Orlando Consort
2009-2010 Programs Summary


NOTES:
1. Customized programs are available on request.
2. All programs, including those here, must be approved through BesenArts before being considered confirmed.
3. Programs as of May 8, 2008, subject to change.

Download Orlando Consort programs in PDF format.


The Rose, the Lily, and the Whortleberry
Medieval and Renaissance Musical Representations of Gardens and Horticulture
Companion CD from Harmonia Mundi USA (2006)

Summon up a pictorial image of Medieval courtly love and it is almost inevitable that it will feature a garden. Throughout history, the symbolic and allegorical allure of flowers has been irresistible to artists, poets and composers who have delighted in the overt beauty and secret codes that flowers convey.  This program explores the inventiveness of composers from the 13th to the 16th centuries from all over Europe who have employed floral imagery to illustrate earthly and heavenly love, in pure and sometimes erotic manner.

From France in the 13th and 14th centuries come some of the earliest of all written songs and music by Machaut, possibly the greatest of all musical portrayers of courtly love. From England, spellbinding sacred music from the 15th century in motets from the Song of Songs.  From 15th and 16th century Burgundy, France, and Italy, music by Dufay, Brumel, Jannequin, Willaert, and others that effortlessly switches between enchanting representations of horticulture and sentiments that would make any keen gardener blush!

The Call of the Phoenix: English Voices, Old & New
Companion CDs from Harmonia Mundi USA:  The Call of the Phoenix (2002) & Scattered Rhymes (2008)
NOTE: The Orlando Consort also offers a version of this program devoted entirely to 15th Century English repertory.

The Orlando Consort cordially extends an invitation to American choirs to join us in a magical evocation of English music from more than 500 years ago — and the present.  This is music of intense passion and committed belief, with the power to raise the human spirit and urge us all to reach out towards a better world.

At the end of the Middle Ages and in the early years of the Renaissance, English composers and musicians, led by such figures as John Dunstaple, Leonel Power, and Walter Frye, were respected as being the very best in Europe.  Not only this, but their work bore influence upon that of their European contemporaries in a manner that was not to be repeated until the era of the Beatles.  Yet frustratingly little of the music in question has survived — decay, war, and politics from the time of King Henry VIII onwards devastated the work of previous centuries.  Remarkably, however, some of this music has re-emerged.  The parchment upon which it was written was considered too valuable to be burnt and was instead used for such varied tasks as lining shoes, wrapping fish, and binding new books.  It is from uncovering these books that fragments have emerged, like the Phoenix, providing a tantalizing glimpse of this lost musical world.

The cornerstone of this program is the strikingly beautiful Caput Mass, written by an anonymous composer sometime around the year 1435.  The Consort will undertake the virtuoso polyphony lines, inviting local choirs to contribute the gloriously free-spirited Plainsong sections that punctuate the movements of the Mass.  The Orlando Consort has chosen to celebrate the re-emergence of this wonderful music by pairing it with Scattered Rhymes, a new work scored for the Orlando Consort and Choir by the brilliant young British composer Tarik O’Regan, who is currently serving on the faculties of both Columbia and Yale Universities.  This dynamic piece, based on medieval motifs, is a true celebration of the timeless nature of great music and leads to an understanding that our links with our ancestors are stronger than we might sometimes imagine.

The Ambassadors
Diplomacy and intrigue, chivalry and war, beauty and decay, artistry and invention — welcome to the life of a European Ambassador 500 years ago.  Through the journals and letters left behind by a complex web of career diplomats, a vivid image survives of the rich opulence and tortured machinations of Renaissance court life.  Calling on the experiences of these Ambassadors, the Orlando Consort explores in words and music some of the finest sacred and secular music of Burgundy, Italy, Spain, and England, featuring music of Dufay, Josquin, Isaac, Obrecht, and others.  Behind the elegance of exquisite love songs and grand ceremonial motets lies an untold tale of the secret world of the diplomat.

This program is designed to offer a series of snapshots of the European musical scene in the second half of the 15th century and the early part of the 16th century.  Music from the great musical centers – Burgundy, France, Spain, Italy and England – is presented in an historical and social context, as described by the early Renaissance equivalent of cultural correspondents, the Ambassadors.  Readings of letters and other historical documents by members of the Consort will reveal diplomatic observations and secrets that were only ever intended for the ears of a very few.  Accounts of negotiations for marriages, colorful descriptions of imperious ceremonies, and expressions of fears for war stand alongside observations on the singing abilities of Princes, the merits of certain composers, and how much tenors should be paid!

Food, Wine & Song
Music and Feasting in Medieval and Early Renaissance Europe
Companion CD from Harmonia Mundi USA (2001)

In the unending quest to please the senses it is hard to imagine a more irresistible combination than good food and good music.  Throughout history the two have gone hand in hand and documents have survived testifying in detail to the most tremendous feasts and lavish entertainments during the period explored in this program (1220-1585) by The Orlando Consort, England’s leading male vocal quartet.

Chefs and musicians of the day proved themselves true masters of their crafts.  In music, composers intertwined beguiling melodies with sophisticated harmonies and rhythms, and matched vigorous popular tunes with stirring accompaniments.  Cookery was conceived both as a precise science and a complex art, and chefs availed themselves of a full range of herbs and spices to create dishes worthy of any grand occasion.  The dramatic combination of the two disciplines provides not only a fascinating picture of contemporary eating habits, but also a striking image of social life in general.

France: Begin with a delicate aperitif in honor of St. Francis and the vineyard; then be joined for the main course by rumbustious Parisian diners (c. 1300).  For dessert, the risqué songs of Adam de la Halle.  
England: The monks of Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire serve up some of the most sumptuous religious music of the 14th Century, together with prodigious quantities of strong, monastery-brewed ale!  Plus 15th Century advice on etiquette and good table manners.
Italy: Follow the whole cooking process, from the trip to the market to guidance on how to produce cheese.  Profit from some timeless advice: “Eating an artichoke without salt is like going to the carnival with your own husband.”  But don’t be fooled.  Though the songs appear to be about food, in reality they are obsessed with sex!
Burgundy: Celebrate the lavish Feast of the Pheasant (1454) with the beautiful songs of Guillaume Dufay and Gilles Binchois.  Relax to Compère’s beautiful motet in praise of Bacchus.  And revel in the party thrown by the composers Robert Morton and Hayne van Ghizeghem — so loud, it could be heard 200 miles away!
Spain and Portugal: Taste a selection of the finest Spanish wines as described by the none-too-sober composers of the Palace Songbook.  Experience the sharp end of haggling for grain in the Portuguese market place.  
Germany: Learn of a hundred and one things to do with eggs.  Then wash them down with the very finest German beer and wine.  As the poet optimistically says: “Drink and sing, for the landlord will surely let us drink on credit until tomorrow!”

The Anonymous Monk
The Polyphony of Notre Dame
Optional collaboration with Choir

Some time around the year 1275 an English monk traveled from Bury St. Edmunds in the county of Suffolk to Paris, possibly to enroll as a student at the great university there.  This monk, who is now conventionally referred to as “Anonymous IV,” has earned a special place in history as the main source of information on the extraordinary music of the Cathedral of Notre Dame.  Yet what would Anonymous IV have found if he had also made a journey to St. David’s Cathedral in Wales at around the same time?  This concert muses on this possibility in words and music, bringing together the virtuosity of the Orlando Consort, unusual readings based on historical research, and the optional collaboration of a local community or university choir.

Through the writings of Anonymous IV we learn of the variety of music sung in daily services, the names of the great composers Leonin and Perotin, and that their style of music had already formed the mainstay of the cathedral repertoire for the best part of a hundred years.  Yet he also tells us that Notre Dame polyphony had a much wider currency than its name would imply, suggesting an active academic “export trade.”  Traces of cultivation of the music, in manuscripts ranging from superbly decorated books owned by Medieval and Renaissance potentates to tiny scraps of parchment that have survived for 800 years by nothing more than accident, are found all over Europe: from Poland to Spain, and from Rome to St. Andrews in Scotland.  Moreover, Anonymous IV names specific singers who were masters of their art, giving rise to the probability that this repertoire would have been well-known in abbeys and cathedrals throughout England, Wales, and Scotland.

The Orlando Consort is delighted to extend an invitation to local singers to join them in the performance of this unique program.  Singing plainsong is a wonderfully elevating experience, re-establishing links with our ancestors from hundreds of years ago.  Chant was not only the hymn singing of Medieval and Renaissance Europe, but also the building blocks used by composers throughout the Middle Ages and beyond.  Singers of all ages and voice-types are welcome — the only qualification needed is the ability to hold a tune!  The ideal number of participants is anything between 12 and 50.  Workshops are available for singers ages 11 and up, and can be tailored to any level, from beginners to those in conservatory-level training.  Consort member Angus Smith is co-author of Let’s Make Medieval Music!, a learning text designed for 11-14 year olds (Stainer and Bell, October 2002).