Review of Cantiga! Cult of the Virgin
Group's Performance Full of Simple Beauty
By Barbara Zuck
The Columbus Dispatch, September 25, 2004
Early music enthusiasts have anticipated the return of The Rose Ensemble almost from the very conclusion of its Columbus debut in November 2002.
With the Minneapolis group's performance last night, in the most-appropriate setting of the Pontifical College Josephenum's St. Turibus Chapel, the 12-voice ensemble surely pleased its fans and converted newcomers. Again exploring a rarely visited corner of the abundant medieval and renaissance religious repertoire, The Rose Ensemble inspired and entertained in its program Cantiga! The Cult of the Virgin.
The popularity of the Virgin Mary in these periods manifested itself in many artistic realms. In Spain, a beautifully decorated, late 13th-century collection of more than 400 songs dedicated to Mary - The Cantigas de Santa Maria - was the origin of the many pieces heard last night.
The Rose Ensemble performed several of the cantigas, singing in the rarely heard Galician-Portuguese poetic language of that time, but it also read the translated texts of others.
As poems told of St. Mary's kind deeds and miracles, they also created a picture of the very human tellers of the tales and of the remote and exotic culture in which they lived.
But music was the flower best brought to full bloom last night. Beginning with their processional, Juan del Encina's Una sanosa porfia, and after, the group's singing enchanted by its beauty, balance and effortless blending into graceful phrases and long, seamless lines. Many were especially taken by the moving performance of Francisco Guerrero's exquisite Virgo prudentissima.
The Rose does not rush tempos - first, perhaps, a mere practical decision in such a live space. But that unhurried approach in music of such simplicity and purity yields residual rewards: the charming lilt of triple-metered dance-like songs; the magic produced by simply experiencing such lovely voices in such a lovely space.
The ensemble is equally blessed in male and female voices, from a surprisingly booming basso to a soprano with an almost shatteringly powerful, straight tone. The countertenor, too, is outstanding, and the few simple instruments used are well-played.
Founder and director Jordan Sramek has brought these natural talents to a point of near-perfection in the careful performance and delivery of each selection, achieving a harmony that offers a spiritual dimension as well.