Concordian Dawn, ensemble for medieval music, specializes in 12th- through 14th-century vocal repertoire, drawing on primary source material and focusing on socio-philosophical similarities between texts from centuries ago and the mindset of modern society. In doing so, the ensemble produces a musical experience accessible to contemporary audiences, relating the human condition of the past to the familiar experiences of the present. Concordian Dawn was founded in 2012 and performs regularly on the east coast, annually with Gotham Early Music Scene in NYC, and at venues across the country. Highlights of 2024-25 include a performance at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Fall Festival in association with the museum’s exhibit Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300-50; an Artist-in-Residence performance of Le Roman de Fauvel at UC-Davis; the debut of their program Vox Femina at the Grenta Music Festival; and performances for the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library’s Seven Floors Up Concert Series and the GEMS Midtown Concert Series. The ensemble’s “mesmerizing” (Early Music America) debut album, Fortuna Antiqua et Ultra (MSR Classics), was released in December of 2021 to critical acclaim. In July of 2022, Cornell University Press published a collaborative book-recording project between the ensemble and medieval studies scholar, Sarah Kay, entitled Medieval Song from Aristotle to Opera, and the ensemble’s “palpably enchanting” and “unforgettable” (Fanfare) second album based on this collaboration was released by MSR Classics in October of 2023. Concordian Dawn made its west coast debut in 2022 with the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival and at UC-Berkeley and UC-Davis, and the ensemble received a 2020 Ensemble Forward Award from Chamber Music America. Concordian Dawn and its director, Christopher Preston Thompson, have performed and led workshops and lectures for Princeton University, Stanford University, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, New York University, the University of Pennsylvania, the Modern Language Association, the CUNY Graduate Center and the Medieval Academy of America, among others. Concordian Dawn is a fiscal project of Gotham Early Music Scene, Inc. Please visit www.concordiandawn.com.
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December 18th, Veni Redemptor Gencium
7:30pm
The Church of the Holy Trinity, 3 West 65th Street, NYC
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December 20th, Medieval Lessons and Carols
6:00pm
St. John’s Church in the Village, 218 West 11th Street, NYC
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Chantepleure: Songs of Pain and Pleasure from Medieval France and Italy
February 25th, 5:30pm
Vassar College, 124 Raymond Ave. | Poughkeepsie, NY
Performance Venue: The Aula (Ely Hall)
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Mesmerizing… It’s exciting to discover an up-and-coming early-music ensemble, especially one with a focus on Medieval repertory. Concordian Dawn is just such an ensemble, and one to watch…. [Concordian Dawn] excels at blend and intonation… The solo tracks are compelling as well; Thompson’s reverberant harp perfectly bolsters Blondel de Nesles’s melancholy L’amour don’t sui espris… The last track, Gace Brulé’s despondent Quant voi la flour boutener, is a real standout. It’s a promising debut, one that might well leave its listeners filled with desire and hope for another album in due course; may fortune favor us all.
Karen Cook
Early Music America
March 2022