- Category
- Free Fridays
Carols, Chant, and Holiday Motets: Christmas Music from the 14th, 15th, and 16th Centuries
As part of SLAM’s Festive Fridays celebration, a vocal quartet from Early Music Missouri will be performing music for the Christmas season from the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries, including medieval English carols, Gregorian chant, and High Renaissance holiday motets. These pieces include works composed by some of the giants of the High Renaissance, including Josquin des Prez, Heinrich Isaac, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, and others. Grigg Gallery is a perfect acoustic setting for this music composed for chapels, churches, and cathedrals across Europe.
No tickets are required for this free program. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
About the performers
Led by Early Music Missouri associate director Samantha Arten, the quartet includes alto Olivia Roland, tenor Jeffrey Ballard, and baritone Kevin Duco Warner. The musicians will introduce and discuss their repertoire as well as aspects of historical performance and early music vocal styles. Listeners will have the opportunity to ask questions about the music and performance styles. The singers all have extensive performance experience with many of St. Louis’s finest choral ensembles but also perform together regularly as members of Early Music Missouri’s Vocal Ensemble.
Early Music Missouri began in 2018 with informal concerts. The group has since grown to become an important part of the region’s musical life, presenting concerts, workshops, master classes, and lectures regionally and nationally. Concerts feature medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and early Classical repertoire played on instruments (originals and reproductions) from these eras. Using historical documents and original musical scores, and guided by modern research, performances reflect a historically informed approach to technique, interpretation, and performance.
Generous support provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program.
