KCMetropolis.org enjoys Stile Antico

Reviews

KCMetropolis.org enjoys Stile Antico

Karen Hauge, KCMetropolis.org (4 March, 2015)

The singers of Stile Antico brought an ambitious program to Kansas City this past weekend. Promoting the group’s latest album of the same name, From the Imperial Court: Music for the House of Hapsburg, Stile Antico presented a thoroughly enjoyable program that was energetic, lively, and educational to boot.

The members of this ensemble’s greatest strength is their youth, a claim which is not meant to diminish their musical excellence and maturity of ideas and execution. On the contrary, their performance was elegant, nuanced, and thoughtful, and the fresh energy they brought to each piece simply suggested what each might have sounded like at its first singing. Additionally, the choice to record and program a collection of works all composed for rulers of the Hapsburg line was an interesting one. The group’s well-spoken and entertaining program notes, given throughout, showed the group’s intellectual side as well as highlighted the common thread of propaganda that often united works composed for one of history’s most powerful empires.

Music as propaganda was a pervasive theme of the program, as was music-as-history-teller. The first piece,Jubilate deo, was written by Cristobal de Morales and wove the names of Charles, the Holy Roman Emperor, and Francis I of France into a religious text. Andreas Christi famulus stood out for an odd but delightful reason; it was during this piece that I became aware of Stile Antico’s consonants. The cathedral’s marble walls, which let full chords sound for several beats at the conclusion of each piece, also magnified the crisp, percussive coordination of the group’s consonants, a testament to their chamber musicianship. Later in the program,Carole magnus eras had me wishing for a bit more of a colorful, present blend of alto voices, if only to balance the excellent foundation of the bass and richness of the tenor better with the group’s clear, almost spare soprano sound. This sense of balance was especially well-executed in Nicolas Gombert’s intricate Magnificat.

Several pieces included in the program are thought to have been composed for the untimely occasion of the death of Philip the Fair. Josquin des Prez’s Mille Regretz is a staple of Western music history courses, and hearing it performed live was a particular treat. The stunning simplicity of this four-part chanson, with its repeated sighing motives, highlighted the selected quartet’s sense of balance as well as a few pitchy moments that distracted only initially. The group also introduced another setting of the same text, this time composed by Gombert; the more involved contrapuntal texture may reflect the changing times as musical trends moved in the direction of Palestrina, savior of music. Absalon fili mi by Pierre de la Rue featured a thrillingly sad drop to hushed intimacy that communicated the grief felt over Philip’s death.

Stile Antico brought life and energy to each piece performed; their consummate musicianship and obvious collaboration made them a joy to listen to and watch. And while I respect the choice of theme of the program and recording, it wasn’t until the final piece of the program, Heinrich Isaac’s Virgo prudentissima, that I realized what I didn’t know I was missing from the evening. Pairs of voice types move in close coordination which then unfolds to bring together all the voices in periods of counterpoint contrasted with full, moving block chords. A pair of transcendent sopranos in floating counterpoint was answered by the hushed, full choir in sustained, satisfying chords. The triumphant ending (which included a little “ut-sol” music theory humor for all the nerds like me) was a rousing and exciting end to a beautiful program. The variety of techniques and compositional elements in the final piece made me wish there had been others like it on the program; perhaps on the next program they bring to waiting Kansas City audiences.