Home  Entertainment Reviews Musica Antigua Review
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Written by D.S. Crafts
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Monday, 12 December 2005 |
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Music for the Christmas holiday extends back to the time of Gregorian chant. No music survives from Roman times, including that performed for the Saturnalia feast from which modern Christmas is derived. But there is a wealth of seasonal music from ancient Europe which Musica Antigua has attractively assembled into a program entitled "Nowell, Nowell! Christmas Music from the Middle Ages & Renaissance."
Organized thematically rather than chronologically, the program spans a period from the 13th century to the 16th from countries throughout western Europe. While most of the music will be unfamiliar even to early music enthusiasts, its immediate beauty is easily grasped, giving one the feeling of having been transported back in time to a strange but wonderful celebration. In illuminating the various literary themes set forth, the program is carefully arranged to mix popular music with examples of the more elaborate counterpoint from the master composers. The St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church provides an exhilarating sonic environment for this music that was intended to be heard within the confines of the echoey cathedrals of Europe. Voices carry wonderfully, and when the entire ensemble joins together, the joyous sound reverberates throughout the huge room. The group enters from the back of the hall chanting an anonymous French conductus, one of the earliest examples of polyphony (more than one vocal melody) Universi populi (Let all the people). The section entitled “Star of the Sea” contains several beautifully touching pieces celebrating the mother of Jesus. Ave, in styrpe (Hail, flower flowering) is a lovely duet between soprano and alto voices. Nowell: Tydynges trew ther be cum new, an early English carol will be known to many with its refrain “This is the salutacion” which could easily get one singing along. “The Best Nowells That E’er Befell” brings us to a section of the most familiar music on the program, including perhaps the most well-known of all early Christmas pieces, Es ist ein Ros’ entsprugen (Lo, how a Rose e’er Blooming) by Praetorius. Balulalow, a lullaby from 16th century Scotland, features the silvery voice of soprano Colleen Sheinberg[cq] accompanied lightly by plucked strings. The title of this set is taken from the second line of this lilting melody. Here is a real find! The familiar tunes In dulci jubilo (In Sweet Rejoicing), and Joseph, lieber Joseph mein (Joseph, dear Joseph mine) fill out the rest of this grouping. Following intermission the ensemble returns with a rhythmically boisterous villancico from the Spaniard Bartolomé Cárçeres who composed during the 16th century. Tau garçó, la durundena is taken from a longer medley which tells of the shepherds who came to view the child in the manger. This rousing tune would likely be as popular as the more familiar “E la don don” or “Riu, riu chiu” were it more often played. It was included on Musica Antigua’s first CD recording, A Rose of Swych Virtue, still available and highly recommended. This concert repeats on Friday, December 23 at 7:30, at the same location.
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About Reviewers D.S. Crafts (Website) Composer Daniel Steven Crafts came to New Mexico from San Francisco where he had hosted a classical music radio program on KPFA. His first commission from opera star Jerry Hadley, "The Song & the Slogan" based on texts by Carl Sandburg, was made into a TV program for the PBS network and aired nationally in 2004 and won an Emmy for Best Music. His latest opera La Llorona is a collaboration with novelist Rudolfo Anaya based on his play "The Season of La Llorona." Mr. Crafts is currently working on another commission from Jerry Hadley for a piece about the American Southwest which includes texts by Rudolfo Anaya and V.B. Price. Two CDs of his music, Contemporaries (short, satirical keyboard works) and ARIAS (excerpts from his various operas) have been released on the BACAT label in San Francisco.
David Steinberg David Steinberg has covered state government, the courts, city and county government in Santa Fe for the Albuquerque Journal. He's been an arts writer for the past 20 years, and serves as the book editor, for the Journal. Over the years, he's also acted in plays, sung in choruses and played trumpet.
Jennifer Noyer Jennifer Noyer has been writing dance reviews for the Albuquerque Journal for 17 years, as well as contributing articles for Dance Magazine and other art journals. She trained in dance with Hanya Holm in New York City and Colorado Springs, and studied several dance techniques at the graduate level at the University of Michigan. After teaching dance at Wayne State University she entered and completed a Masters Degree in Humanities there. In New Mexico Ms. Noyer has taught, directed, and choreographed contemporary dance for several years. Her writing on dance includes a monograph accompanying the video of choreographer Bill Evens’ ballet “The Legacy.” An overview of Evans’s world wide career, it was written and published during his tenure at the University of New Mexico. Ms. Noyer’s studies in the humanities, and her studio dance work influence her approach to dance as an integrative art form in the United States.
Barry Gaines Barry Gaines has taught Shakespeare in the University of New Mexico English Department for over twenty-five years and has received two outstanding teaching awards. He has written theater reviews for the Journal since 2000. He has attended theater all over the world including Shakespeare productions in Russia, South Africa, Denmark, and Poland. He has also served as literary advisor for two professional theater companies and written performance reviews for Shakespeare Quarterly. Gaines has taken two years of acting with Paul Ford and appeared in small parts in three plays at the Albuquerque Little Theater. He believes that he is probably a better reviewer than actor.
Joanne Sheehy Hoover Joanne Sheehy Hoover, music critic emeritus of the Albuquerque Journal, has written for NPR, PBS, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Symphony, among others. She has also been a music lecturer for the Smithsonian Associates and a music critic and arts writer for The Washington Post. She was director of the Levine School of Music, one of the country’s largest community music schools, in Washington, D. C. 1980-1993. She and her husband moved to Corrales, New Mexico in July 1993. Also a poet, her fifth collection, “Einstein in New Mexico,” was published in 2002.
Marissa Greenberg Marissa Greenberg is a member of the faculty of the University of New Mexico English Department, where she teaches Shakespeare and early English literature. A prior guest reviewer for the Albuquerque Journal, Greenberg will be reviewing theater while Barry Gaines is out of town. She also composed and edited the program notes for last year’s Albuquerque Shakespeare Festival and has written performance reviews for Shakespeare Bulletin. A graduate of Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania, Greenberg has been performing and studying drama for most of her life. She is thrilled to have this opportunity to review for the Journal.
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