Renowned early music ensemble Dark Horse Consort joins the up-and-coming chamber choir Audivi Vocem and a cast of early string specialists to present Monteverdi’s liturgical masterpiece in a sacred context.
Noah Horn, the Wayne State University choral conducting professor who holds graduate degrees in choral conducting from Yale University, will conduct the work.
Monteverdi’s unique approach to each movement of the Vespers earned the work a place in history. The work not only presents intimate, prayerful moments within its monumental scale, but it also incorporates secular music in this decidedly religious performance and its individual movements present an array of musical forms – sonata, motet, hymn , and psalm – without losing focus. The Vespers achieves overall unity by building each movement on the traditional Gregorian plainchant for each text, which becomes a cantus firmus in Monteverdi’s setting.
The early music ensemble Dark Horse Consort is dedicated to unearthing the majestic late renaissance and early baroque repertoire for brass instruments. Inspired by the bronze horse statues in Venice’s famed St. Mark’s Basilica, the ensemble attempts to recreate the glorious sounds of composers such as Giovanni Gabrieli, Claudio Monteverdi and Heinrich Schütz.
Audivi Vocem is a professional vocal ensemble of 7–9 singers based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 2013, Audivi Vocem presents music of all eras, ranging from 12- century polyphony to world premieres by leading choral composers. Its members have performed with many of the country’s leading ensembles, have appeared on America’s Got Talent, and are either full-time musicians or pursuing graduate degrees in music.
