Meet Class Notes Artist: The Mirandola Ensemble

The Mirandola Ensemble — an SATB vocal quartet with guitar accompaniment — only performs music that is around 500 years old. Named for Renaissance philosopher Pico della Mirandola, the ensemble seeks "to promote the highest standards of professional choral music and the aesthetics of the Renaissance."

From bird noises, to the sounds of battle, to songs of love that reference "turtles," the group has been fulfilling its role as a Class Notes Artist by introducing elementary students to the music of two of the most influential composers of Renaissance Europe — John Dowland, court musician to Tudor Queen Elizabeth I and Clément Janequin, famous for his development of the Parisian chanson. As a general rule, this genre is unlikely to be introduced to students in music class before high school. However, with a little preparation, young students can learn to listen for sounds and themes that easily stand the test of time, and appeal to everyone.

The most popular of Janequin's chansons (and those performed by Mirandola) for instance, are programmatic and the lyrics contain onomatopoeic sounds that help tell the story. La Guerre, arguably his most famous composition, chronicles the Battle of Marignan in 1515, at which the French army was victorious over the Swiss Confederates. This six-minute epic praises "le noble Roy François" (the noble King Francis I), calls for "courage" against the enemy, and celebrates the "victoire" at the end. The most intense part, however, is the middle section, with all four voice parts providing noises which mimic a medieval battlefield: "ta ri ra ri ra" (trumpets), "fan fan fan" (represents the thud of cannonballs), "zin zin" (arrows flying).

Prior to singing La Guerre Mirandola led the students in a call and response exercise of these battle sounds so that they would be aware whenever they 'heard' a sword clash upon a shield, or a cannonball fly. During the performance that followed, the students were asked to raise their hands every time they heard one of those sounds. There were also a few students trying to mouth along with the ensemble during the performance not required — but still impressive.

(There is no recording of The Mirandola Ensemble performing La Guerre; however if you want to hear the battle onomatopoeia for yourself, the King's Singers' version from their "Madrigal History Tour" album is well worth several listens. Click the link at the upper right to listen)

The other Janequin selection, Le chant des Oiseaux, commands sleepy hearts to awaken to spring and love ("Reveillez-vous coeurs endormis, le dieu d'amour vous sonne a ce premier jour de may") and features sounds of the blackbird ("le roy mauvis"), the nightingale ("le rossignol"), and the cuckoo ("le coucou"). The children were asked to imagine what sounds they would use if they were making a song about birds: "cheep" and "chirp" were natural answers; "eagle sounds" was a little unexpected. They learned, however, that other languages have different sounds to represent animals than those we use in English. In this French song, you heard instead "ti-pi," "frian-frian," and rolled "r" for the calls of the birds; only the cuckoo noise, "cu-cu", is the same.

Listen to The Mirandola Ensemble embody the sounds of the forest in spring by clicking the link to the right.

Turning to English-language song composers from the Renaissance, John Dowland is one of the foremost from that era. Dowland served many monarchs across Europe, but naturally, he was particularly attached to his own queen, Elizabeth I, and even spied for her whilst at other courts. (Though they were sometimes at odds as her court was Protestant and he was Catholic. This nearly led to him being caught up in a Papist plot against her. However, he eventually would back out and compose Can she excuse my wrongs in which he begs for her forgiveness — and she later gave it to him). Many of his songs reflected the melancholia fad that was present in music in 16th century England; indeed he always signed such works "semper Dowland, semper dolens", Latin for "always Dowland, always doleful." The strong emotion present in Mirandola's performance of the beautiful, sorrowful Go Crystal Tears actually moved a poor kindergarten boy in the front row to sob throughout the entire song because "it was so sad!"

However, not all Dowland's songs were doleful. For example, the cheery setting for Fine knacks for ladies reflects his other obsession: love. "Though all my wares be trash, the heart is true," sings the narrator in the character of a vendor at a country fair selling trinkets for passers-by to give to their sweethearts. Love can be shown by giving gifts, he says, but the gifts need not be expensive or even particularly fine, as long as they come from the heart.

Even though Dowland was a musician whose talents were in demand across Europe, he was not like a pop musician of today with influence, prestige and loads of cash. He was considered a servant, at the beck and call of Europe's rulers. However, he was keenly aware of the power of his talent as a musician and composer (and perhaps also as a spy) even with his lowly status. His song The lowest trees have tops employs such lines as "The lowest trees have tops, the ant her gall/ The fly her spleen, the little spark his heat/And slender hairs cast shadows though but small/And bees have stings although they be not great," which are metaphors for how even small things that seem powerless are not necessarily so. (It also contains the line, "The turtles cannot sing, and yet they love," which prompted a girl to ask: "Why was Dowland obsessed with turtles?" A fair question, as "turtles" also come up in Fine Knacks for Ladies. However, Dowland himself didn't actually write the lyrics, he only set the poetry to music. Moreover, "turtle" at the time was actually shorthand for "turtle-dove", a bird often referenced in love songs of the time because they mate for life).

When a student asked if Mirandola ever does any other genre of music, Artistic Director, Scott Sandersfeld, replied, "[No, because] we love it [Renaissance music] so much. We think this music is for anyone — anyone can enjoy it". That obvious from observing the attention of student audience; just because something — be it music, art, literature — is really old, that does not necessarily make it irrelevant or unrelatable to a young, modern audience. The themes and content of this music — love, death, sorrow, and hope with the coming of spring — will always be essential to the human experience.

The Mirandola Ensemble is offering a public concert, "The Franco-Flemish Masters," on Saturday, Nov. 1, at Saint Catherine University in Saint Paul. For ticket details, go here.

Audio

• John Dowland: The First Booke of Songes and Ayres — V. Can she excuse my wrongs

1. John Dowland: The Third and Last Booke of Songes or Ayres — XIX. The lowest trees have tops

1. Clément Janequin: Le Chant des Oyseaulx

1. Clément Janequin: La Bataille de Marignan "La Guerre" as performed by the King's Singers

Schools

• Oak Grove Elementary — Bloomington, Minn.

1. Cedar Island Elementary — Maple Grove, Minn.

1. Edgerton Elementary — Maplewood, Minn.

About the Classical MPR Class Notes Artists program

Now in its sixth year, the Class Notes Artists program at Classical MPR brings performers to elementary schools throughout the state of Minnesota to give educational concerts. Each performance includes a presentation about the Artists' respective instruments, as well as the style, technique, history, and traditions related to the music that they perform.

The Artists are selected for the quality of their musicianship, and for their interest in promoting music education. Over the next few months, the following Artists will collectively travel to 60 schools in four different geographical hubs.

• Belladonna Baroque Quartet — Twin Cities

1. Excelsior! Trio — Northwestern Minnesota

1. L'unica Trio — Saint Cloud area

1. Lyz Jaakola — Twin Cities

1. Mill City String Quartet — Southwestern Minnesota

1. The Mirandola Ensemble — Twin Cities

1. Minnesota Percussion Trio — Twin Cities

1. Summit Hill Brass Quintet — Twin Cities

These performances are supported by Minnesota music education standards-based curriculum designed by Classical MPR's Curriculum Specialist. These lessons and activities are given to music teachers in advance of each Artist's visit, and are to be used as learning materials for before and/or after each performance.

Students at participating schools will also receive an MPR-produced compilation CD featuring the year's Artists, allowing students to experience a wide range of different musical styles and ensembles. The 2014-15 album, Bach, Birds, and Blues, is also available to stream online.

Classical MPR's goal for the Class Notes Artist program is to create authentic and transformative experiences for young pupils that will inspire their creative pursuits, and be a meaningful addition to what they are already learning from their music teachers.

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