Fri 5/5 @ 7PM
Sat 5/6 @ 7PM
Cleveland-based small musical ensemble Trobár’s website address, trobarmedieval.org, gives away its mission: to use voices and instruments to bring medieval music alive for modern audiences, and “to explore the human experience as viewed through medieval music and the stories of medieval peoples.”
The group was founded by three women — Allison Monroe (voice, vielle, rebec, psaltery), Elena Mullins (voice, harp, percussion), and Karin Weston (voice, flute, harp) — while they were studying historical performance at Case Western Reserve University.
We regret we weren’t familiar with them previously, as this weekend they’ll be performing the last of their three-program 2022-2023 concert series, a program called “The Mary Rose.”
As they explain, “Although most famous (or infamous) for his many wives and for breaking England away from the Catholic church, Henry VIII played a vital role in his nation’s economic and military future as well, not least of which as the de facto father of her navy. In this program, we trace the trajectory of his reign through the history of his flagship the Mary Rose. We explore the music of the royalty as well as the lower classes working on the ship, travel with her to foreign lands, and follow her to her ultimate fate at the bottom of the English Channel.”
Monroe and Mullins will perform with guest musicians Debra Nagy (wind instruments, voice), Allen Otte (percussion), Daniel Swenberg (flute, gittern), and Peter Walker (voice) at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights on Friday and at the Hermit Club at Hofbräuhaus Cleveland. Suggested donation is $20.
Go here to make reservations.