February 15, 2001
Concert of rare medieval and
Renaissance music March 6
MIDDLEBURY, Vt.―The Huelgas
Ensemble will offer a performance of rare medieval and Renaissance
music on Tuesday, March 6, at 7:30 p.m. in Middlebury Colleges
Mead Chapel on Hepburn Road off College Street (Route 125). Acclaimed
for its freshness and energy, the European group specializes in
bringing to life seldom heard, often forgotten musical selections
from centuries past. The ensembles program will feature nine
isorhythmic motets by Guillaume Dufay, whose composition marks the
close of the medieval musical era.
The ensembles driving force is
director and founder Paul Van Nevel, who describes himself as
choirmaster, musicologist, and cultural historian. His devotion to
exploring libraries and archives in search of unknown works fuels the
Huelgas Ensembles repertoire for both concert hall and
recording studio. A keen advocate of the idea that music is first and
foremost a product of its particular place and time, Van Nevel
establishes critical links between music and the world in which it
was made, recasting listeners perceptions of the Middle Ages
and the Renaissance. He is also a guest lecturer at the Sweelinck
School of Music in Amsterdam and a guest conductor for the Collegium
Vocale in Ghent and the Dutch Bach Association.
In addition to touring, the Huelgas
Ensemble has amassed a collection of award-winning recordings over
the past decade. In 1998, the groups recording of music by
Renaissance composer Mattheus Pipelare won the Cannes Classical Award
for Best Choral Music. Bärenreiter, a German music publishing
house, has issued a number of Van Nevels Renaissance music
transcriptions.
Tickets are $10 for general admission
and $8 for senior citizens. A pre-performance dinner will be held at
6 p.m. in the Redfield Proctor Room in Proctor Hall, across Hepburn
Road from Mead Chapel. For tickets, dinner reservations, or
information, contact the College box office at
802-443-6433.
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