Concert Review of Cantiga! The Cult of the Virgin

Rose Ensemble celebrates the Virgin Mary's miracles

By William Randall Beard, special to the Star Tribune
2003

For an early-music ensemble, the choice to organize a concert around music to the Virgin Mary is fairly obvious. The Middle Ages and Renaissance were times when she was particularly venerated and celebrated.

But the Rose Ensemble program, "Cantiga! The Cult of the Virgin," is anything but obvious. On Friday night at Our Lady of Victory Chapel at theCollege of St. Catherine in St. Paul, it provided a unique introduction to a wide variety of Spanish music of the 13th and 16th centuries that should be better known.

"The Cantiga de Santa Maria" is a collection of 420 songs, written between 1257 and 1283, that tells of the Virgin Mary's miracles and offers her praise. They are richly lyrical poems set in an elegant, courtly style that often belies the text's humorous content.

Rose Ensemble director Jordan Sramek juxtaposes the Cantigas with a diverse collection of contrasting pieces. A 16th-century "Ave Maria" by Alonso Lobo is particularly effective. The greatest contrast is provided by the world premiere of St. Paul composer Stephen Paulus' "Splendid Jewel," the Rose Ensemble's 22nd commission since 1998.

Paulus has written a gentle setting for a translation of a 14th-century text. It offers a splendid counterpoint to the medieval polyphony of the rest of the program without becoming a distracting departure from it. It provides a reference point for the rest of the music.

The presentation is nicely theatrical. For instance, the 12 singers begin the evening singing from different locations, taking full advantage of the chapel's resonance. Sramek is smart to select pieces that vary the performing forces from full ensemble to male duets, female solos with chorus, even an instrumental interlude featuring a vielle (an early Spanish violin) and a number of hand-held percussion instruments.

Providing further variety, Minnesota Public Radio announcer Tom Crann reads translations of several of the Cantiga poems. Though unmistakably devout, the verses are not without humor, such as in the story of a priest who found a spider swimming in the communion wine. Crann reads with great wit, never crossing the line into mockery.

None of the staging or theatrical effects are ever allowed to obscure the subtle details of the music or the finely tuned performances. As interesting as the texts are, the compulsion is often to close one's eyes and just bask in the sounds of the rich, resonant singing.

The 90-minute program will delight aficionados of early music and provide an ideal introduction for those unfamiliar with these magical sounds.

William Randall Beard is a Minneapolis writer.