnwell
Combined Choirs
“Let Their Celestial Concerts All Unite” by George Frideric Handel
Cantabile and Alumnae
“Sisters, Now Our Meeting is Over,” Traditional Quaker meeting song
Tags: #AaronCopland, #AmazingGrace, #AmericanGirl, #BarackObama, #BaroqueMusic, #BenjaminBritten, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BMOHarrisBank, #CapitolTheater, #CarrelPray, #ChoralMusic, #ComeYeSonsofArt, #CompactDisc, #ContemporaryComposer, #ContemporaryMusic, #ContemporaryRepertoire, #DianaPopowycz, #DidoAndAeneas, #EmilyDickinson, #EndresMfg.Company, #EvjueFoundation, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FolkMusic, #folksongs, #FrancescaCaccini, #FranzSchubert, #GeneralAdmission, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GiovannidePalestrina, #GreenBayPackers, #GustavHolst, #HarryDixon, #HenryPurcell, #HighSchool, #HildegardvonBingen, #IrvingBerlin, #JohannSebastianBach, #JudasMaccabeus, #LivingComposer, #MadisonBoychoir, #MadisonYouthChoirs, #MiddleSchool, #MortenLauridsen, #MusicEducation, #MusicEducator, #NationalEndowmentfortheArts, #NewMusic, #OakwoodCenterforArtsandEducation, #OvertureCenter, #PersonalResponsibility, #PeterYarrow, #PleasantT.Rowland, #PresidentObama, #RandalSwiggum, #SoundtheTrumpet, #St.JohnPassion, #StateOfWisconsin, #SuzukiMethod, #SuzukiStringsofMadison, #SweetHoneyintheRock, #TheCapitalTimes, #TheEar, #TheGoldenVanity, #ThePresidentSangAmazingGrace, #ThisLIttleLightofMine, #ThomasTalliis, #VocalMusic, #W.JeromeFrautschi, #WantingMemories, #WilliamByrd, #WisconsinArtsBoard, #YoungPeople, #ZoeMulford, Aaron Copland, ability, accessible, Agincourt, Album, alumni, Amazing Grace, Amen, American, American Girl, American Girls, announcement, anonymous, Arts, audience, Bach, ballad, Barack Obama, Baroque, beloved, Benjamin Britten, blog, BMO Harris Bank, boy, boy choir, boychoir, Canon, cantabile, cantilena, Capitol Theater, Carrel Pray, celestial, chant, charity, choice, Choir, choral music, chorus, Classical music, classicalmusic, Come Ye Sons of Art, community, Compact Disc, composer, Concert, conductor, connection, contemporary, cultivate, day, Diana Popowicz, Dido and Aeneas, discover, Early music, Earth, Education, educator, Emily Dickinson, Endres Mfg. Company, Evjue Foundation, example, Facebook, Folk music, folk song, folk songs, folksong, forward, foundation, Francesca Caccini, Franz Schubert, Friday, funds, future, general admission, generation, George Frideric Handel, German, girl, golden, grant, Green Bay Packers, Gustav Holst, Hallelujah, Handel, Harry Dixon, Henry Purcell, high school, Hildegard von Bingen, History, hope, House, impact, inquiry', Irving Berlin, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Judas Maccabeus, legacy, level, like, link, live, Madison, Madison Boychoir, Madison Youth Choirs, May, meeting, memories, memory, Middle school, modern, Morten Lauridsen, Mother, Music, Music education, music educator, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, New Music, Newfoundland, opportunities, oratorio, Overture Center, Ozark, Palestrina, People, performer, Peter Yarrow, philosophy, Piano, plainsong, Pleasant T. Rowland, poem, Poetry, powerful, President, President Obama, program, purchase, Quaker, Randel Swiggum, recording, repertoire, repertory, responsibility, Samson, Saturday, Scottish, sea, seating, self-confidence, share, singers, sister, song, Sound, spirit, St. John Passion, State of Wisconsin, strings, students, Suzuki, Suzuki Method, Suzuki Strings of Madison, Sweet Honey in the Rock, tag, teenager, The Capital Times, The Ear, The Evjue Foundation, The Golden Vanity, The President, This Little Light of Mine, Thomas Tallis, ticket, tradition, traditional, Trumpet, unite, United States, University of Wisconsin–Madison, upcoming, vanity, variety, vocal music, voice, W. Jerome Frautschi, want, weekend, William Byrd, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Arts Board, word, work, young, young people, Youth, YouTube, Zimbabwe, Zoe Mulford
Classical music: On Thursday and Friday nights, brass music and a modernist homage to Martin Luther King round out UW-Madison concerts before spring break
1 Comment
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.
By Jacob Stockinger
Spring Break at the University of Wisconsin-Madison starts on Saturday. But there are noteworthy concerts right up to the last minute.
THURSDAY
On this Thursday night, March 14, at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, the acclaimed Wisconsin Brass Quintet (below, in 2017, in a photo by Michael R. Anderson) will perform a FREE concert.
The program by the faculty ensemble includes music by William Byrd; Isaac Albeniz; Leonard Bernstein; Aaron Copland; David Sampson; Anton Webern; Joan Tower; Ennio Morricone; and Reena Esmail.
For more details, including the names of quintet members and guest artists who will participate as well as the complete program with lengthy notes and background about the quintet, go to:
https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/wisconsin-brass-quintet-3-14-2019/
FRIDAY
On this Friday night, March 15, at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, UW-Madison bassoonist Marc Vallon (below, in a photo by James Gill) – who worked in Paris with the renowned 20th-century composer and conductor Pierre Boulez – will host another concert is his series of “Le Domaine Musical” that he performs with colleagues.
Vallon explains:
Every year, I put together a concert devoted to the masterpieces of the 1950-2000 period. We call it “Domaine Musical,” which was the group founded in Paris by Pierre Boulez in the 1950s. Its subtitle is : “Unusual music for curious listeners.”
“The series offers Madison concert-goers an opportunity to hear rarely performed music of the highest quality, played by UW-Madison faculty, students and alumni.
“The program features a deeply moving piece by Luciano Berio, O King, written in 1968 after the murder of Martin Luther King Jr.” (You can hear “O King” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The all-modernist program is:
Pierre Boulez (below), Dialogues de l’Ombre Double (Dialogues of the Double Shadow) for solo clarinet and electronics.
Luciano Berio (below), O King and Folk Songs.
Also included are unspecified works by Karlheinz Stockhausen and Timothy Hagen.
Guest performers are Sarah Brailey, soprano (below); Alicia Lee, clarinet; Leslie Thimmig, basset horn; Sally Chisholm, viola; Parry Karp, cello; Timothy Hagen, flute; Yana Avedyan, piano; Paran Amirinazari, violin; and Anthony DiSanza, percussion.
For more information, including a story about a previous concert in “Le Domaine Musical,” go to:
https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/le-domaine-musical-with-marc-vallon/
Tags: #AaronCopland, #AliciaLee, #AnthonyDiSanza, #AntonWebern, #BaroqueMusic, #BassetHorn, #BassoonMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrassMusic, #BrassQuintet, #CelloMusic, #ChamberEnsemble, #ChamberMusic, #CivilRights, #ClarinetMusic, #Concert-goer, #DavidSampson, #ElectronicMusic, #EnnioMorricone, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #FluteMusic, #IsaacAlbeniz, #JoanTower, #KarlheinzStockhausen, #LeDomainMusical, #LeonardBernstein, #LesThimmig, #LucianoBerio, #MarcVallon, #MartinLutherKing, #MartinLutherKingJr., #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MillsHall, #Musicfaculty, #OKIng, #ParanAmirinazari, #ParisFrance, #ParryKarp, #PercussionMusic, #PianoMusic, #PierreBoulez, #ProgramNotes, #ReenaEsmail, #SallyChisholm, #SarahBrailey, #SopranoSinger, #SpringBreak, #The1950s, #The1960s, #TimothyHagen, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViolaMusic, #ViolinMusic, #VocalMusic, #WilliamByrd, #WisconsinBrassQuintet, #YanaAvedyan, #YouTubevideo, 1950s, 1960s, 1968, Aaron Copland, Alicia Lee, alumni, Anthony DiSanza, Anton Webern, Arts, assassination, audience, background, Baroque, Baroque music, basset horn, Bassoon, blog, brass music, Brass quintet, Cello, Chamber music, civil rights, clarinet, Classical music, colleague, complete, composer, Concert, conductor, curious, David Sampson, death, dialpgue, double, Early music, electronic, Ennio Morricone, ensemble, Facebook, faculty, flute, folk song, folksong, forward, France, free, guest artist, information, Isaac Albéniz, Jacob Stockinger, Joan Tower, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Le Domain Musical, Leonard Bernstein, Les Thimmig, like, link, listener, listeners, Luciano Berio, Madison, Marc Vallon, march, Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King Jr, masterpiece, Mead Witter School of Music, MLK, modernist, moving, murder, Music, New Music, night, noteworthy, opportunity, Paran Amarinazari, Paris, Parry Karp, percussion, performer, Piano, Pierre Boulez, program, program notes, quality, rare, Reina Esmail, Sally Chisholm, Sarah Brailey, Saturday, shadow, share, soprano, Spring, story, students, tag, Timothy Hagen, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, unspecified, unusual, Viola, Violin, vocal music, William Byrd, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Brass Quintet, word, work, Yana Avedyan, YouTube
Classical music: The Edgewood College Concert Band performs its 23rd annual benefit concert to fight hunger this Friday night. Plus, the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s “Final Forte” competition concert is TONIGHT at 7
1 Comment
ALERT: Just a reminder that TONIGHT at 7 p.m., the final round of the youth concerto competition with the Madison Symphony Orchestra will take place under the direction of MSO music director John DeMain.
You can stream it, or watch and hear the four finalists – two violinists, a pianist and a harpist – live on Wisconsin Public Television and Wisconsin Public Radio. You can also attend the concert in Overture Hall of the Overture Center for FREE if seats are still available.
For more information, including the program and biographies of the teenage performers, go to:
By Jacob Stockinger
This Friday night at 7 p.m., the Edgewood College Concert Band will perform a FREE donation concert to benefit a community food program. (Below is a poster from 2013.)
The concert will be in the St. Joseph Chapel, 1000 Edgewood College Drive.
Admission is FREE with a freewill offering to benefit the Luke House community meal program.
The Edgewood College Concert Band will play under the direction of Walter Rich (below). You can hear a sample of the concert band, taken from its 2013 Christmas concert, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The program offers a variety of styles and features music by William Byrd, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Claude Debussy. A Folk Song Set of Wisconsin by the American composer Barry E. Kopetz (born in 1951, below) will be also be featured.
The Music Department at Edgewood College has hosted benefit concerts for Luke House since 1994.
Tags: Arts, band, Barry Kopetz, benefit, biography, brass, Chamber music, charity, Christmas, Classical music, community, Competition, composer, Concert Band, concerto, Debussy, Early music, Edgewood College, Finale Forte, folk song, harp, hunger, Jacob Stockinger, John DeMain, Kopetz, Luke House, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, meal, Music, Music director, Music education, New Music, Orchestra, Overture Center, Piano, program, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Sant-Saens, stream, streaming, symphony, Tchaikovsky, teenage, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, video, Violin, Walter Rich, William Byrd, winds, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Public Television, WPR, WPT, Youth, YouTube
Classical music: UW Concert Choir performs a FREE concert with dancers on Friday night. Friday at noon a piano, viola and cello trio gives a FREE concert
Leave a Comment
ALERT: The week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, features cellist Morgan Walsh, violist Shannon Farley and pianist Kyle Johnson in music by Tchaikovsky, Schumann and Rebecca Clarke. The concert runs from 12:15 to 1 p.m.
By Jacob Stockinger
At 8 p.m. on Friday night in Mills Hall, the UW-Madison Chamber Choir (below top), under the direction of Beverly Taylor (below bottom), who heads the choral program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, will give a FREE concert.
Guest dancers will join the singers.
Here is the program:
Laudibus in sanctis (Paraphrase of Psalm 150) by William Byrd
Choral Dances from “Gloriana” by Benjamin Britten (Text by William Plomer), as seen in the YouTube video at bottom
“Totentanz” (Dance of Death) by Hugo Distler (original dialogue by Johannes Klockig after the Lübeck Totentanz)
“Dance to My Daddy,” English folksong, arranged by Goff Richards
“Begin the Beguine” by Cole Porter, arranged by Andrew Carter
“Der Tanz” (The Dance) by Franz Schubert
“Verano Porteño” by Astor Piazzolla, arranged by Oscar Escalada
“Fa una canzone” by Orazzio Vecchi
Tags: arrangement, Arts, Astor Piazzola, Ástor Piazzolla, Begin the Beguine, Benjamin Britten, Beverly Taylor, canzone, Cello, Chamber choir, Choir, choral music, Classical music, Cole Porter, Concert, Daddy, dance, dancer, death, Early music, First Unitarian Society of Madison, folk, folksong, Franz Schubert, Hugo Distler, Madison, Orazzio Vecchi, Piano, Psaml, Rebecca Clarke, Schumann, song, Tchaikovsky, Totentanz, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, vocal music, William Byrd, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: The Madison Bach Musicians perform Baroque and Renaissance English music this coming Friday night and Sunday afternoon
Leave a Comment
ALERT: The strike by the players in the Philadelphia Orchestra has been settled. For details, go to this website:
For more background about that strike and others, which The Ear writes about yesterday, go to:
By Jacob Stockinger
The Madison Bach Musicians will open its 2016-17 season this coming weekend with two performances of a program that features English music from the Baroque and Renaissance eras.
The first performance is this Friday, Oct. 7, at 7:30 p.m., preceded by 6:45 lecture, in the Atrium Auditorium (below, in a photo by Zane Williams) of the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive.
The second is this coming Sunday, Oct. 9, at 3:30 p.m., preceded by a 2:45 lecture, at the Holy Wisdom Monastery (below), 4200 County Highway M in Middleton.
If bought in advance, tickets are $28 for the general public and $23 for students and seniors over 65; at the door tickets will be $30 and $25, respectively. Student rush tickets are $10, require a student ID and are available 30 minutes before the lectures. For more information, visit www.madisonbachmusicians.org
The program features: Sonata in Four Parts in F major “Golden Sonata” by Henry Purcell (1659−1695); Suite No. 2 in D major from “Consort of Four Parts” by Matthew Locke (c. 1621−1677); Songs to texts by William Shakespeare by Robert Johnson (1583−1633); “Diverse bizzarie Spra La Vecchia” by Nicola Matteis (c. 1650−c. 1709); Division No. 7 for two bass viols by Christopher Simpson (c. 1606−1669); “Solus cum sola” for solo lute solo by John Dowland (1563−1626); “The Broken Consort” Part 1, Suite no. 2 in G major by Matthew Locke; “The Carman’s Whistle” by William Byrd (c. 1540−1623); “Light of Love” by Anonymous as arranged by David Douglass; “John Come Kiss Me Now” by John Playford (1623−c. 1686) as arranged by David Douglass; “Long Cold Night” and “Queen’s Jig.”
Performers include: Dann Coakwell, tenor; David Walker, lute and theorbo; Kangwon Kim violin and concertmaster; Brandi Berry, violin; Anna Steinhoff and Martha Vallon, viola de gamba; and Trevor Stephenson, harpsichord.
Here are some edited notes by MBM founder and director Trevor Stephenson (below):
Madison Bach Musicians is delighted to start off its 13th season with a foray into new repertoire for the group: English music from the Renaissance and Baroque.
A special feature of the program will be the recognition in song of the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare (1564-1616).
Both the smaller lute and the larger theorbo were considered ideal for accompanying the voice in songs, and the theorbo could project a bit better in larger ensembles.
Like the lute, the viola da gamba is also fretted, but it is bowed and not plucked. Moreover, the gamba is held between the legs, the “gams,” and its name literally means “viol of the legs.”
The baroque violins we’ll use in this program will be strung in the usual fashion of the 16th and 17th centuries, that is, with gut strings (from dried sheep intestine); and the bows will be of the Elizabethan “short” variety (shorter length, and with the stick arching away from the hair), which make them ideally suited for the intricate articulations and lively dance rhythms of this repertoire.
All of these instruments enjoyed great popularity in England during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Henry Purcell (below) flourished during the arts boom of the Restoration period under King Charles II and is widely known for his theater music and operas. However, he also wrote quite a bit of instrumental music.
The four parts of this sonata refers here not to numbers of movements, but to the number of simultaneous instrumental lines—in this case, four, which is notably different from the typical three-part (or trio sonata) Italianate texture of the 17th century.
The Purcell sonata is followed by an instrumental Suite in D major by Matthew Locke (c. 1621-1677). Locke was a close friend of the Purcell family and in particular of Purcell’s father, Henry Purcell Sr. The younger Henry Purcell wrote a musical elegy on Locke’s death in 1677.
Locke’s years of greatest musical activity in London began as the period of Puritanical Commonwealth rule, under Oliver Cromwell, was waning in the late 1650’s. The Commonwealth had severely restricted the theater and the arts in general. Fun fact: Locke (below) was the first composer to indicate a musical crescendo and decrescendo in a score.
The texts for the songs are from various Elizabethan poets—John Fletcher, John Webster and Shakespeare himself—and all of the music was composed by lutenist Robert Johnson (below, 1583-1633).
Johnson worked closely with Shakespeare in theatrical productions at the court of James I during the first few years of the 17th century. Johnson even provided music for Shakespeare’s original production of “The Tempest.”
The first part of the MBM program will conclude with two works that explore a favorite 17th-century technique of ornamentation over a repeated bass line, sometimes called a ground bass or chaconne.
The first is by the Italian virtuoso violinist Nicola Matteis (below, in a painting by Gottfried Kneller, c. 1650-1709), who enjoyed a successful career in London during an era when the English were importing Italian music masters by the dozens.
The second work, by Christopher Simpson (below, c. 1606-1669), explores “divisions” or variations tossed back and forth between two bass viols (gambas) while they simultaneously repeat a ground bass.
The second half of the program will feature songs for tenor and voice by John Dowland (below). We’ll also play Locke’s Broken Consort, “broken” meaning “mixed”–in that violins and gambas, which were considered in Elizabethan times to be artistically quite different instruments—were being asked by the composer to play nicely together.
Following that, I’ll play a rousing set of variations for harpsichord, “The Carman’s Whistle,” by William Byrd (below).
And to conclude the program, the consort will play a set of sprightly dances originally published in 1651 in the collection “The English Dancing Master” by John Playford (below).
Tags: Arts, Baroque, bow, chaconne, Christopher Simpson, Classical music, dance, David Douglass, Early music, Elizabethan, Elizabethan England, Elizabethan music, English, English Renaissance, ground bass, hair, harpsichord, Historically informed performance, Italian music, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, John Playford, King Charles II, lecture, London, lute, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Matthew Locke, Music, Nicola Matteis, Orchestra, period instruments, Purcell, Renaissance, restoration, Robert Johnson, score, Shakespeare, Sonata, song, Student, Suite, tenor, theorbo, trio, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, viola da gamba, Violin, vocal music, William Byrd, William Shakespeare, Wisconsin
Classical music: Old music and new music mingle superbly at the Token Creek Chamber Music Festival through a concert with viols, a countertenor and a new composition by John Harbison
2 Comments
By Jacob Stockinger
Here is a special posting, a review written by frequent guest critic and writer for this blog, John W. Barker. Barker (below) is an emeritus professor of Medieval history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also is a well-known classical music critic who writes for Isthmus and the American Record Guide, and who for 12 years hosted an early music show every other Sunday morning on WORT FM 89.9 FM. He serves on the Board of Advisors for the Madison Early Music Festival and frequently gives pre-concert lectures in Madison. Barker also provided the performance photos for this review.
By John W. Barker
The second of the Token Creek Chamber Music Festival’s three public concerts, which took place on Tuesday evening, was a study in the old and the new, and the mingling thereof.
The program title was, in fact, “Viol Music, Then and Now.” The performing group was the Second City Musick Consort of Viols of Chicago (below) — three players from there, plus visitor Brady Lanier.
Craig Trompeter, Russell Wagner, Anna Steinhoff at the Planetarium, Chicago, May 30, 2013
Much, but hardly all, of their contributions were consort pieces of the 16th and 17th centuries, although a certain number of transcriptions — ironically, of later music — were involved.
Three Fantasias for three viols by William Byrd and one by John Jenkins for four viols were prime specimens. Two pairs of examples from Henry Purcell’s Fantasias in 4 Parts represented a late contribution to the consort literature, but were probably intended — primarily, if not exclusively — for members of the violin family, not viols.
With the addition of countertenor Nathan Medley, groups of “consort songs” were presented: three by Byrd and one each by four different composers of the late-Elizabethan and early Stuart periods. These were capped by one of the favorite airs of Purcell, “Fairest Isle”— which is a part of his large “semi-opera” King Arthur.
The program’s centerpiece, however, was a new work by festival co-founder and co-artistic director, John Harbison (below), who won a Pulitzer Prize and has been a MacArthur “genius grant” Fellow and who teaches at MIT.
The nature and the scoring of this work, The Cross of Snow, was defined by the patron who commissioned it. This was local businessman William Wartmann (below), who intended it as a tribute to his deceased wife, the painter and singer Joyce Wartmann.
It was understood from the outset that it would be written for countertenor and consort of viols, and that the texts set would come from 19th-century poetic literature.
The choice eventually fell on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who also lost his wife tragically, in a fire. The three poems set are: The Cross of Snow, Suspira and “Some day, some day.” All of them deal with the deep and enduring pain over the loss of a loved one. The three settings are framed by a Prelude and a Postlude for the consort alone. (You can hear the poem “The Cross of Snow” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Harbison has a strong sense of tradition and a genuine sympathy for Baroque music. Still, in this composition he by no means attempts simply to imitate long-past styles. While he is interested in exploring the special coloring and harmonics of the viols, he also brings to them a lot of the playing techniques familiar from writing for modern stringed instruments, but alien to viols. Indeed, the instrumental role in this work could pretty easily be transferred from viols to modern strings.
Nevertheless, Harbison’s stylistic assimilations run deep. The five movements, and especially the quite contrapuntal Postlude, are built upon allusions to chorales by Johann Sebastian Bach (below). And, quite wisely, the consort played transcriptions of three such pieces in conjunction with Harbison’s score.
Moreover, it was decided to perform Harbison’s new work twice, once in each half of the concert. This was most helpful in allowing a deepened appreciation of the emotional content of both the poetry and the music. The vocal lines are strongly etched, and were beautifully sung by countertenor Medley, a superb artist.
With the final program, on this Friday night at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m., the spotlight will be exclusively on Franz Schubert (below) — his “Die Schoene Muellerin” (The Beautiful Miller’s Daughter) song cycle and the famous “Trout” Piano Quintet — music in a world between the two evoked by this concert.
For more information, visit: http://tokencreekfestival.org
Tags: air, American Record Guide, Arts, Bach, Baroque, Cello, Chamber music, Chicago, Chorale, Classical music, color, countertenor, Die Schoene Muellerin, Early music, Elizabethan, Franz Schubert, genius grant, harmony, Henry Purcell, History, Isthmus, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Harbison, John Jenkins, John W. Barker, literature, Longfellow, MacArthur Fellow, Madison, Madison Early Music Festival, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Medieval, MIT, Music, opera, pain, painter, patron, Piano, poem, postlude, Prelude, Pulitzer Prize, Second City Musick, singer, song, song cycle, strings, Stuart, Token Creek Chamber Music Festival, tradition, transcriptions, Trout Quintet, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viol, Viola, Violin, vocal music, William Byrd, William Wartmann, Wisconsin, WORT-FM 89.9, YouTube
Classical music: New York Polyphony opens the 17th annual Madison Early Music Festival with a perfectly rendered composite portrait of Elizabethan sacred music. Plus, the winners of the fourth annual Handel Aria Competition are announced
2 Comments
ALERT: In case you haven’t yet heard, the winners (below) of the fourth annual Handel Aria Competition, held on Friday night in Mills Hall and accompanied by the Madison Bach Musicians, have been announced.
Eric Jurenas (center), countertenor, won First Prize; Christina Kay (right), soprano, won Second Prize; and Nola Richardson (left), soprano, won Third Prize and Audience Favorite.
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear left the concert hall thinking: Well, this will be an easy review to write.
Just give it an A-plus.
An easy A-plus.
On Saturday night, the acclaimed a cappella quartet New York Polyphony (below) opened the 17th annual Madison Early Music Festival (MEMF) with a flawless performance.
This year, the MEMF is celebrating the 400th anniversary of the death of poet and playwright William Shakespeare (below top) and the 45-year reign of Queen Elizabeth I (below bottom), who oversaw the English Renaissance.
And the program – performed before a large house of perhaps 450 or 500 enthusiastic listeners — was perfectly in keeping with the festival’s theme. It used sacred music rather than stage music or secular music, which will be featured later in this week of concerts, workshops and pre-concert lectures.
In fact, the program of New York Polyphony was based on two of the group’s best-selling CDs for BIS Records and AVIE Records: “Tudor City” and “Times Goes by Turns.” It was roughly divided into two masses, one on each half. (You can hear a sample in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Adding to the variety was that each Anglican or Roman Catholic-based mass was a composite, with various sections made up like movements written by different composers. Thrown in for good measure were two separate short pieces, the “Ave Maria Mater Dei” by William Cornysh and the “Ave verum corpus” of William Byrd.
The Mass on the first half featured music by Byrd, John Dunstable, Walter Lambe and Thomas Tallis. The second half featured works music by Tallis, John Pyamour, John Plummer and excerpts from the Worcester Fragments. The section were typical: the Kyrie, Gloria in Excelsis, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei.
There was nothing fancy about this concert, which marked the Wisconsin debut of New York Polyphony and which spotlighted superbly quiet virtuosity. The four dark-suited men, who occasionally split up, just stood on stage and opened their mouths and sang flawlessly with unerring pitch and superb diction.
A cappella or unaccompanied singing is hard work, but the four men made it seem easy. The countertenor, tenor, baritone and bass each showed confidence and talent plus the ability to project clarity while not overshadowing each other. This was first-class singing.
The beautiful polyphony of the lines was wondrous to behold even, if like The Ear, sacred music from this era – with its chant-like rather than melodic qualities – is not your favorite fare.
New York Polyphony provided a good harbinger of the treats that will come this week at the MEMF from groups like the Newberry Consort of Chicago with soprano Ellen Hargis (below top) and the Baltimore Consort (below bottom) as well as from the faculty and workshop participants. On Friday night is an appealing program that focuses on Shakespeare’s sonnets and music.
And on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m., with a pre-concert lecture at 6:30 p.m., will be the All-Festival concert. That is always a must-hear great sampler of what you perhaps couldn’t get to earlier in the week. This year, it will feature the music as used in a typical Elizabethan day.
Here is a link to the MEMF website:
https://artsinstitute.wisc.edu/memf/
And here is a link the website of New York Polyphony if you want to hear more:
http://www.newyorkpolyphony.com
Tags: a cappella, Agnus Bei, Anglican, Anglicanism, aria, Arts, Ave, Ave Maria, Ave Verum Corpus, Avie Records, Baltimore Consort, baritone, Baroque, bass, Benedictus, BIS Records, Catholic, Cello, Chamber music, chant, choral music, Classical music, comedy, Compact Disc, Concert, countertenor, Credo, diction, drama, dramatic, Early music, Elizabethan, Ellen Hargis, England, English Renaissance, festival Madison Early Music Festival, George Frideric Handel, Gloria, Great Britain, Handel Aria Competition, History, Jacob Stockinger, John Dunstable, John Plummer, John Pyamour, Kyrie, lecture, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, mass, Music, New York City, New York Polyphony, Newberry Consort, Orchestra, pitch, play, playwright, poet, Poetry, polyphonic, polyphony, prize, Quartet, queen, Queen Elizabeth I, Roman Catholic, Roman Catholicism, Romance, sacred, Sanctus, secular, sonnet, soprano, tenor, theatrical, Thomas Tallis, tragedy, UK, United Kingdom, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Walter Lambe, William Byrd, William Cornysh, William Shakespeare, Wisconsin, Worcester Fragments, workshop, YouTube
Classical music: Spend a week in the Age of Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth I when the 17th annual Madison Early Music Festival is held, starting this Saturday. Part 2 of 2.
Leave a Comment
By Jacob Stockinger
Starting this Saturday, the 17th annual Madison Early Music Festival will take place on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.
The theme this year focuses on William Shakespeare and the Age of Queen Elizabeth I.
You can check out all the details of the festival at: http://www.madisonearlymusic.org
The co-directors of the festival – the wife-and-husband team of singers Cheryl Bensman Rowe and Paul Rowe (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot and signaled in the answers by the initials CBR and PR) took time out from the hectic preparations to answer an email Q&A with The Ear.
Here is a link to Part 1 that appeared yesterday:
Today is the last of two parts:
Why was the theme of the “Shakespeare 400: An Elizabethan Celebration” chosen for this year’s festival? What composers and works will be highlighted?l
CBR: We chose the theme to honor the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare and the musical connections in his plays and sonnets, which also reflect the world of Queen Elizabeth I.
Audiences will hear many works of famous Elizabethan composers including Orlando Gibbons, Thomas Tallis, Anthony Holborne, John Dowland and others.
How does Elizabethan music differ from its counterparts in, say, Italy, France and Spain. What is the historical origin and role of the music from that era?
PR: The most familiar music from this time, the madrigal, is “borrowed” from the Italians. There were several Italian composers who came to England to instruct the English in their music. The most famous collection of these pieces is called “Musica transalpine” or Italian madrigals “Englished.”
The lute song also originated in Italy but was taken to new poetic heights by John Dowland and his compatriots.
The English composers did create a unique style of sacred music with William Byrd (below top) and Thomas Tallis (below bottom) as the greatest of these Elizabethan composers.
What music and composers of the era have been most neglected and least neglected by historians and performers? What big things should the public know about Elizabethan music?
PR: Audience members may be less familiar with the vocal and instrumental consort music of this era. Many of these pieces were not intended for public performance, but were played as home or parlor entertainment. The pieces were designed to be very flexible and could be played with a variety of voices and instruments.
The reign of Queen Elizabeth I (below) with her active encouragement of the arts was a peak of artistic achievement in the long history of the British Empire. Music, poetry, dance and theater all thrived for more than 20 years and produced some of the greatest masterworks of Western culture, including the plays of Shakespeare.
Can you tell us about the All-Festival concert program on Saturday night, July 16?
CBR: The All-Festival Concert will feature MEMF students and faculty performing a new program created exclusively for MEMF by Grant Herried (below), “Shakespeare’s Musical World: A Day in the Life of Elizabethan London.
The program is organized by times of the day with speeches from different plays of Shakespeare. Musical reflections include several wonderful pieces by Orlando Gibbons including “The Cries of London,” “O Come Let Us Sing Unto the Lord” and a setting of the “Magnificat” by Orlando Gibbons, “Music Divine” by Thomas Tomkins, a motet by Thomas Tallis, and other works by Thomas Weelkes, Thomas Morely, John Coperario and John Dowland.
Retired UW-Madison history professor John W. Barker will be giving the 6:30 p.m. pre-concert lecture on “Queen Elizabeth I: The Politician” in the Elvehjem Building of the Chazen Museum of Art.
Are there other sessions, guest lectures and certain performers or performances that you especially recommend for the general public?
PR: We would like to encourage everyone to see all the concerts and experience the entire week. It’s like stepping back in time to a different era—a living history lesson complete with an authentic sound track.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
CBR and PR: Check out our website for more details about everything. There is a lot to hear, see, and experience! You can purchase tickets: online; at the Vilas Hall Box Office; at the Wisconsin Union Theater Box Office (Memorial Union); by calling 608-265-ARTS (2787); or the door. For more information about the MEMF concert series and workshop, please visit our website: http://www.madisonearlymusic.org
Tags: Anthony Holborne, Arts, Bard, British empire, Cello, Chamber music, choral music, Classical music, Concert, dance, drama, Early music, Elizabethan, empire, England, English, festival, France, Grant Herreid, History, Home, instrumental, Italiam, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, John Coperario, John Dowland, John W. Barker, lecture, London, lute, Madison, Madison Early Music Festival, madrigal, Magnificat, motet, Music, opera, Orlando Gibbons, Overture Center, parlor, play, poem, Poetry, Queen Elizabeth I, song, Spain, theater, Thomas Morely, Thomas Tallis, Thomas Weelkes, UK, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Western culture, William Byrd, William Shakespeare, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Union Theater
The Well-Tempered Ear 