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As we wearily raise our heads, now and then, from the ancient medieval manuscripts that strain our eyes even as they fortify our souls, we notice something odd. Many of the songs and poems we diligently pore over, in Latin, Old French, and Provençal, are actually political polemics! They sound like they were written by today’s disgruntled pundits on Twitter, cable TV, or on the op-ed section of your favorite daily papers.

How could this possibly be? We are shocked, shocked.

And so, we initiate the Camerata Corruption Corps (CCC), a thoughtful enterprise to keep our minds alert and engaged during these humid summer days. We’ll share with you some of the more telling rants-in-music we have unearthed from many centuries back, and we’ll allow you to apply them as you will to the people and events of our own crazy day.

Here is our first offering, Curritur ad vocem, from the thirteenth century Carmina Burana. The subject, bien sûr, is venality and corruption:

Translation:

Everyone is running towards the voice of Money. Everyone goes after that which is forbidden. That’s how to live! If anyone in this business doesn’t know how the world works, let him choose, or disappear: Get what you need, by whatever means necessary. Law is no deterrent; the judiciary doesn’t matter. Virtue is crime. 

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Because of the virus, there are fewer opportunities to experience the arts, live, this summer. Yet life continues, and there is still music and movement in the air… Borrowed Light, heard and seen over much of Europe, Eurasia, and North America in over seventy performances, was, and is, one of Camerata’s most important achievements.

Thanks to the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, this memorable dance-and-music production featuring the Tero Saarinen Company of Helsinki, Finland, alongside The Boston Camerata, will be available for streaming via the Internet. It’s a magnificent work, based on authentic spiritual songs transcribed from Shaker archives, and sung live by Camerata, danced to extraordinary, boundary-stretching choreography conceived by modern dance genius Tero Saarinen, and performed by his ensemble.

watch the trailer for the 2012 production at Jacob’s Pillow that will be streamedThe online video stream will premiere on Thursday, August 20 on YouTube and will remain available until Saturday, August 22. You can RSVP here to receive the link on August 20, plus some bonus content before the event.

Music Director Emeritus Joel Cohen, whose extensive work on Shaker music inspired Borrowed Light, says “Shaker music has been an important part of my life, and the Camerata’s life, for a number of years. What draws me to Borrowed Light isn’t that it’s illustrative of the Shaker songs we do. It’s a different community and a different story from the Shaker story that we sing, but the strong bond is the Shaker music, even though it’s very simple simple song, very musical, short phrases, catchy tunes. You think, ‘OK, this is a kind of folk music,’ and yet there’s a depth to it, because it goes right to the basic questions of existence – why are we here on Earth? And Tero does that with his dance. Sometimes the dance, in my view, complements what we’re singing; sometimes I see Tero taking an almost contrary stance to the music, but in every case, it doesn’t just give a simple illustration of something anecdotal. It’s profound, it’s real, and it’s deeply in touch with the things that the Shakers themselves were in touch with when they composed these melodies.”

Click here to hear from Tero Saarinen, the choreographer of Borrowed Light, sharing some recent thoughts on that work, and its persistent appeal.

Click here for original cast members of Borrowed Light, Deborah Rentz-Moore and Daniel Hershey talking about their experiences performing this piece over a decade of international touring.

Click here to watch the trailer for the 2012 production at Jacob’s Pillow that will be streamed.

If you find Borrowed Light important and meaningful, do let us know via mail, email, and possibly via a contribution, enabling us to continue our work during these challenging times.

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,,
Let tyrants shake their iron rod,
And Slav’ry clank her galling chains,
We fear them not!
”
Thus sang the American revolutionaries as they engaged with – and overcame – the forces of oppression. This 4th of July weekend, we send you this stirring song, by Boston’s own William Billings, as a reminder of what is at stake in the coming weeks and months. Take heart, and enjoy!



Click here for more music from Free America! (Harmonia Mundi, 2019)

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Even as we are buffeted by the tempests of contemporary history, our need for the guidance and consolation of great art continues! We invite you to our autumn 2020 production of Henry Purcell’s only true opera, Dido and Aeneas. This intensely powerful work distills the emotions inherent in the ancient story, as rapidly alternating feelings of hope, disquiet, rejoicing, and mortal sorrow vie for their places in our modern-day hearts.

Dido, Queen of Carthage
Tahanee Aluwihare
Aeneas, a Trojan Prince
Luke Scott
Belinda, Dido’s confidant
Camila Parias

The Sorceress
Jordan Weatherston Pitts

At Camerata, we are hard at work during this early summer, imagining how we will share this powerful narrative in music with you, our public. Our Dido 2020 will be staged by Anne Azéma, with lighting and multimedia by Peter Torpey. As of today, we can safely share that we intend to present a mixed cast of live musicians on stage (vocal soloists and an instrumental ensemble led by Sarah Darling, first violin) augmented by the participation of remote singers. CDC permitting, you will be able to join us in the hall (under strict sanitation guidance) if wished, or remotely, in the safety and comfort of your own homes if you prefer. Details to be provided as soon as possible.

Here is the Entr’acte to Act II of Dido and Aeneas from Camerata’s 1979 recording, a moment of calm for your Friday and your weekend! The flute soloist is the late Nancy Joyce Roth.

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In recognition of Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States, we offer “Hebrew Children,” from the Sacred Harp (first edition 1844), which draws its stirring imagery of bondage and liberation from the Book of Daniel.

May all of us soon feel safe in our Promised Land!


from Free America, our 2019 Harmonia Mundi CD

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Agnus Dei (Gregorian) from Missa Ave Regina,
Tomás Luis de Victoria, Spain, 1548-1611)
Soloists: Deborah Rentz Moore, Anne Azéma,
under the direction of Richard Webster

Here at Camerata, our deepest wish in this period of profound American upheaval is that we may come together as one nation, in a spirit of renewal and love. We are committed to such growth and positive change.

We offer this short video from a 2015 concert performance dedicated to music heard by diverse peoples of the New World. We begin with a Gregorian chant, an Agnus Dei, imploring for peace, sung by Deborah Rentz Moore and Les Fleurs des Caraïbes. The same words, “Dona Nobis Pacem,” set by the Spanish Renaissance composer Tomás Luís de Victoria, are next heard by Camerata, assisted by Les Fleurs des Caraïbes, Trinity Choristers, and Boston City Singers, with Richard Webster conducting.

May music help to heal us and point us to a better future!

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have pity on us.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have pity on us.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

The Boston Camerata with Les Fleurs des Caraïbes,
Trinity Choristers, and Boston City Singers

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The Boston Camerata stands in solidarity with all victims of oppression and injustice, and most particularly with our fellow-American sisters and brothers of color

We draw inspiration, in these days of crisis for our country, from the prophecy of Daniel, speaking for his oppressed people, as he fearlessly faces a corrupt and evil ruler.

This eloquent, deeply-felt performance by Jordan Weatherston Pitts resonates so strongly within us. May it point us towards hope, and give us increased strength to work together for a just society.


Seattle, The Play of Daniel, January 18, 2020
The Boston Camerata and assisting artists,
directed by Anne Azéma

The Prophet Daniel, confronting the Evil Ruler, interprets the Handwriting on the Wall:

O King, I do not want your gifts. Your downfall is at hand.
Your father was cast down and you too, his son, are not yourself any less wicked.

MANE: Your reign is finished.

TECHEL: You have been weighed and found wanting.

PHARES: Your kingdom shall be given over to another.

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#BlackLivesMatter #RacialEquality

During this moment of great stress and trial for our beloved nation, we at Camerata want to express our solidarity with all victims of oppression and injustice, and most particularly with our fellow-American brothers and sisters of color.

This Revolutionary song, “Free America,” inspired the theme of our most recent CD recording. The lyric you will hear speaks of resistance to tyranny, and in our opinion it is as contemporary and relevant as the day it was penned. Joel Frederiksen is the soloist.

Guard your rights, Americans!
Strasbourg 2019

Lift up your Hands, good People!
And swear with proud Disdain,
The Wretch that would enslave you,
Shall [lay] his Snares in vain;
And should [he summon] all [his] force,
We’ll meet them in Array,
And fight, and shout, and shout, and fight,
For [free] Americay!

Source: The American National Song Book (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1842). Text, after Joseph Warren (1741-1855), sung on The British Grenadiers

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“At this time it’s important for people to understand that art is part of the social fabric, and is in fact an economic motor of that social fabric too,” says Camerata Artistic Director Anne Azéma in a new article from WBUR’s The ARTery. This article focuses on what the way forward might look like for solo musicians (pianist Marc-André Hamelin is also featured) and ensembles.