Godi, Firençe!

Friday, April 26, 7 pm St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 2747 Fairmount Blvd, Cleveland Heights

Saturday, April 27, 7 pm Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, 6928 Detroit Ave, Cleveland

Sunday, April 28, 3 pm Saint Anselm Church, 12969 Chillicothe Road, Chesterland

During the fourteenth century, or the Trecento, Florence was just beginning its rise to prominence politically and financially, with this rise fueling artistic pursuits in poetry, sculpture, architecture, and music. This program sets some of our favorite Trecento polyphonic works against the monophonic lauda, a sacred Italian offshoot of the troubadour tradition, as well as instrumental dance songs collected from the period. These genres all intersected in the city of Florence, home to many of the century’s leading composers as well as numerous laudesi companies. Within a framework of the seasons, drawing on the music’s many references to themes of nature, love, birth, death, and rebirth, this program provides a glimpse into everyday Florentine lives - the mundane, the passionate and the sublime - through music that speaks to the universal human experience.

Allison Monroe, Artistic Director, Medieval Strings

Elena Mullins Bailey, Soprano and Medieval Harp

Sian Ricketts, Soprano and Medieval Winds

Nathan Dougherty, Tenor

Allen Otte, Percussion