“Time is relative.” While the two year break from a live concert is a long time, the selections for The Folger Consort’s A Medieval Christmas go back a thousand years, from late 11th century Aquitaine and Catalonia to 14th century Italy and 13th and 15th-century England.
The program included exciting vocal music in Latin and early English as well as instrumental arrangements Lesser-known earlier carols, such as “Miri it is” and “Edi beo thu hevene queene” flowed into later familiar English carols such as “Ah, my dear son,” “There is no rose,” and “Lullay, lullow,”
Soprano Emily Noël was exquisite in delivering vocal music selections. Multi-instrumentalists Dan Meyers on medieval winds and percussions and Mary Springfels on vielle and citole were in top form. Special thanks to Artistic Directors Robert Eisenstein and Christopher Kendall for this tradition by the Folger Consort.
While modern music is an industry where the most intimate details of a celebrity musician is headline news, there is something so appealing about this music, hundreds of years old, created and first performed by anonymous monks and minstrels. Much might never be know about these works, but what a performance reveals is that the music itself is timeless.
“Gloria’n cielo e pace in terra” - a medieval marching melody for all ages. The Folger Consort’s A Medieval Christmas (Dec. 10-18, 2021) — a cause to celebrate.
More is to come as The Folger Consort moves on into the Renaissance with their March concert The Viennese School: Music from the Court of Maximilian I.
More information online at: www.folger.edu