Mohawk Trail Concerts presents Cantabile, a six-voice a cappella vocal ensemble, in Monarchs, Mishaps, and Mosquitoes: Stories in song.
This program is a mélange of legends, vignettes, Bible stories and tall tales; sung in five languages and set to music spanning half a millennium. The selections range from a motet found in the Medici Codex of 1518, to works composed last year for the group by local composer Clifton Jerry Noble. There are several pieces about rulers like King David and England's Queen Elizabeth I, as well as musical accounts of unfortunate events, including a shipwreck that turns into a Christmas party, a king bewitched by mermaids, a gullible knight, and a rather naughty mosquito. Several Renaissance composers are featured, among them Palestrina, Gesualdo and Weelkes.