Early Music Exposed: Improvised Polyphony of The Middle Ages March 13, 2010

EARLY MUSIC EXPOSED

Afternoon Session: 2:00 - 4:00

From Chant to Organum: Improvised Polyphony of the Middle Ages
Featuring Lionheart, male vocal sextet

From Manuscript to Concert Hall: Revival of Fifteenth-Century Chansons
Featuring Asteria, voices and lute

Unreserved Seating

Just as a conservator strips away layers of yellowed varnish to reveal a painting’s original vigor, performers of medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and classical music apply historical conventions and practices—such as reading from original manuscripts and using period instruments—to allow musical repertory to ring true, revealing each score as conceived by its composer. This daylong exploration of early music, coordinated and hosted by Frederick Renz, features lecture-demonstrations by some of New York’s most notable exponents of historically informed performance and showcases intruments from the Museum’s collection.

This event celebrates the reopening of The André Mertens Galleries for Musical Instruments and features instruments from the Museum’s collection.

This series is made possible in part through a grant to the Early Music Foundation from the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Official Website: http://www.metmuseum.org/tickets