The Drew University Madrigal Singers May 2, 2010

Presented in the Concert Hall at Drew, in the Dorothy Young Center for the Arts.

This concert features Renaissance sacred anthems in both English and Latin by Adrian Batten, Orlando Gibbons, Thomas Tomkins, Hans Leo Hassler, as well as several 20th Century examples of the continuing anthem genre. We also continue our exploration of Italian madrigals by Claudio Monteverdi with three selections from his third book.

Madrigal Singers is an auditioned ensemble (directed by Professor Ellis Hilton), dedicated to performing a capella (unaccompanied) music, primarily of the Renaissance (the 16th Century), in an un-conducted, one-voice-per-part format. The polyphonic textures prevalent in much of this music put a premium on independence, making "madrigal singing" the vocal equivalent of chamber music. The multiple languages we sing in and the delightfully twisted poetry add to the challenge. It's not for the faint of heart. The icing on the cake is that this sophisticated music is also highly entertaining for singer and audience alike.