Charis For Immediate Release Contact: Betsy Turner

PO Box 601 May, 2001 (914) 271-0714

Village Green

Bedford, NY 10506

www.charisvocals.com

CHARIS CHAMBER VOICES SING “MARVELOUS MADRIGALS”

Charis Chamber Voices, the acclaimed Westchester-based ensemble led by Susanne Peck, will celebrate spring with two concerts of “Marvelous Madrigals: the crème of Italian, English, and French Renaissance madrigal literature.” The first concert will be 8 PM Saturday, June 2, at South Presbyterian Church, 345 Broadway, Dobbs Ferry. The second will be 4 PM Sunday, June 3, at Bedford Presbyterian Church, on the Green in Bedford Hills. Dennis Keene, director of New York City’s Voices of Ascension, has called Charis “the finest chorus in Westchester County,” and the group’s growing audiences attest to its popularity.

The concerts will feature a wide variety of 16th-century a capella madrigals for three to six voice parts. Quintessential Renaissance songs, madrigals are often complex rhythmically and vocally, and they frequently celebrate — or lament — romantic love. In “Lady, When I Behold,” John Wilbye compares his love’s lips to new-sprung roses. But Thomas Morley, noting that “April Is in My Mistress’ Face,” finds that a cold December lies in her heart. Some are songs of longing or regret: in Monteverdi’s “Sfogava con le stelle,” a love-sick man pours out his sorrow to the stars, while in Orlando di Lasso’s “Mon coeur se recommande à vous,” a lovely and popular French song, a rejected lover begs not to be forgotten. In contrast, some selections are playful, even bawdy, such as Purcell’s song for men “I Gave Her Cakes and I Gave Her Ale.” Other composers represented in the concert include Gibbons, Byrd, and John Bennett.

Michael Jaffee, director of the Waverly Consort, calls Susanne Peck “an outstanding singer and gifted conductor.” Founder and director of Charis, Ms. Peck is on the faculty of the Hoff-Barthelson Music School in Scarsdale. A resident of Westchester, she enjoys a career as a professional soloist and maintains a private teaching practice in Westchester and New York City.

Charis recently released its first CD, From Sorrow Free, a panorama of American music from Colonial New England to the twentieth century. It is available for $14.99 at selected music stores, Amazon.com, and directly from Charis at PO Box 601; Bedford, NY 10506 (please include $1.50 shipping and handling).

Concert tickets are $13 in advance or $15 at the door for adults, and $10 in advance or $12 at the door for seniors and students. To purchase tickets, call 914-931-6575. For more about Charis, visit their website at www.charisvocals.com.