Ensemble Parlamento, ad meliora, Grata Community Pop-Up Choir

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courtesy Ensemble Parlamento

The four members of Ensemble Parlamento and instruments in a field.

Ensemble Parlamento

Ensemble Parlamento is a Switzerland-based quartet playing music from the Middle Ages and Renaissance with an emphasis on historical accuracy. For this program, “LUMINOUS! Courtly and Sacred Love in Medieval Song,” they will feature music by or influenced by 14th century French composer and poet Guillaume de Machaut. Also performing are Madison vocal ensemble ad meliora and pop-up choir Grata, led by Jen Terhune Streit. Admission is free, and donations benefit Domestic Abuse Intervention Services and Ensemble Parlamento.

media release: Prepare to be transported across time and continents at Luminous! Courtly and Sacred Love in Medieval Song, a captivating medieval concert featuring the internationally renowned Ensemble Parlamento (Basel, Switzerland), Madison’s own ad meliora, and the Grata Community Pop-Up Choir. The concert will be held Sunday, June 29 at 5:00 PM at Madison Christian Community, 7118 Old Sauk Road. Admission is free, with donations gratefully accepted to support Ensemble Parlamento and Domestic Abuse Intervention Services.

The subtleties of courtly love – hidden desire, sweet partings, pure but unreciprocated devotion – shimmer with intensity in the masterworks of Guillaume de Machaut (1300–1377), who has been called the last great poet who was also a musician.  Internationally-acclaimed Ensemble Parlamento presents the multi-dimensional beauty of his music along with the next generation of Italian composers who were influenced by his music, using historical reconstructions of the lute, flute, and vielle to accompany medieval love poetry which transcends both nation and time.

Joining the evening is ad meliora, a Madison-based eight-voice ensemble known for weaving early polyphony and contemporary minimalism into compelling dialogue. They will present two sacred works of devotion and dedication by Machaut and Guillaume Dufay.

The concert opens and closes with a joyful burst of seasonal energy from Grata, a pop-up community choir led by Jen Terhune Streit. Grata will perform “Sumer is icumen in” — the oldest known 6-part polyphonic piece — and a new composition inspired by it:“How beautiful thy colors are, O marvellous month of May” by Grace Newcombe.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to witness an evocative blend of poetry, history, and sound that unifies centuries and cultures through music.