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7th Annual “Musike for the Nywe Yeare” Concerts: Palestrina and Friends
The a cappella vocal ensemble VoXX: Voice of Twenty presented its annual “Musike for the Nywe Yeare” concerts three times in January to celebrate the turning of the year. The group’s 2012 program was titled “Palestrina and Friends,” and was built around a core of works by the great Renaissance composer. As always, the midcoast Maine vocal ensemble had put together repertoire that covers a broad spectrum, from medieval times through the 20th century and from chant and polyphony through contemporary. They complemented the Palestrina repertoire with a set of remembrance pieces, works by several English Masters (Byrd, Purcell, Tavener), and, to brighten the mood, select settings of some infrequently performed holiday carols.
VoXX presented three performances of Palestrina and Friends: Friday, January 20, at Belfast United Methodist Church, 23 Mill Lane, Belfast, at 7:00 p.m.; Saturday, January 21, at St. Denis Catholic Church, 298 Grand Army Rd., Whitefield, at 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, January 22, High Mountain Hall, 5 Mountain St., Camden, at 3:00 p.m. with a reception to follow. Admission was $10, tickets available at the door.
Born near Rome, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was the most famous composer of the Roman School of music during the Counter-Reformation, and his skillful writing has more than stood the test of time. His work can be seen as a summation of Renaissance polyphony, much as the work of J.S. Bach (also featured in this program) exemplifies Baroque counterpoint. VoXX presented five works by Palestrina: the Sanctus and Benedictus from the iconic Missa Papae Marcelli, the stately Tu es Petrus, the lyrical Sicut Cervus (a VoXX favorite that the group has been singing since its early days as Ave Maris Stella), and a pair of madrigals: Alla Riva Del Tebro and I Vaghi Fiori.
“We crafted this program around a core of Palestrina’s compositions, some we have enjoyed singing through the years and some that are new to us. Then we chose other contrasting and complementary music to take us through the ages to modern times,” said Elena Hamilton, Music Director. “Presenting a set of works by arguably the greatest composer of the Renaissance seems de rigeur for any group that, like VoXX, emphasizes early works as part of what they do, yet we wanted to also showcase our love of other repertoire.”
Other early pieces on the program continuee VoXX’s tradition of presenting pieces sung by small ensembles within the group. These includee Josquin’s Tu Pauperum Refugium and the Kyrie and Gloria from William Byrd’s Mass for Three Voices.
VoXX chose a set of works by English composers to showcase the mastery of that choral tradition. These included the rousing concert opener Coelos Ascendit written for antiphonal choirs by Charles Villiers Stanford; the Byrd Mass; If Ye Love Me by Thomas Tallis; and Henry Purcell’s Remember Not, Lord, Our Offences.
Midwinter is a also time for reflection and remembrance, as exemplified by John Tavener’s stunning Song for Athene (performed at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales) and Douglas Guest’s For the Fallen. VoXX began work on J.S. Bach’s motet Jesu Meine Freude (BWV 227) last summer, and continued on this program with a rendition of Chorale Number 9 (Gute Nacht).
Then to lift the mood and brighten the dark days of winter, VoXX presented some traditional but less commonly sung seasonal works. Tomorrow Shall be My Dancing Day, There is No Rose of Swych Vertu (sung by the women), and Angelus ad Virginem (sung by the men) were contrasted with a modern setting by Jan Sandström of Det är en Ros (There is No Rose) by Michael Praetorius.
Now in its second decade, VoXX (formerly known as Ave Maris Stella) has sung up and down the Maine coast, and generally performs two scheduled concert sets per year, in January and mid-summer. VoXX likes the challenges of unusual vocal music, yet more familiar works by such renowned composers as Britten, Byrd, Dufay, Holst, Josquin, Lauridsen, Victoria, and Vaughan Williams (not to mention Anonymous) are also central to the repertoire. VoXX mainly performs a cappella, but appropriate instrumentation (recorders, percussion, strings) is occasionally added.
VoXX is unusual in that it is a collectively run, all-volunteer organization. Membership is by audition (the group is currently seeking a few new members, see the group’s website for details), and singers come from all walks of life: teachers and students, professionals and retirees. Members can share in the responsibility of bringing music selections to the group and may take turns teaching and leading. The group has built a strong following and is well known for its efforts to inform audiences through extensive program notes.
The group recently released its first CD, VoXX: Voice of Twenty: “Favorites Old and New.”. It is available at the group’s concerts and website, and via cdbaby.com. VoXX is available to perform by invitation. Visit www.voiceoftwenty.com or call 207-236-9413 for more information.
SoloVoXX press release
Called “Solo VoXX” the October concert will be a revue that showcases some of the many other hidden musical talents within the group. There’ll be some classical works plus folk, jazz, pop, and even some rock. A percentage of the proceeds will go toward the Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen.
The concerts will be October 7 in the Parish Hall at St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, 33 Chestnut Street, Camden, and Saturday, October 8, at Northport Music Theater on Route One in Northport. Both concerts will begin at 7:30 p.m. Refreshments will be sold during intermission. Admission will be by suggested donation of $10 per person at the door; audience members are also encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item or two to be donated to the soup kitchen.
Fans familiar with VoXX can expect to be surprised by the variety of other talents that group members have been hiding under their formal attire. The evening will feature songs by George Frideric Handel and Franz Schubert, Dougie McLean and Stan Rogers, and Stephen Sondheim and the Indigo Girls. There will also be original compositions and jazz improvisation. In a non-VoXX twist, a majority of the songs will be accompanied: group members and some special guests will chime in on guitar, piano, mandolin, bass, saxophone, winds, cello, and vocals. The subject matter will cover love, loss, peace, change, and the games people play, and the evening will culminate in an a cappella group finale of “And So It Goes,” by Billy Joel.
“We were lamenting the fact that we hang up our performing clothes after our mid-summer concerts and don’t get in front of an audience again until late January. One of our members suggested that each of us could prepare one piece of music, or help with another aspect of the show, and we could put on a concert that way. We didn’t put any limits on the types of music, so the result is going to be quite the varied evening! It’s a chance for us to fly solo, stretch into other genres, keep our performing skills fresh, and raise some money for good causes,” said Music Director Elena Hamilton.
Now in its second decade, VoXX is unusual in that it is a collectively run, all-volunteer organization. Membership is by audition, and singers come from all walks of life: teachers and students, professionals and retirees. Members share the responsibility of bringing music selections to the group and may take turns teaching and leading. The group recently released its first CD, and has built a strong following and is well known for its efforts to inform and perhaps challenge its audiences.
The full group is currently in rehearsal for its annual late-January “Musike for the Nywe Yeare” concert series, which will feature three performances of a selection of works by the great Renaissance composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and some of his pals, plus some lesser-heard holiday carols, and a selection of music by English Masters. January concert dates and venues are TBA; check back here for more information.
VoXX: Voice of Twenty - CD Sale
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Based in Camden, Maine, VoXX:Voice of Twenty was formed under the name Ave Maris Stella 10 years ago to perform early vocal music. The group has since grown into an auditioned ensemble that strives to bring high-quality a cappella works to Maine audiences. From familiar pieces by such well know early composers as Byrd, Dufay, Josquin and Machaut, to recent works by contemporary composers, VoXX delights in the challenges of singing a wide range of repertoire. The all-volunteer group is collectively run. All singers are encouraged to be involved in the music-selection process and to share in the responsibilities of running, teaching and leading the group. This is the first of what is sure to be many more recordings.
VoXX's Summer 2011 Concert Series
VoXX: Voice of Twenty, the highly regarded, midcoast-Maine-based, a cappella vocal ensemble that specializes in early music as well as more contemporary works, presented its annual high summer program three times in early July.
Wednesday, July 6 (7:30 p.m.) Pascal Hall (former Élan Gallery), 86 Pascal Ave., Rockport. 207-236- 4272; www.pascalhall.com. (Reception to follow.)
Saturday, July 9 (7:30 p.m.) Belfast Armory, Route One, Belfast.
Sunday, July 10, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Maine Irish Heritage Center, 34 Gray St., Portland. 207-780-0118; www.maineirish.com.
The “Innovation and Innovators” series explored the work of musical pioneers through the ages, from Hildegard von Bingen and Gesualdo through Monteverdi and J.S. Bach, culminating in Arvo Pärt and Eric Whitacre. As is usual for the group’s concerts, the repertoire covered a broad spectrum. Medieval and Renaissance works were contrasted with more modern pieces, and styles ranged from chant through polyphony to contemporary. As part of the “innovation” theme, VoXX collaborated with artists from other disciplines. Artist David Estey created a painting during the singing on the Magnificat by Arvo Part and dancer Joan Proudman interpreted movements from Bach's Jesu Meine Freude motet. Rather than follow a “music through the ages” approach, VoXX presented the program pieces in ways to created contrasts and some unexpected affects.
The first half opened with the rousing “Hosanna to the Son of David” by Thomas Weelkes, then moved from the 1500s: “Carmina Chromatico” by Lassus and Gesualdo’s “O Vos Omnes,” to the 1800s: “Christus Factus Est” by Anton Bruckner. Then the program jumped back in time to the mid-1300s and featured the modally haunting Kyrie and Agnus Dei from the anonymous “Messe du Tournai” and “O Padua, Sidus Praeclarum” by Johannes Ciconia.
The half finished with works by living composers: Sir John Tavener’s setting of William Blake’s “The Lamb,” and “Magnificat,” by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. Award-winning abstract painter David Esteyl spontaneously interpreted Pärt’s shimmering harmonies in acrylics on a large canvas while the members of VoXX perform the 6.5-minute-long work. Estey is an award-winning painter who lives in Belfast. He has degrees from the Rhode Island School of Design and George Washington University, and has lived, taught, and exhibited around Baltimore, Philadelphia, Charlotte, and mid-coast Maine. Estey is known primarily for his abstract paintings and prints, and his strong, expressive, figure drawings.
The second half opened in a more traditional manner, with a work by writer, philosopher, Christian mystic, and polymath Hildegard von Bingen. An arrangement of her haunting chant “O Virtus Sapientiae” shifts voice pairings above a hypnotic drone. In sharp contrast two pieces sung by subsets of the group: Janequin’s lively “Le Chant des Oyseaux,” complete with bird calls in tongue-twisting antique French, followed by Monteverdi’s “Cruda Amarilli,” which is based upon a tragi-comic pastoral drama.
A pair of pieces by Maurice Durufle are from his 1960 “Quatre Motets sur des Thèmes Grégoriens.” “Ubi Caritas” were then sung by VoXX’s men, and “Tota Pulchra Es” by the group’s women. That lead to VoXX’s first foray into the works of J.S. Bach, specifically two chorales and one chorus from the funeral motet “Jesu Meine Freude.” Belfast dancer Joan Proudman, an alumna of the Ram Island Dance Company and the Portland Ballet, interpreted the Bach while the group sang. The concert concert closer was Eric Whitacre’s elegiac “Sleep,” which had its world premiere “Virtual Choir 2.0” performance in April.
“We crafted this ‘Innovation and Innovators’ program to add a little spice to what we do, and also so we could collaborate with more local artists. There are so many talented people in this area. We worked with local poets for our “Poetry and Music” program last summer, and that was a wonderful experience both for us and our audiences.” said Elena Hamilton, Music Director.
Now in its second decade, VoXX has sung up and down the Maine coast, and generally performs two scheduled concert sets per year, in January and early summer. VoXX recently released its first CD--a selection of “Favorites Old & New” from its Winter 2011 concert series. The disc is available for $15 from group members and online at CDBaby.com.
The group tries to bring unusual vocal music to Maine audiences, yet more familiar works by renowned composers from Anonymous, Britten, Byrd, and Dufay, to Josquin, Lauridsen, Palestrina, and Victoria are also a large part of the repertoire. While VoXX mainly performs a cappella, appropriate instrumentation (recorders, percussion, strings) is occasionally added.
VoXX is unusual in that it is a collectively run, all-volunteer organization. Membership is by audition, and singers come from all walks of life: teachers and students, professionals and retirees. Members share the responsibility of bringing music selections to the group and may take turns teaching and leading. The group has built a strong following and is well known for its efforts to inform audiences through program notes and spoken introductions.
Upcoming projects include the group’s annual mid-January “Musike for the Nywe Yeare” set of concerts. The 2012 program will be built around works by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, one of the Renaissance’s greatest composers, and will also feature a selection of unusual holiday carols contrasted with a set of “remembrance” songs rounded out by English Masters such as Byrd, Tallis, and Stamford.
VoXX is available to perform by invitation. Visit www.voiceoftwenty.com or call 207-236-9413 for more information.
VoXX: Voice of Twenty -- CD Release
VoXX Releases First CD "Favorites" - Musike for the Nywe Yeare
VoXX: Voice of Twenty, the highly regarded, midcoast Maine a cappella vocal ensemble, is proud to announce that it has released its first recording. The eponymous disc, which contains a wide range of repertoire from the group’s January 2011 “Musike for the Nywe Yeare” concerts, is available for $15 from group members and here on our website.
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