roh
Mainstage Performance
Anonymous 4
Secret Voices: The Sisters of Las Huelgas
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 | 8:00 pm
Memorial Church
$40 (Adult) | $10 (Stanford Student)
$37 (Other Student)
$20 (Youth Under 18)
General Admission
Tell a Friend
The internationally renowned Anonymous 4’s newest program is a return to
the heart of the quartet’s favorite century, and to a repertoire that confirms medieval women could—and did—sing the most complex polyphony written in the Gothic era.
This varied repertoire of 13th-century polyphony and sacred Latin song was collected for a convent of noble and aristocratic women, in spite of a rule forbidding the singing of polyphony by the women of their order. Their convent, Las Huelgas at Burgos in north central Spain, was on the road to the well-known shrine of Sant'Iago de Compostela. Did these women send emissaries out to collect sacred music from England, France, and Germany, or did pilgrims who stopped at their convent for rest and refreshment leave, as a token of their thanks, copies of songs they may have been carrying along? It will never be fully known, but there is no mistaking the international nature of this music—the elegant French love-motets, original conductus, English works, and heartfelt Laments—and the role of the women who performed the most virtuosic, avant-garde polyphonic music of their time.
This performance is part of Daniel Pearl World Music Days, an annual global concert affirming the ideals of tolerance, friendship and our shared humanity. World Music Days is inspired by the life and work of journalist and musician Daniel Pearl, who would have celebrated his birthday on October 10th.
For more information visit www.danielpearlmusicdays.org
DISCUSSION
Pre-Performance Talk: Professor William Mahrt (Stanford University) discusses the Anonymous 4’s Sisters of Las Huelgas program; Wednesday, October 21, 7:00–7:30pm, Memorial Church
Acknowledgments
Generously supported by Clinton and Mary Gilliland.
