Just as you can almost see 15th century Florentine citizens peeking from the tall hedges within the Medici Gardens, so the Newberry Library is a perfect setting for Renaissance musicians. Constructed in the Romanesque Revival Style in the early 1890’s it features a series of tall arches, rising several levels in repetitive rhythm across the façade. As you approach, it recalls a Renaissance palazzo.
THE NEWBERRY CONSORT Features Famed Musicians
Although the performance room featured modernized cream-colored walls with rich paneling and floor, the acoustics were perfect for this accomplished group. THE NEWBERRY CONSORT is composed of artists deeply dedicated to historical music. They gather together from famed musical institutions including the Julliard School, Chicago’s Rockefeller Chapel, Northwestern’s Bienen School of Music, and Settlement Music School in Philadelphia, for a journey back in time to the 16th-century royal courts of five influential French monarchs. Le Jardin de Mélodies, directed by David Douglass, featured a violin band, percussion, and lutenists Paul O’Dette and Charles Weaver, along with a vocal consort led by the Consort’s Co-Artistic Director, Ellen Hargis.
Paul O’Dette Put the Performance into Historical Context
In a pre-concert talk, Paul O’Dette spoke about families of instruments in the ensemble – bowed string instruments from violin through cello, various sizes of lutes, recorders, and drums to triangles and castanets. When this music was composed, instruments were still young – no piano until the 17th century. Musical skill was taught from one minstrel to another, without benefit of musical scores. Only polyphonic singing groups had the benefit of notated music. They were narrow booklets that sometimes extended 30 – 40 feet long. Thus, when THE NEWBERRY CONSORT revealed the lilting dances and the plaintive period laments, the audience enjoyed the performance in historical context.
Catching Dance Rhythms and Plaintive Laments
Le Jardin de Mélodies focused on music that was popular among the kings of the Valois dynasty, along with tunes that were performed in the city and the countryside during their reign. There was raucous dance music, ceremonial tunes, ballads for solo voice as well as polyphonic music for voices, all of which reveal the richness of the French Renaissance repertoire. The dances featured strong rhythm to give the beat, broken by lyrical passages that changed tempo. You could envision dancers parading to the beat then swirling as the rhythm changed. The vocal solos and ensembles were plaintive – lost love, lost life.
Supporting the music was the visual artistry of Shawn Keener, a musicologist, editor and graphic designer. Her visual backdrops were muted photos of tapestries and paintings that visually informed the performance.
Recommended for appreciators of old music.
THE NEWBERRY CONSORT Ensemble Members
David Douglas, Co-Director
Ellen Hargis, Co-Director
Allison Selby Cook, singer and violinist
Matthew Dean, singer
Hannah De Priest, singer
Nathan Dougherty, singer
Daniel Elyar, strings
Joseph Hubbard, singer
Shawn Keener, designer
Dan Meyers, winds
Paul O’Dette, lute
Mariam Scholz-Carlson, strings
Jeremy David Ward, strings
Charles Weaver, lute
For more information about The Newberry Consort please visit Newberry Consort Website
Reviewer Ann Boland is committed to Chicago theater. Involved in the audience since the early 80’s, she’s witnessed firsthand the rise of our theater scene, our exceptional local talent, and the vigor of each new generation. Ann handles public relations for authors and works on programs to help seniors with neurological movement disorders. Please visit her website for more information.
Click here to read more Picture this Post reviews by Ann Boland.
