MUSIC REVIEW : I Cantori Renaissance Program

About the concert of Renaissance vocal music given by I Cantori at Pasadena Presbyterian Church, this listener had but one complaint: that such programs are such a rarity.

I Cantori itself is somewhat of a rarity--a fully professional vocal ensemble. And though it does perform music from all periods, much of its work is presenting “early” music--something we need to hear more often.

Sacred works occupied the first part of the evening Wednesday. Thoughtful probing of textual meaning and artful phrasing of musical lines brought telling impact to the group’s readings of works by Josquin, Lassus and others. Employing almost no vibrato, the singers achieved an exquisite blend and remarkable clarity of line. With respect to intonation, balance and rhythm, they sang with remarkable precision--perhaps it was not necessary that conductor Edward Cansino beat time while singing the countertenor part.

Secular music followed intermission. Cansino and his associates selected a varied international sampling of French chansons and Italian and English madrigals. From Monteverdi’s expressive word painting to Gesualdo’s still-striking chromaticism, the singers explored some of the best examples from that era.

And they showed a sense of humor: In their ridiculously nasal reading of a Heinrich Isaac madrigal, they sounded exactly like crumhorns.