Cappella Martialis

While the world has enjoyed relative peace since the end of World War Two, recent conflicts have reminded us that war has been a perennial and constant worry for most of humanity’s existence. As with the plague, man’s hopes and fears have found both expression and solace in music.  Тhe late Mediæval popular song L’homme armé (The Armed Man) resonated with European listeners faced with constant wars that included the wars of religion between Catholics and Protestants, as well as the constant threat of Ottoman invasions. With the fall of Constantinople, a once great empire, L’homme armé became a socio-historical symbol for the vast European continent. Despite surviving with only one verse of its text, L’homme armé ended up being the single most-used musical theme (or cantus firmus) for polyphonic masses in the Renaissance period. Cristóbal de Morales’ Missa L’homme armé is a splendid example of this, having been composed for use by the Sistine Chapel Choir, arguably the most prestigious musical establishment in Europe in his time.  As with the war, the call of peace rings out just as strongly. For a counterpoint, we present various motets on the theme of peace by various Renaissance composers, including the motet O bone Jesu by Scottish composer Robert Carver, who lived through the religious turmoil of the Protestant Reformation. Despite not mentioning either war or peace, the piece constantly invokes the Holy Name, making it a cri de cœur for all times. As a reference to current conflicts, we present Pod tvoiu milost' by Ukrainian baroque composer Dmitrii Bortnianskii, who studied in Italy and later served in the St Petersburg court of Russian Empress Catherine, and is often called the Ukrainian Palestrina. Is peace in our time an attainable goal? Only time will tell. 

Tickets available on Eventbrite now! 

Check & Checkmate: Music of the Reformation & Counter-Reformation 1480-1620

Venue: Jubilee Church, 256 Outram Road, Singapore 169053

Saturday 4th November and Sunday 5th November 2017

8 p.m., with pre-concert talk at 7:40 p.m.

'Next to the word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world' - Martin Luther

In commemoration of Reformation 500, we present a selection of music reflecting the religious currents in the years 1480-1620: from pre-Reformation Roman Catholic music, through the various Protestant styles, and how Roman Catholic music itself changed in response.

While most of the pieces we have chosen are straightforward sacred music from the Protestant and Catholic churches, we have included some pieces that reflect the more turbulent aspects of the Reformation period. Religious tensions were present in all sections of society from peasants to dukes, and this is reflected in the music all the way from Gregorian chant to simple peasant songs to complex art music for noble courts.

Composers covered will include Josquin, Obrecht, Luther, Hassler, Goudimel, Sermisy, Vallet, Palestrina, Animuccia, Victoria, Farmer, Tallis, and Byrd.

Most of our programme will not have been heard in Singapore before. As usual, we shall be accompanied by instruments appropriate to the period and country of the works, such as the lute, renaissance guitar, baroque violin, viola da gamba, recorder, renaissance flute, and organ. We shall be pronouncing the sung texts in period pronunciation, giving the listener a sort of time-machine journey in sound.

To aid in the understanding and appreciation of the programme, there will be a brief pre-concert talk at 7:40 p.m.

Admission is free, and a retiring collection will be taken towards the upkeep of the concert venue.

N.B. please register your interest at our Eventbrite page so we have an idea of how many to expect.

Byzantion. Nova Roma. Nea Romē. Konstantinoupolis. Basilis ton Poleon. Miklagarðr. Tsargrad. Rūmiyyat al-kubra. Takht-e Rum. Islambol. Stamboul. İstanbul. The only city that spans two continents - Asia & Europe, Constantinople was described as 'Desire of the World' and the stuff of legends. Till this day, as a meeting-place of East and West, it continues to inspire and evoke. As a tribute to the rich musical heritage of the city, Cappella Martialis present a very special concert of sacred and secular music from and inspired by what Greeks call 'The City'. The pieces selected reflect the various periods in the history of the Queen of Cities: - Ancient Byzantion - New Rome - Sieges and Attacks - The Latin Empire - The Palaiologan Restoration - Laments for the Fall of the City - Ottoman Kostantiniyye - Jews & Armenians in Late-Ottoman Istanbul - 19th C Istanbul and Beyond Highlights include: the Seikilos Epitaph, which is the earliest piece of notated music that survives complete anywhere in the world; early Byzantine chant; Mediaeval Spanish songs about miracles in Constantinople; an extract from the Sunday Divine Liturgy (Mass) as might have been heard in Hagia Sophia in the early 1440s before the Fall, including acclamations for the Emperor Constantine XI which have not been sung since 1453, researched from manuscripts in Athens, St Petersburg, and Mount Athos; laments for the fall of Constantinople - one in French and Latin by Guillaume Dufay, one by an anonymous author from the Greek Islands; Ottoman Turkish court music; a Ladino song from the Sephardic Jews of Asia Minor; and music by Armenian composers connected to Constantinople. Languages sung in this concert include Classical and Mediaeval Greek, Latin, Renaissance French, Classical Armenian, Ladino, Galician-Portuguese, Bulgarian, Ottoman and Modern Turkish. There will be programme booklets with full translations of sung texts. For this concert, Cappella Martialis will be accompanied by a panoply of appropriate instruments including harp, citole, ud, kanun/kanonaki, fiddle, shawm, recorder, dulcimer, violoncello, piano, as well as authentic Mediaeval and Turkish percussion (adufe, darbuka, bendir etc). As usual, admission is free but there will be a retiring collection toward the upkeep of the church, which is Singapore's oldest church and a national monument. For those who want to know more about the music, our instruments, and Constantinople in general, there will be a short pre-concert talk at 7:30 P.M. NOTA BENE: We are doing two performances - one on Saturday 10th and one on Sunday 11th. Both at 8 P.M. Trivium: the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 happened on 29th May. 29th May on the Julian calendar corresponds to 11th June on our civil Gregorian calendar, hence the timing of our concert!

For live updates: https://www.facebook.com/events/1946685195554313

Cappella Martialis, Singapore's only vocal group dedicated to early music, supported by King's College London Alumni Society Singapore, presents 'The Christmas Project', an Advent & Christmas recital of music for the season from the Mediæval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods.

The recital will include motets and anthems by Victoria, Morales, Palestrina, Monteverdi, Tallis, Vaughan Williams, Praetorius, and JS Bach, as well as ancient chants from the Eastern and Western Churches. Cappella Martialis will be accompanied by an instrumental ensemble that includes strings, recorders, dulcimer, harp, lutes, renaissance guitar, and period percussion.

Cappella is proud to announce this will be the world premiere performance of 'Advent', a new piece by Canadian-born London-based composer Kathryn Rose.

KCL has possibly London's best college chapel choir, and no less than three of their alumni are in Cappella Martialis, along with some alumni of Oxford and Cambridge chapel choirs, so expect a recital in the best English style.

Admission is free, and music-lovers are invited to make a contribution in a box toward charities.

p.s. a brief singalong of familiar carols!

For updates, see the Facebook event pages:

19th Dec https://www.facebook.com/events/144269795934822/

If you’ve only heard us singing sacred repertoire, join us as we explore songs of life and love, from times ancient and modern, for voices and instruments.

The programme will include music from Late Mediæval France, Renaissance England, Early Romantic Vienna, as well as the 20th Century. If you’ve ever thought Mediæval and Renaissance music boring, wait till you see the lyrics to some of our songs, some of which are being performed in Singapore for the first time. 

Programme:

Tant que vivray (C. de Sermisy) Entre vous filles (J. Clemens non Papa) Now is the Month of Maying (T. Morley) Mon cœur se recommande a vous (O. de Lassus)

Le souvenir de vous me tue (R. Morton) Une jeune fillette (Anon) Une m’avoit promis (A. Le Roy)

Amarilli, mia bella (G. Caccini, arr. R. Dowland) Divine Amaryllis (A. de Boësset)

Can vei la lauzeta mover (B. de Ventadorn) Si dolce è’l tormento (C. Monteverdi)

Vier Gesänge für Männerstimmen (F. Schubert) In stiller Nacht (J. Brahms) The Dark Eyed Sailor (R. Vaughan Williams)

The Way You Look Tonight How Deep is Your Love (The Bee Gees) 海闊天空 (Beyond) And So It Goes (B. Joel) The Book of Love (P. Gabriel)

in addition to our usual lute & renaissance guitar player, we shall be joined by Singapore’s preëminent recorderist, Mr Dominic Wan.

Guest conductor: Mr Yeo Ying Hao

Admission is $10.

Free seating.

Cappella Martialis will be performing a selection of early music that recapitulates the transition from Lent to Easter at two churches this Eastertide.

St Joseph’s Church, Victoria St, on Friday 17 April at 8pm

The Church of St Teresa, Kampong Bahru, on 19th April at 7:30pm

Highlights include the seldom performed Passion motet cycle by Josquin, O Domine Jesu Christe, and Tavener’s Dum Transisset Sabbatum.

The Christmas Project 2014: Led by a Star

At the Church of St Teresa, Kampong Bahru

With the Pipers Guild, and Fete Musicians

Photo courtesy of FUMhouse Productions

You can find us this holiday season singing at:

We bring you a sampling of early Baroque music that might have been heard in early 17th C Venice. The evening's programme takes us along a young lady's dramatic journey through Love. 

Presented by Wendy Woon and Cappella Martialis in collaboration with instrumentalists playing period instruments.

Wendy Woon - soprano

Cappella Martialis - vocal ensemble

Billy Kristanto - virginals

QinYing Tan - virginals

Paul Goh - viola da gamba

Li Jeremiah - recorder

Tickets at $25. Please email [email protected] for details.

Our next performance will be on 20 July 2013 at the Arts House.

Through the medium of historically-informed chamber and chapel music, we present a story of a young lady in early 17th century baroque Italy and her tumultuous journey in love. Wendy Woon, coloratura soprano, performs solo cantatas by Barbara Strozzi, a prolific Venetian composer and poet depicting the various stages of falling in and out of love. She directs Cappella Martialis, who sing both sacred and secular choral works that may have influenced our young lady's journey. Our keyboardists are Billy Kristanto who trained under Ton Koopman at the Hague Conservatory and is an active performer of early music in Indonesia and Singapore, and Tan Qin Ying, recently graduated from the Peabody Institute and currently on the doctoral programme in harpsichord at the Cleveland Institute of Music. They accompany the vocal music as well as bring to life the florid dances and inventions characteristic of solo Italian Baroque keyboard music. Jeremiah Li improvises accompaniment on a variety of Baroque recorders, and Paul Goh plays the viola da gamba in period style.

 This concert brings together musicians with a passion for early music for the first time to perform on authentic instruments and with historically-informed practice. Mostly trained overseas, we hope to continue bringing this rich and compelling repertoire to Singapore audiences.

Christmas Eve Midnight Mass at St Joseph's Church, Singapore

And finally, one of the shots from our photo-shoot earlier in May.