Last Friday renowned a cappella group Anonymous 4 graced the stage of Evans Hall to a nearly packed house. Their name, which refers to the anonymous author of a treatise on music from the Middle Ages, harkens to the historical influence of their genre. Comprised of Ruth Cunningham, Marsha Genesky, Susan Hellauer and Jacqueline Horner-Keiatek, the group sang an incredibly comprehensive and wide ranging program of songs from a variety of historical periods. While the program consisted mainly of medieval music, there were also some modern offerings later on, especially in the Home and Partings sections that closed out the concert. The event was somewhat bittersweet given that Anonymous 4 will disband permanently in about a month and this was reflected through the program notes, which, besides including the obligatory background information on each song, described the group’s relationship with the piece as well as which of their many albums they recorded it for.
The program was divided into five parts, each part containing songs that were related to the themes implied by the title of that part. At the end of the first three parts one of the group’s members would sing solo. Perhaps the most prominent soloist of the night was Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek, singing “An teicheahd go hÉigpt” (“Flight into Egypt”), an Irish hymn about the flight of Joseph and Mary into Egypt with a young Jesus, an especially appropriate choice given that Horner-Kwiatek hails from Northern Ireland. The refrain at the end of the song’s three verses, “‘S nach trua sin!” (“Isn’t that pitiful!”), was very haunting, and Horner-Kwiatek brought that part out well.
The evening progressed from very sacred songs to more and more secular and eventually modern works. The transition from Medieval to modern in the third part of the concert, Ardor, was smooth as the group went from singing three French motets from the 13th century Montpellier Codex to David Lang’s “Head, Heart,” after the short story of the same name by Lydia Davis. It was a bit of a shock to realize that the group had gone from singing in unrecognizable Old French to standard English. This effect was made all the more impressive by the imagery of the text of “Head, Heart,” which is incredibly beautiful and stunning.
While it was great to have an opportunity to hear these less performed Medieval works, the Latin, Old English, Old French and so on of the program could be a bit cumbersome after a while, being a somewhat alien style. Finishing the program with modern works in (clearly understandable) English proved to be a nice touch. That is not to say that Anonymous 4’s ability to sing these Medieval works is nothing other than incredible. Even for languages that long ago fell into disuse, their diction was clear, undoubtedly a result of significant research. Equally impressive was their ability to switch languages so readily.
The final section, Partings, brought home the fact that this is the end for Anonymous 4. This section consisted of only two songs, first an incredibly moving rendition of “Shall We Gather at the River” and then the shape song “Parting Friends,” a song that is traditionally used to close out a shape sing. The lines of this song were especially pertinent, describing a person departing for Canaan. At the end of the program Anonymous 4 delighted us with a short humorous encore song that expressed thanks to us for coming.
