On the chilly night of Feb. 4, I was sweetly warmed by the smiles of the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center ticket takers and greeters taking in the doors’ gusts of cold air as they welcomed those hungry for the rejuvenating tune of the Notre Dame Collegium Musicum choir. From 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., the Chris & Anne Reyes Organ & Choral Hall echoed with Latin madrigals sung by the Notre Dame Collegium Musicum, directed by the University’s very own Dan Stowe. The concert proceeded with a collection of the music of the Italian composer Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi and his contemporaries through a stunning a capella performance that I didn’t foresee myself starving for.
One director, 16 members and an innumerable cacophony of harmonious notes occupied the stage that night as the audience was instantly drawn in by the performers’ charm. The ensemble slyly caught their opening notes from the only instrument of the night, Stowe’s harmonica, beginning an entirely instrument-free, “Missa da Cappella” performance. After the starting piece “Christe, adoramus,” Stowe welcomed us into the life of Monteverdi, a transitional artist between the Renaissance and Baroque periods who wrote nine surviving madrigals of both secular and sacred music. We were lucky enough to hear two of the five surviving madrigals that night.
Throughout the performance, Monteverdi was represented by his 1650 posthumous collection “Messa et Salmi” and motets in addition to pieces by Giovanelli and Marenzio with contrafact Latin texts by Aquilino Coppini. Some pieces were energetic, others solemn and reverent, but all equally reflected the talent on stage. Stunningly high soprano notes (Faith Fleming, Jill Keegan, Audrey Seah, Raquel Sequeira, Lucy Walker), steadfast altos (Susanna Kim-Viano, Melissa Moschella, Ella Wood), valiant tenor tones (Sean Martin, Steve Martin, Sean O'Brien) and soothing basses (Zach Coddington, Doug Hall, Andrew Hoffmann, Jack Lyons, Micah Towery) swelled together to send their voices above the Golden Dome and into the heavens.
The program continued with pieces “Messa a Quattro Voci da Cappella,” “Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me,” “Lasciatemi morire,” “Felle amaro me potavit populus”, “O stellae coruscantes,” “Ergo ne vis abire” and “Suavissime Ies.” Some songs folded in dark, deep sounds amidst others that were brightly energized to layers like those of a rich and fulfilling French pastry. Just as I sank into the beauty of the show, Stowe astounded the audience once again.
The divine and awe-inspiring effect “Iam moriar mi fili” cleanly swept the award for my personal favorite of the night. Brilliantly organized, Faith Fleming showcased her otherworldly soprano voice as the choir carried long, deep notes around her. Fleming sang a heartwrenching Latin translation of the first Italian “Pianto della Madonna,” and it shook me. Goosebumps were dangerously infectious as I heard a whirlwind of murmurs chattering from bench to bench, entailing the audience’s admiration at the song’s end. We had no idea, but it was exactly what we craved.
The well-known Catholic hymns “Sanctus” and “Agnus Dei” — in all of their Latin glory — concluded the night before the ensemble gloriously closed with “Adoramus te, Christe.” The roughly 50-minute performance was livestreamed on the Music and Sacred Music at ND Presents YouTube channel, where it is available to watch. Bringing together students, professors and locals through an unspoken language in an organ hall aligns perfectly with what Notre Dame does best: the unforeseen and the unforgettable.
