Western Wind Vocal Sextet to Present 'THE DIVINE ORLANDO' at St. Michael's Church

The Western Wind, America's longest-running professional a cappella vocal ensemble, will present The Divine Orlando - Music of Orlando di Lasso on Friday, November 3 at 8:00 PM in St. Michael's Church Recital Hall, 225 West 99th Street, between Broadway & Amsterdam, in Manhattan.

This unique program celebrates the extraordinary diversity of the music of Orlando di Lasso (1532-1594) and presents examples of the composer's rich body of work in four languages including Italian Madrigals, French Chansons, German Lieder, and Latin Motets. They range from the sublime and ardent, to the ribald and just plain silly.

French chansons include languorous love songs as well as a sexy dialogue between a law clerk and his cuckolded master. The German set includes Breugel-like peasant drinking and eating songs, the Italian madrigals range from a paean to the lyre-playing Urania, the muse of astronomy and philosophy, to a crude serenade sung by a besotted German soldier in slaughtered Italian (Matona Mia Cara). Latin motets include the startlingly modern-sounding Timor Et Tremor, the concert ends with Musica Dei Donum Optimi, an ode to music.

Arguably the greatest composer of the Renaissance, di Lasso was kidnapped three times as a child because of his beautiful voice. He was born humble and eventually rose to nobility serving at the court of Albrecht V, Duke of Bavaria. In his youth he dallied in Italy with Albrecht's son, Willie, (Wilhelm V) who later succeeded his father as Lasso's employer. Famous for his bouts of melancholy, Orlando was a turbulent artist of swiftly changing moods.

The Western Wind singers are Linda Lee Jones and Michele Kennedy, sopranos; William Zukof, countertenor; Todd Frizzell and David Vanderwal, tenors; and Edmund Milly, bass (substituting for Peter Walker.)

Tickets for the November 3 concert are $30 general admission, $20 student/senior (subject to availability), and can be purchased online at www.westernwind.org/store.html?tix. $50 Sponsor and $100 Patron's row seats are also available. A special meet-the-artists reception follows the concert. For more information, call 212-873-2848 or e-mail: info@westernwind.org.

Since 1969, the internationally acclaimed vocal sextet The Western Wind has devoted itself to the special beauty and variety of a cappella music. The New York Times has called them, "A kaleidoscopic tapestry of vocal hues..." The Ensemble's repertoire reveals its diverse background - from Renaissance motets to Fifties rock 'n' roll, from medieval carols to Duke Ellington, from complex works by avant-garde composers to the simplest folk melodies. Visit them at www.westernwind.org.