December 26, 2001
Contact: Susan Gwynne
(805) 893-2098
e-mail: gwynne-s@sa.ucsb.edu
Early music superstars Anonymous 4 to perform
“The Second Circle: Love Songs of Francesco Landini”
at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church
Summary Facts:
- Anonymous 4 perform “The Second Circle: Love Songs of Francesco Landini”
- Early music superstars celebrated for their rich vocal blend
- Regular best sellers on Billboard’s classical charts
- A Chamber Music in Historic Sites concert
- Sunday, February 3
- 4 pm / Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church,
1300 East Valley Road, Montecito - General: $30/$20, UCSB students: $19/$14
- Tickets/information: UCSB Arts & Lectures at 893-3535
The acclaimed female early music quartet Anonymous 4 will perform “The Second Circle: Love Songs of Francesco Landini” on Sunday, February 3 at 4 pm in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 1300 East Valley Road, Montecito. Selling more than a million CDs worldwide, Anoynmous 4 combine musical, literary and historical scholarship with adept dramatic instinct. Their performances interweave music with poetry and narrative; this program features the ballate or arts songs of Francesco Landini (1325-1397) with poems from La Vita Nuova by Dante (1265-1321). After a performance of “The Second Circle,” The Denver Rocky Mountain News extolled: “The extraordinary women of Anonymous 4 held their audience breathless...the singers re-created a world of unbridled ardor and passionate expressions of joy and sorrow.”
The women of Anonymous 4—Marsha Genesky, Susan Hellauer, Jacqueline Horner, Johanna Maria Rose—perform in major cities throughout North America, including New York, Boston, Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, Seattle and Toronto. Celebrated regulars at major international festivals, Anonymous 4 has appeared throughout Europe, Australia and Asia. The ensemble has appeared on a wide range of radio and television programs, including Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion, CBS Sunday Morning and A&E’s Breakfast With the Arts.
Anonymous 4 records exclusively for harmonia mundi usa. Their debut recording, An English Ladymass, was named 1992 Classical Disc of the Year by CD Review. Since then they have released 11 recordings, including award-winners On Yoolis Night, The Lily and the Lamb, Legends of St. Nicholas and 1000: A Mass for the End of Time. Their 2001 release of The Second Circle was met with great critical acclaim; CD Now wrote, “There will undoubtedly be many listeners who will just enjoy this disc for its sheer abstract beauty, with the clear voices and even blend of the singers, familiar from the group’s many best-selling CDs, a delight in and of themselves. But it’s well worth the effort to listen while following the translations of the poetry (which is also lovely) to realize the full effect of Landini’s work.”
Recently branching out into the realm of contemporary music, Anonymous 4 has premiered works by John Tavener and Steve Reich. They have also established a fruitful relationship with composer Richard Einhorn, including performing his oratorio Voices of Light, which he wrote to accompany screenings of Carl Dreyer’s famous 1928 silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc.
The group’s name derives from the designation for an unknown author of a musical treatise from the Middle Ages. In the nineteenth century, a musicologist edited and published a series of such documents, designating the anonymous ones as Anonymous 1, Anonymous 2, Anonymous 3, etc. Anonymous 4 is the most important of these treatises, largely because it describes compositional style and music practice during the golden age of music at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris around the turn of the thirteenth century.
An informal architectural chat and reception will immediately follow the concert in the nearby parish hall. Christine Palmer, Urban Historian for the City of Santa Barbara and Edward Cella, Landmarks Commissioner, will be available to answer questions. The Pearl Chase Society will provide refreshments. Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, designed by architects Ross Montgomery and William Mullary, was built in 1936. Perhaps the best local example of the Pueblo Revival style, this picturesque building features a spectacular hand-hewn ceiling and other features characteristic of the ancient churches of New Mexico. This is a charming venue in which to listen to Italian love songs.
This concert is the second of three events in UCSB Arts & Lectures’ 2001-2002 performing arts season held in local buildings of architectural significance where audiences can experience music in unique and intimate environments. Celesta Billeci, director of Arts & Lectures, says, “We are delighted to continue this concert series, following our sold-out performance by the illustrious Tallis Scholars in December. This season’s series will conclude with the Borromeo Quartet at the Montecito Country Club on February 21, and will be followed next year by other creative pairings of great music and beautiful architecture.”
UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Anonymous 4 by agreement with Chamber Music in Historic Sites®—a nationally licensed series, Dr. MaryAnn Bonino, president and founder. Thanks to the Pearl Chase Society for its support and to Santa Barbara Magazine for sponsoring this concert. Tickets are $30 and $20 for the general public and $19 and $14 for UCSB students.
For tickets or more information,
call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535.
Editor: For photos, please call
Susan Gwynne at (805) 893-2098.