Early Music in Columbus presents Fior Angelico in concert at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17 at St. Joseph Cathedral in downtown Columbus. The program, "Spanish Songs for Lamentation and Rejoicing," features music by Francisco Guerrero, Alonso Lobo and Tomás Luis de Victoria.
Fior Angelico, a Columbus chamber chorus of 16 singers, has typically performed annual concerts since its formation in 2006. The early music ensemble takes it name from Fior Angelico di Musica, "The Angelic Flower of Music," a 1547 music theory treatise by Fra Angelo da Picitono.
I'm happy to tell you that Angelico's conductor, Matthew Bester, is a gentleman with impeccable academic credentials. He can conduct, too (fancy degrees and a gift for conducting don't always go together).
Bester's a Harvard boy — cum laude, no less — with advanced degrees from Ohio State University. (Are his parents happy, or what?)
Harvard is great and Ohio State better (!), but you either understand the perfect choral blend or you don't. Bester does.
I recognize several names of vocalists with fine music credentials among his 16 choir members.
A Claudio Monteverdi mass brought me to last fall's Fior Angelico concert, where I heard a perfectly blended ensemble, with not a note out of place. An evening of 15th- and 16th-century sacred music might not be a lot of yuks, but the singing was injected with plenty of snap and personality.
Such has always been evident in Fior Angelico's marvelous performances. This season, Fior Angelico sings in St. Joseph Cathedral on Nov. 17. If you have something wonderful to say about this choir, come sit by me!
