Celebrated A Cappella Group Stops at MATCH on Farewell Tour, Performs with Houston Early Music
Nov. 9, 2022
MUSIC AND THE visual and plastic arts have always enjoyed a symbiotic relationship. During the Renaissance era, Western music transformed from the single-line monophony of plainchant (in which two or more singers sing the same thing) to polyphony, which allowed multiple voices to move independently of each other like a school of fish or a flock of birds. This transition is the inspiration for Listening to Pictures: Art and Music in the Early Renaissance, an immersive, multimedia concert presented by Houston Early Music and featuring the four-man a cappella ensemble the Orlando Consort. Listening to Pictures takes place Nov. 10 at MATCH.
For fans of the 35-year-old Orlando Consort, whose repertoire stretches from Medieval music to contemporary jazz, film, and world music, and who have recently wrapped up a 12-CD recording project of the music of Guillaume de Machaut, the event will be bittersweet, as Houston is one of the final stops on their final tour before they retire. The group will cease performing in June 2023.
Throughout the concert, the music will be complemented by projected images of paintings and prints by early Renaissance artists, including Gentile da Fabriano, Fra Angelico, Luca della Robbia, Carlo Crivelli, Zanobi Strozzi, Mercantonio Raimondi and others. The spirit and subject matter of the art, and what was then the innovative use of a central point to create an uncanny three-dimensional image for the viewer to experience and contemplate, finds parallels in the evening’s program, which includes the music of John Dunstaple, Guillaume Dufay, Heinrich Isaac, Josquin Desprez, Antoine Brumel, and Adrian Willaert.
In both the artworks and the selected music, sung with supreme skill and true feeling by the Consort, whatever it is that makes us human, be it flesh, blood, or breath, stands at the center of it all, pulling together disparate elements to create a unifying harmony.
Related Articles Around the Web
Keep Reading
Show less
Marking Five Years of Supporting Firefighters — and Hunks on the Runway — ‘Red Hot’ Catches Fire
Nov. 4, 2022
FIVE YEARS AFTER it launched, the annual “Red Hot Gala” supporting Houston firefighters is one of the, well, hottest tickets in the city’s social calendar. Created and co-chaired again this year by Alan and Elizabeth Stein to cover costs for equipment and training, Red Hot has raised more than $3.2 million since its inception, with some $625,000 coming in at this year’s 430-guest bash at the Royal Sonesta.
And what a bash it was, flowing over the course of the program from stirring to sexy! It started with the presentation of the flags by the Houston Firefighter Honor Guard and Pipes and Drums, and a stirring acapella rendition of the National Anthe by Firefighter Joe Rice, and eventually arrived at its usual apex — the shirtless catwalk-strutting of the coming year’s firefighter-calendar hotties.
The spectacle of triceps, biceps, lats and six packs was a hit with the ladies, who crowded around the merch table afterward to buy calendars and take selfies with the muscled gents. Calendar sales benefit the Burned Children’s Fund.
“The momentum continues to be up, and we are grateful for the outpouring of support,” noted the Steins about the fundraising effort.
A raucous live auction followed a dinner of rich short rib and roasted chicken. A triple strand diamond bracelet from IW Marks went for more than $12,000. A surprise, last-minute addition to the auction roster — a guitar signed by George Strait — went for more than $10,000.
One of the evening’s best moments came at the traditional after party when, to the live tunes of the Western Jelly band, the Astros Game Two win was broadcast to the happy crowd.
This year’s co-chairs were Carol and Bill Lawler, with Hallie Vanderhider serving as honorary co-chair. Generous donors Bobbie Nau and Susan Sarofim were called out for special recognition, as were committed volunteers Dee Darby, Scarlett Darby, Betty DuBose and Laura Elizabeth Stein. Notable guests included Margaret Alkek Williams, Brigitte Kalai, Alicia Smith, Van and David Greenberg, Fady Armanious, Bill Baldwin, Patti and Don Murphy, Robert Clay, Karen and Murry Penner, a slew of public officials, and emcees Ted Oberg and Houston Professional Firefighters Association President Patrick M. “Marty” Lancton.
Brigitte Kalai and Joanna Marks
Margaret Alkek Williams and David Wuthrich
Bobbie Nau, Elizabeth Stein, Hallie Vanderhider
Mr. June
Casey & Ryan Mitchell
Fady Armanious & Bill Baldwin
Jackie Eubank, Jo Ann Petersen, Diane Cain
Mr. October
Laura Elizabeth Stein, Captain Chris Garcia, Scarlett Darby
Marissa Eubank, Price Dubose, Darci Vazquez, Anna Hoffman, Kelsey Spieth
Monica & Russel Ybarra
Sarah & Dean Zubowski
Mr. February
Patti & Don Murphy
Shantell and Brian Wischnewsky
From Your Site Articles
- Clay Walker Headlines Holiday Bash and Grand Re-Opening for Iconic Jewelry Store - Houston CityBook ›
- Mixing Heartstrings with Heartthrobs, Firefighters’ ‘Red Hot Gala’ Heats Up Again! - Houston CityBook ›
- It’s Getting Hot in Here! Firefighters Gala Returns, Shirtless Hunks on the Runway and All - Houston CityBook ›
Keep Reading
Show less