Il Dolce Suono presents “Ki Koléch Arév: Jewish and Secular Music from Late Medieval Italy”

On Wednesday, March 2, 2022, the IU Department of Musicology will welcome Il Dolce Suono to campus to present a concert titled “Ki Koléch Arév: Jewish and Secular Music from Late Medieval Italy.” Corina Marti (harpsichord and recorders) and Doron Schleifer (countertenor) will perform at 7pm in the Recital Hall of Merill Hall (1201 East 3rd Street). On the program are compositions by Francesco Landini, Gherardello da Firenze, Don Paolo da Firenze, Laurentius da Firenze, and Jacopo da Bologna.

Below, Il Dolce Suono describes the program:

“Italian polyphonic music in the fourteenth century has been likened to a dazzling meteor suddenly flaming into existence against an obscure background and, its fireworks spent, disappearing just as abruptly. Judging by the extant body of music, one of the most important towns in medieval Italy is republican Florence which rose to prominence in the middle of the 14th century with its very own style of music and text. In this program we would like to introduce the dichotomy between the two different but still connected worlds that would constitute the musical world of the many Jewish musicians and dance masters who lived in Italy at the time. Along side the elaborate polyphonic music and flashy dances they would play, sing, dance and teach, they would also have a parallel musical world that of the synagogue and its special music. Some of the most beautiful piyutim, from Achot Ketanah for the High Holidays to Maoz Tzur for Hanukkah we can find in Italy, with each of them having its own unique Italian version, and we do find some of the melodies again in the secular music of the same era.”

Harpsichord and recorder player Corina Marti is internationally recognized for her “strikingly superior” and “expressive” interpretations (Toccata), and “infallible” technique (Diapason). She leads a full life as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher, travelling regularly across Europe, both Americas, and the Middle and Far East. Her ongoing research into aspects of the repertoire and reconstruction of late medieval and early renaissance keyboard instruments and recorders has contributed substantially to the present-day revival of these instruments. She teaches the next generation of early music performers at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland, and in master classes worldwide.

Countertenor Doron Schleifer performs regularly with the Schola Cantorum Nürnberg, directed by Pia Praetorius; Ensemble La Morra; and La Capella Reial de Catalunya, conducted by Jordi Savall. He is a member of the Thalamus Vocal Quartet and the all-male vocal ensemble Profeti della Quinta, with which he won the York Early Music International Young Artist Competition. Schleifer began singing as a boy soloist in the synagogue of the Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem, where his father, Eliyahu Schleifer, served as cantor. In addition to his activity as singer, he is the conductor and musical director of the Basel Synagogue Choir. Founded more than 80 years ago, it is the only choir in Europe to have existed without interruption through the Second World War and the holocaust, preserving its traditions till the present day.

This event is co-sponsored by the Jacobs School of Music Historical Performance Institute, Department of Musicology, Borns Jewish Studies Program Dorit & Gerald Paul Fund in Jewish Culture and the Arts, Medieval Studies Institute, Renaissance Studies, Italian Studies, and the Belgian Government.

You may find the full program and bios on the event listing and hear a recording on Corina Marti’s YouTube channel.

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