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Trew or false: Is Lionheart one of the best male a cappella chamber ensembles on the planet? The answer is TREW, at least as demonstrated by the group's stellar performance on Tydings Trew: Medieval English Carols and Motets. This is early music at its finest; the six male voices seamlessly blend in gorgeous, haunting tapestries of sound.

Jeffrey Johnson, Kurt-Owen Richards, Richard Porterfield, Larence Lipnik, John Olund, and Michael Ryan-Wenger are masters of their craft. It is an incredibly difficult feat to launch unadorned voices into the silence, where every flaw will be easily heard and revealed. Lionheart has nothing to fear; these guys are vocal super heroes.

The medieval carols and motets, some sung in Latin and some in rough-hewn early English, are unknown to me by word or melody, but the cascading and complex sing-song presentation of music used to celebrate Christmas in England 600 years ago calms my soul and cheers my spirits. For me, the construction of elaborate song structures, built syllable by syllable, is akin to magic, and the mesmerizing effect is timeless. Lionheart's tonal quality is so warm and smooth; even the countertenor (Lawrence Lipnik) hits the high notes with effortless clarity. I especially enjoyed Hymn: Sancte dei preciose, which features verses layered over droning subtones. Extremely cool!

Lionheart's Tydings Trew is a tremendous holiday gift for those who favor the pleasures of early music. It absolutely rocks, in a medieval sort of way. Bravo!

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2007)

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From the liner notes:

Lionheart:
Jeffrey Johnson--baritone
Kurt-Owen Richards--bass
Richard Porterfield--baritone
Lawrence Lipnik--countertenor
John Olund--tenor
Michael Ryan-Wenger--tenor


From the Website:

Lionheart is one of America's leading ensembles in vocal chamber music.
Acclaimed for its "smoothly blended and impeccably balanced sound" (Allan
Kozinn, The New York Times), Lionheart (Jeffrey Johnson, Lawrence Lipnik,
John Olund, Richard Porterfield, Kurt-Owen Richards, and Michael Ryan-Wenger)
is best known for its interpretation of medieval and Renaissance a cappella
music, with Gregorian Chant as the keystone of its repertoire. The ensemble
also collaborates with instrumental ensembles, dance companies, and
contemporary composers, and was recently selected for inclusion on the Star
Spangled Touring Roster, the first year of an initiative by Early Music
America. ***

In New York City Lionheart performs regularly on the distinguished series Music Before 1800, at The Cloisters, and in its own concert series at Saint Ignatius of Antioch Episcopal Church. The ensemble has also appeared at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, at Lincoln Center, and at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall (in collaboration with composer Steve Reich). Out-of-town venues include the Kennedy Center, the National Cathedral and the Folger Library in Washington, D.C., the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Friends of Chamber Music series in Kansas City, and the campuses of Stanford, UCLA, and Yale University. In Europe they have participated in festivals including musikpodium in Stuttgart, Tage Alte Musik in Regensburg, and the Covent Garden Festival in London.

Lionheart

Tydings Trew

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