For the past five decades, the Calgary Renaissance Singers and Players have invited audiences into the world of the post-medieval era through song and history.
This holiday season, the singers and players are embarking on their most ambitious performance in those 50-some years, with a concept performance that takes audiences back to 17th-century Germany.
“It is snowing lightly on Christmas Eve, 1615, in the north German town of Wolfenbüttel. You pass through the bustling Christmas Market on your way to church, hearing the sounds and scents of the season. Inside, the organist plays chorale preludes as the instrumentalists prepare for the service. This is the magic we aim to create,” said the late Paul Grindlay, who served as the longtime artistic director for the Calgary Renaissance Singers and Players until his death in October of this year.
The concert has been dedicated to him, and features the—without hyperbole—timeless works of famed Renaissance composer Michael Praetorius who’s Christmas songs are still performed and are part of the pop-culture lexicon of the 21st century.
“There’s some familiar hymns, and then some not so familiar stuff, but he’s taken these hymns and elaborated on them. He was very influenced by the Italian Renaissance composers, so lots of polyphony, interweaving melodies, and he kind of took the earnest German music and added some Italian pizzazz,” said Marsha Haug, a choir member for the singers and players.
“The hymns are familiar, Christmas hymns. They’ll be sung in German, but people will hear them. Even if they only know the song in English, they’ll say, ‘oh, I know that.’ There are some sing-along portions as well, so people in the audience will be helping to create this magic.”
Haug said that the group would terribly miss Grindlay, but that the singers and players were working hard to bring his vision to reality.
“We tried to build on everything we’ve done before each time we’ve had another concert, and especially under Paul’s leadership. He was just a tremendous teacher and a real visionary with just incredible musical experience and contacts in the broader Canadian music scene,” she said.
That magic takes place on Dec. 14 at St. Stephen’s Anglican Church in the Beltline, a place that Haug said had marvellous acoustics for the Renaissance music.
The concert is set to begin at 3 p.m., with all of the performers in Italian court-style costumes. Music will be performed by acclaimed Calgary-based String Theory Music Collective, along with guest brass performers from out of Calgary, along with some once-traditional instrument artists on the sackbut and cornet, which were once popular in the Renaissance.
Haug said that audiences wanting to learn more ahead of the concert can attend the group’s talk at 2:30 p.m., which would provide more history about Praetorius and the Christmas music he composed.
“It’s both an emotional experience and a learning experience. So, it’s going to be a very rich and entertaining afternoon,” she said.
“If you weren’t a [history] nerd before, we’ll turn you into one. There’s something for everybody. The marvellous thing about this music is that it touches you on so many levels, and you can’t fail but be moved by it. Pretoria is just a quintessential Christmas musician. It’ll really get people in the spirit of the holiday season, and you’ll be exposed to some weird and wonderful instruments that you don’t hear every day.”
Tickets are on sale at www.renaissance-singers.com.
