Saturday 17 June, 7.30
Image © Nick Rutter
Rory McCleery, Artistic Director
Holy Week in Renaissance Rome
F Anerio Ave Regina Caelorum
Allegri Lamentations and Miserere
Palestrina Sicut Cervus, Agnus Dei from Missa Brevis
D Mazzocchi Vide Domine
F Anerio Ad te levavi
D Scarlatti Stabat Mater
The Marian Consort is an intimate vocal ensemble that presents bold and thrilling performances. Led by founder and director Rory McCleery, the group is composed of the very best singers in a flexible, intimate ensemble, allowing clarity of texture and subtlety of interpretation. TMC features regularly on BBC Radio 3, and has released twelve recordings to critical acclaim, praised for ‘precision and pellucid textures’ (The Times). This programme immerses the listener in the polyphony of Renaissance Rome during Holy Week and includes Allegri’s haunting Miserere, famous both for its ethereal beauty and for the mystery surrounding its composition, and Palestrina’s Sicut Cervus, a four-part motet evoking the flowing water that promises to satisfy the thirsty deer. There are also settings of familiar Latin texts by lesser-known composers F Anerio and D Mazzocchi, and the programme concludes with Domenico Scarlatti’s meditative Stabat Mater. Some works will be accompanied by chamber organ.
‘Singing one person to a part, The Marian Consort give sublimely refined, spacious and impeccably tuned performances.’ The Sunday Times
‘The performances are models of discretion and musical taste, every texture clear, every phrase beautifully shaped.’ The Guardian
This concert is sponsored by friends of Thaxted Festival who wish to remain anonymous.