Boston Camerata’s medieval Christmas resonates gracefully with the present
The Boston Camerata performed a Christmas program Friday night at First Church in Belmont. File photo.
Boston Camerata proved that medieval music can resonate as much as holiday music of today in a well-attended performance on Friday night in Belmont. Considered almost a perennial in this ensemble’s repertory, the “Hodie Christus Natus Est” program curated well-flowing storytelling that felt complete with each piece.
The intimate space of First Church (Unitarian Universalist) supported an acoustic that helped voices melt into each other, delivering a resonance full of colorful overtones, yet retaining the distinct lines and textured ornamentations characteristic of early music. This aspect was evident from the first piece in the program “Uterus hodie virginis floruit” from 12th-century Aquitania, which started the performance from the back of the audience but filled the entire hall.
The beginning of the program aptly described anticipation of the coming of Christ–at times excitedly and at others nervously–but this anticipation existed equally for the audience to discover different voices and instruments.
After the procession of three singers, a bagpipe, and a vielle toward the front, the rich ringing voice of artistic director Anne Azéma delivered “Oiet Virgines” with impressive clarity of diction even in this pure, lush music. The sweet tone of soprano Camila Parias shimmered in the beginning of the unaccompanied “Nos virgines” and the earthy lower register of mezzo-soprano Deborah Rentz-Moore enriched “Amen dico.”
The ensemble impressed most in moments when voices came together, as in “Verbum Patris Humanateur, O!” when every onset was precisely aligned, even with the lifts from commas in the text.
The Boston Camerata shined not only in the beautifully meshed, rich color of the plainchants and one-voice moments but also in three-part singing such as “Veine pleine de duçur” that tuned dissonances and resolved them to broadening fifths and thirds.
A powerful aspect of this programming was the linear storytelling in the second half, grouping pieces with diverse geographical origins, time periods, languages, and instrumentation. The focus was turned instead toward singing text and reflecting its mood, punctuated by spoken passages telling the story of Christmas.
This organization of the pieces closely engaged the audience, and other aspects contributed to more relatable moments to the music. The rhythmic instrumental “Maravillosos et piadosos” based on a Cantiga attributed to King Alfonso X “el Sabio” displayed a dance-like flair that was ear-catching.
This playfulness emerged in vocal lines of “Pois que dos reys nostre Senhor” attributed to the same composer, where highly decorated, melismatic ornamentations lined up tightly and phrased tastefully, showcasing impressive virtuosic control and musical expression.
“English Dance” was similar but incorporated a catchy melody repeated by the vielle played so tunefully by Shira Kammen that Azéma, amusingly,ended up singing along toward the end.
Parias’s high notes seemed to soar into heaven in the following “Nolite timere,” her resonance seemingly spreading outward and upward, filling the audience with awe.
Christa Patton’s flute in “Salve, virgo singularis” invoked grassy swaying in melodies emerging from even drones. Impressively, Patton also played two different bagpipes and harp in other pieces of this performance, each time bringing an exciting variety of color to the instrumentation.
Similarly, Azéma also played the bells in “Campanis cum cymbalis” and seemed to enjoy having that sound pierce through, though at times it overshadowed other parts and made consonants less audible. In the final “Gregis pastor” the audience remained facing forward, allowing the sound of the procession walking farther back to echo and carry the work of the performance.
This Boston Camerata program explored medieval musical traditions with varying instrumentation, rhythms, and origins, while fully encapsulating the familiar story of Christmas. The five-person performance brought their recordings of the same pieces to life and much more beyond— from the overtones and fine-tuning in the space, the visually engaging playing of medieval instruments, and the immersive experience through effective storytelling.
The program will be repeated 7 p.m. Saturday at Central Congregational Church, Newburyport and 4 p.m. Sunday at Old South Church, Boston. bostoncamerata.com
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