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The Vermont women’s chorus Bella Voce didn’t take a lot of time to rest on the laurels of last fall’s well-received CD, Now Let Us Sing! The latest project of the 40-voice group directed by Dawn Willis is an ambitious work entitled Lessons from the Sea, a cantata by Vermont composer Gwyneth Walker featuring texts from the Ann Morrow Lindbergh bestseller Gift from the Sea.... Read more

Sixteenth-century religious reformer Martin Luther probably never made the famous quip often attributed to him — “Why should the devil have all the good tunes?” — in which “the devil” meant the Catholic Church. But he did issue a call to arms for fresh Protestant music, and composed many rousing hymns himself. The tone of the spurious quote captures the fierce competitiveness of Europe’s musical scene at the time. War raged between Catholics and Protestants militarily, philosophically and artistically.... Read more

My middle-aged mind was playing tricks on me. The 65 singers of the Yale Glee Club looked impossibly young, despite sleek black dresses for the women and natty white-tie-and-tails for the men. Had 12-year-olds invaded the Ivy League?... Read more

It’s one thing to throw yourself a 60th birthday party and be serenaded by your guests. It’s quite another to celebrate with a two-day, five-concert extravaganza involving hundreds of singers and musicians . . . and write all the music yourself.... Read more

You can't kill a good melody, they say. Gregorian chant, a type of musical prayer established by and named for Pope Gregory I in 590 AD, certainly bears out this adage. While The Beatles' "Yesterday" has had a remarkable shelf life, its timelessness can't hold a votive candle to "Gloria in Excelsis Deo." Dr. William Tortolano, a professor emeritus at St. Michael's College, knows his chant, and he shares his wisdom in a new instructional manual, A Gregorian Chant Handbook.... Read more

A vigorous performance of the "Brandenburg" Concertos or The Messiah will always draw a crowd -- the high Baroque, blockbuster era of Bach and Handel still reigns in the world of classical music. But so-called "early music," from the centuries prior, is now burgeoning in popularity. Call it a renaissance.... Read more

From barbershop quartets to U2's Bono, human voices are uniquely expressive. A powerful singer can convey greater nuance and emotion than nearly any instrument in the world -- something composers have known for ages. When you put two-dozen of these pipes together, black dots on paper leap to life. Still, writing for choir isn't something most folks get to do every day. But 25 Green Mountain tunesmiths recently got the chance, commissioned by Vermont's very own community chorus, the aptly named Social Band.... Read more