Jackson Free Press

Lovers of ancient music are in for a treat Nov. 6 when The Rose Ensemble performs in Jackson for the first time. Starting at 7:30 p.m. at St. Philip's Episcopal Church, the vocal group from Minnesota will perform Czech, Polish and Russian music from the 12th century to the 17th century, including Czech chants and polyphony, motets for double choir from Renaissance Poland and 12-part Russian Orthodox hymns. As with all offerings from the Mississippi Academy of Ancient Music, these pieces will be performed as they were intended to be heard.

Jordan Sramek, artistic director of the group he founded in 1996, told me by telephone that when he, a lover of early music, moved to the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, "I found myself in a situation with talented singers with no group or venue to perform, so I decided to start one." The group eventually became well known. "Especially in the last four years, we've gotten really a lot of attention and now have over 50 performances a year," he added.

What's amazing, whether you've heard the group perform in person or on one of their CDs, is the fact that these 50 performances are not all the exact same program. Thematic concert programs engage the audience, Sramek noted in an e-mail, "because we involve the art of storytelling, adding narrated legends of early saints and folk heroes ... we transmit stories of real people through beautiful music."

Invited to Jackson by the Mississippi Academy of Ancient Music, The Rose Ensemble's performance in Jackson is entitled "Slavic Holiday: Feasts and Saints in Early Moscow, Krakow and Prague." Though the ancient music of Eastern Europe has been somewhat ignored, The Rose Ensemble has researched the importance of these chants, hymns and choral works, mixed with heroic folktales. One particular piece is modern, though, commissioned by The Rose Ensemble—"Bogoroditse Devo" written by Minnesotan Sergey Khvoshchinskiy, originally from Belarus. Other pieces to be performed are much like Gregorian chants. Some are madrigal-like; some are Latin motets.

Performing such music today presents somewhat of a challenge for choirs—where should it be sung? "The space that is perfect to sing in depends upon the music we're doing," Sramek said, "as well as where it may have been performed originally and for whom." One piece in particular for "Slavic Holiday," from Vasily Titov, a 17th century Russian composer, is a work that needs a fairly reverberant space because the choir originally performing it sang for the czar in large cathedrals.

Sramek said the highlight of "Slavic Holiday" for the audience should surely be the fact that the performance will be sung in four different languages plus the range of selections represents 600 years of music. "It's typical choral music, yet early folk music, that tells stories about folk heroes, a pretty diverse program," Sramek said.

Tickets are $15, $7 for students. Call (601) 852-4848, nights, or (601) 540-4319, days for further information. St. Philip's Episcopal Church is at at 5400 Old Canton Road, where it intersects with Westbrook.

Previous Comments

ID

63677

Comment

www.roseensemble.org www.revolvingpaintdream.com/ancientmusic What the critics say about The Rose Ensembleís performances of early Slavic repertoire: "This group deserves to be known beyond the narrow boundaries of its home." -Goldberg Magazine(Spain) ìVariety was the watchwordÖa tremendous diversity of timbres and textures. The group is cohesive and expressiveÖ switching between languages on a dime.î -Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel ìan almost supernatural blend of voices, beauty of tone, and rhythmic acuity. ì -Early Music America Magazine ìA hypnotizing spell ... stunning technique....All went home amazedÖone musical blossom after another, each one startlingly fresh and vocally brilliant. For this, the responsive audience applauded and stood, whistled and whooped---all for 500-year-old music sung in Russianî - Duluth News-Tribune Join us for an evening of unusual music and fine singing.

Author

herman

Date

2004-11-03T21:54:40-06:00