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Sounds Around Anonymous
May Have Been a Woman What:
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From the sing-song chant of a Byzantine nun to the full-bodied ragtime piano of a California dentist/musician, women’s music filled the Middlebury Congregational Church on Sunday afternoon, September 24th. The program, which was researched, arranged and performed by Early Music Vermont, presented a rich musical history of composition by women in Western culture. The concert opened with a haunting 9th century verse for one voice, with accompanying harp and sea-kelp horn. It closed with a quiet and moving Appalachian folk tune, sung in a four-voice round. In between, the audience got to travel through musical time -- from sacred chants of the Middle Ages to a robust polyphony from the Renaissance to the eclectic mixing of traditions in the 20th century.. Early Music Vermont is an ensemble of nine women and men, all members of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. This performance was the last of a six-town tour of Celestial Sirens. Marybeth McCaffrey of Lincoln, who is the founder and artistic director of Early Music Vermont, recalled how and when her interest began.
"I heard a piece of music composed by a nun that made me interested in researching other women composers," she said. The results of her research was revealed in this program -- a rich variety of music with a wide scope of styles, and the many different languages of the text.. But that is also what makes the program particularly challenging. "We have found that it works best to learn the music on our own and then sing together in 8-10 rehearsals, in order to develop the ensemble," explains McCaffrey. Each voice in Early Music Vermont is pure and expressive. In addition to McCaffrey, the other members of Early Music Vermont include Melissa Chesnut-Tangerman, Deborah Farnham, Marty French, Chapin Kaynor, Mark Madison, Geroge Matthew, Jr., Jeff Rehbach, and José Schmidt. The music came alive especially, though, in the "ensemble" pieces. From duet to full group, voices and instruments intertwined beautifully, adding to each other and never competing with the material itself. The result was a program that was both historically accurate and emotionally appealing.
When asked about the choices for the program, McCaffrey pointed to the theme she believes holds them all together. "In thinking about the texts in the program, I suppose one could say a very broad theme of love pervades many of the pieces -- like love of God, love of nature, love of other people." This devotion, both earthly and sacred, came through not only in the texts, however, but in the language of music as well.
Early Music Vermont also recorded its first two programs on CD this past August. But the CD will not be available for a while. As McCaffrey -- who is a licensed attorney, a health care policy analyst, and a certified music therapist -- notes, "We welcome sponsors and performance opportunities to help us raise the $5,000 we need to pay for licensing and duplication costs." McCaffrey also mentioned that they are in the process of creating a web site. If you are intrigued by this type of variety in music, Early Music Vermont will be performing around the State this coming holiday season, in December and January. This next series of performances will offer carols, chants and songs. If you would like to contact Early Music Vermont, they can be reached by e-mail at wingnut@together.net.
Laura Wisniewski . . ******* ******* |
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