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May. 25th, 2006
i suck. the washington post says so.
May. 25th, 2006 11:46 amSeriously, check this out:
"Their name sounds more like Monty Python than Monteverdi, but the Suspicious Cheese Lords -- a Washington-based men's a cappella group that specializes in music from the Renaissance -- is one very serious ensemble. In a genuinely beautiful performance at Church of the Epiphany on Tuesday, the Lords showed that they could deliver not only thoughtful interpretations but rapturous musicmaking as well.
"That was clear from the opening notes [edit: which were MY voice part, thank you very much] of Palestrina's 1584 motet, "Sicut cervus," given a performance so weightless and transparent it practically turned to light. Two dreamlike songs by the 16th century child prodigy Vittoria Aleotti were equally luminous, thugh a challenging work by Francesco Landini -- full of pungent harmonies and intriguing rhythms -- came off just a bit ragged. But the final two Renaissance works on the program (including a finely detailed eight-voice lament by Nicolas Gombert) layered wave upon wave of precisely calibrated, exceptionally moving song.
"While they were clearly right at home in the 16th century, the Lords also easily negotiated works from our own millennium, including several compositions from the group's members -- all of which resonated with a certain Renaissance flavor. DESPITE SOME FINE IDEAS, GORDON GEISE'S "A ROSE BEHELD THE SUN" FELT VAGUE AND UNSURE OF ITSELF, but Gary Winans Jr.'s "... les cèdres et chaque petite fleur..." was much more satisfying with a distinctive musical imagination and firm compositional control. George Cervantes's "Blessing of St. Francis," meanwhile -- with its faint but wonderful undertones of Brian Wilson -- was a real delight to the ears..." --Stephen Brookes, Washington Post, 25 May 2006
i fucking quit.
"Their name sounds more like Monty Python than Monteverdi, but the Suspicious Cheese Lords -- a Washington-based men's a cappella group that specializes in music from the Renaissance -- is one very serious ensemble. In a genuinely beautiful performance at Church of the Epiphany on Tuesday, the Lords showed that they could deliver not only thoughtful interpretations but rapturous musicmaking as well.
"That was clear from the opening notes [edit: which were MY voice part, thank you very much] of Palestrina's 1584 motet, "Sicut cervus," given a performance so weightless and transparent it practically turned to light. Two dreamlike songs by the 16th century child prodigy Vittoria Aleotti were equally luminous, thugh a challenging work by Francesco Landini -- full of pungent harmonies and intriguing rhythms -- came off just a bit ragged. But the final two Renaissance works on the program (including a finely detailed eight-voice lament by Nicolas Gombert) layered wave upon wave of precisely calibrated, exceptionally moving song.
"While they were clearly right at home in the 16th century, the Lords also easily negotiated works from our own millennium, including several compositions from the group's members -- all of which resonated with a certain Renaissance flavor. DESPITE SOME FINE IDEAS, GORDON GEISE'S "A ROSE BEHELD THE SUN" FELT VAGUE AND UNSURE OF ITSELF, but Gary Winans Jr.'s "... les cèdres et chaque petite fleur..." was much more satisfying with a distinctive musical imagination and firm compositional control. George Cervantes's "Blessing of St. Francis," meanwhile -- with its faint but wonderful undertones of Brian Wilson -- was a real delight to the ears..." --Stephen Brookes, Washington Post, 25 May 2006
i fucking quit.