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4/26/04

WORK OF 'FATHER OF RENAISSANCE MUSIC' HIGHLIGHTS SLU CONCERT

CANTON – The Early Music Ensemble at St. Lawrence University will perform 
works by Guillaume Du Fay (1397-1474), considered the "father of Renaissance 
music" and "the Leonardo of music" in a concert on Saturday, May 1, at 8 p.m. 
in Gunnison Memorial Chapel. The event is open to the public, free of charge.
      Truly a "Renaissance man" Du Fay was a singer, composer, poet, priest, 
lawyer, statesman and scholar. By all accounts he was in his lifetime and is 
today considered the foremost composer in all of 15th century Europe, 
excelling in all the styles and forms of his day.
      The Early Music Ensemble will present a rich sampling of his art. The 
EME Players will be featured in secular songs including three May Day songs: 
"Ce jour de l'an," "Bon jour, bon mois" and "Ce mois de may". Interspersed 
among them will be songs such as "Par droit je puis complaindre" and "J'ay 
grant dolor," which show the great variety and depth of expression in his 
secular output. The EME Singers will present Du Fay's last major work, 
considered by many to be his greatest, the Missa Ave Regina Caelorum. Richly 
inventive, this mass exemplifies Du Fay's mature style, full of expressive 
harmonies, suave melodies and fluid rhythms knit into logical formal structures 
that satisfy both mind and heart.
      The Early Music Ensemble, directed by Barry Torres, is dedicated to the 
performance of medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music. Membership is drawn 
from the student body and faculty of SLU and community members. The Ensemble 
is comprised of two groups: the Early Music Players and the Early Music Singers. 
The Singers, based on chapel choirs of the 15th and 16th centuries, rehearse 
and perform entirely a cappella. The Players perform on both modern instruments 
and replica period instruments from the University's Romer Collection. Through 
rehearsal and scholarship they strive to bring exciting performances of this 
vibrant music to the North Country.

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