Mississippi Early Music Ensemble
April is the Cruellest Month
On April 13, 2010 at 8:00 PM in Nutt Auditorium, the Mississippi Early
Music ensemble performed in a program of music consisting of songs by
Dufay, Marenzio, and a crusading song by medieval German poet Walter von
der Vogelweide, along with renaissance dances by Tylman Susato.
The featured work consisted of scenes from
Marc-Antoine Charpentier's pastoral opera Actéon, a
dramatization of the tragic story of a Theban hunter who chances to see
the goddess Diana bathing. He is punished by being transformed into a stag,
and is then set upon and killed by his own hunting dogs.
The Mississippi Early Music Ensemble, directed by Laurdella
Foulkes-Levy and David
Warren Steel, includes both students and faculty, and specializes in
the interpretation of European music before 1700. In addition
to choral and solo vocal music, the group performs on a number
of instruments, including recorders, crumhorn, harpsichord, organ,
viola da gamba, baroque guitar, and percussion.
La Maniera di Musica
On November 3, 2009 at 8:00 PM the Mississippi Early Music Ensemble
performed in a program entitled La Maniera di Musica in Nutt
Auditorium. The pieces focus on the moody and expressive yet stylish
vocal music of the early 17th century, including songs and madrigals by
Claudio Monteverdi and John Hilton and sacred concertos of Heinrich
Schütz. Several soloists were featured in dramatic scenes that
include the angel Gabriel's dialogue with the
Virgin Mary and a love duet between Nero and his mistress Poppea. This
year's concert featured a student brass quintet and the Nutt auditorium
pipe organ
Lamentations and Sprightly Mirth
On April 20, 2009, the Mississippi Early Ensemble (MEME) returned from
a fall sabbatical to present a concert of early music in Nutt Auditorium.
The program explored the contrast between "sprightly" madrigals and
canzonets by Thomas Morley, John Hilton and Michael East with two
important laments: the Lamentations of Jeremiah by Thomas Tallis, and
the dramatic Lament of the Nymph by Claudio Monteverdi, featuring
mezzo soprano Dasha Teelin. Completing the program were dance
arrangements by Thomas Morley and Christopher Simpson for instrumental
ensemble.
The Masque of the Four Seasons
On April 21, 2008 at 8:00 PM, the Mississippi Early Ensemble (MEME)
performed a concert of early music in Nutt Auditorium. The program
included works in several styles from 1500 to 1700, and featured the
masque of the Four Seasons from The Fairy Queen (1692) a
semiopera by Henry Purcell. In this work, the four seasons appear with
offerings to the sun god who makes all seasons, and all life, possible.
Also featured are several French chansons from the 16th century, and
passionate works by Claudio Monteverdi. Soloists
included Debra Spurgeon, soprano, Cynthia Linton and Dasha Teelin,
mezzo soprano, Kevin Dyess and Christian Feazell, tenors, and instrumentalists
playing violins, recorders, viola da gamba, and harpsichord.
Construe my meaning
On November 12, 2007 at 8:00 PM, the Mississippi Early Ensemble (MEME)
performed a concert of early music in the newly renovated Nutt
Auditorium in the Music Building. The program included
works in several styles from 1690 to 1715, and featured the music of
Dieterich Buxtehude, the Danish-born German composer who died in 1707.
Highlights include a mystical cantata on the feet of Jesus, a motet by
Spanish composer Carlos Patiño, and an Alleluia for chorus, trumpets
and organ, and several songs that are puzzling or light-hearted. Soloists
included Debra Spurgeon, soprano, Kevin Dyess, tenor, and instrumentalists
playing violin, recorders, viola da gamba, oboe, flute and harpsichord.
A lieta vita
On April 25, 2007 at 8:00 PM, the Mississippi Early Ensemble (MEME)
performed a concert of early music in the newly renovated Nutt
Auditorium in the Scruggs Music Building. The program featured
works in several styles from 1400 to 1715, and includes an excerpt
from Stefano Landi's opera Il Sant'Alessio, a pioneering
work featuring some of the first comic scenes in musical theatre.
While the concert includes somber works--a ballade by
Gilles Binchois, a cantata by Barbara Strozzi, and a funeral motet
by Victoria--it also contains lighthearted music by Josquin, Gastoldi
and Morley. The soloists and choir are accompanied on recorders, crumhorns,
viol, baroque guitar and a newly installed pipe organ.
The University of Mississippi adheres to the principle of equal
educational and employment opportunity without regard to race, sex,
color, creed or national origin. This policy extends to all programs
and activities supported by the University.
|
