Sing a Merry Madrigal
After a long break, we returned to our early repertoire of Madrigals for this concert. We did, however, make an exception for the piece that gave the concert its name: Brightly Dawns our Wedding Day, from Gilbert and Sullivan's 'Mikado'.
Getting back into singing shape after such a long break was a challenge, and what better way to do so than by returning to the familiarity of past repertoire? Having gained a new Bass in Jon Hughes, who was not as familiar with madrigal singing or the repertoire as the rest of the group, some pieces took a bit longer to come together than anticipated. However, the joy of singing them more than made up for any additional practice time.
A few of the pieces were new to more than one group member, and, of course, 'Brightly Dawns our Wedding Day' proved an interesting addition. Being written in the style of a madrigal some two or three hundred years after they went out of fashion, this piece says much about the continued popularity of the style and the endurance of madrigal singing as a pastime.
This concert looked into the development of Madrigals alongside the spread of the style through Europe. By grouping the pieces by language and country, we can see how the themes change (or don't) as the style spreads and how the travels of composers across the continent brought new ideas and inspiration.
Posters
Programme
