Music for Hallowtide

Posted by Melissa Coombs on February 13, 2016 in Events, Past Events | 0 comments

In Shakespeare’s time, the Feast of All Saints (November 1) was sometimes called “Hallowmas”. More recent scholars refer to the period of October 31- through November 2 as “Hallowtide”. In honor of the season, Words&Music will be pairing the music of Shakespeare’s contemporary, William Byrd (c.1540-1623), with the music of contemporary composer, Terry Schlenker. William Byrd’s Mass for Four Voices is the earliest of his three mass setting, most likely composed in the early 1590s. It is reminiscent of earlier masses by John Taverner. Mass for Four Voices (2011) by Terry Schlenker was composed for the Denver-based vocal quartet, Firesign. It has been performed in Denver and in Tokyo. Words&Music’s performance marks the East Coast premier of this wonderful new work.

UPDATE: This program has been rescheduled to February 13, 2016. While no longer “Hallowtide”, this program is equally appropriate for the Lenten season which begins on Ash Wednesday, February 10, 2016.