RICHLAND, Wash. – A unique singing group that brings Elizabethan England to life will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 30, at Washington State University Tri-Cities.
The Madrigal Singers is a select ensemble of 18 students from WSU Pullman, led by Lori Wiest with the WSU School of Music and Theatre Arts. Admission to the concert is free. The performance is in the East Building Auditorium on the WSU Tri-Cities campus, 2710 University Drive, Richland.
The Madrigal Singers perform in costumes reminiscent of the Renaissance era. Although their specialty is singing a cappella sacred and secular music from the Renaissance, the group’s small size enables it to perform vocal chamber music from all centuries.
The Madrigal Singers will be performing a concert of Renaissance secular songs that address perhaps the most popular of themes: love. The singers will bring to life the age-old sentiments of courtly love and the playful and painful emotions that love can bring, featuring compositions by famous 16th century composers Orlando di Lasso, John Dowland, John Wilbye and Thomas Morley.
The Madrigal Singers will perform contemporary songs composed by William Hawley based upon poems by Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso, plus three ballads by Wilhelm Stenhammar that shimmer with the beauty of text set to haunting and pure melodic lines.
The Madrigal Singers is a touring group and recently performed in St.Petersburg, Russia. The singers also have worked with well-known early music specialists, including the members of Anonymous 4 and Paul Hillier.
Listen to an MP3 of the Madrigal Singers, at: http://libarts.wsu.edu/musicandtheatre/AreaInfo/Voice/Madrigal.htm
