New Orleans Musica da Camera
Encyclopedia
The New Orleans Musica da Camera was founded in 1966, by Milton G. Scheuermann, Jr, and is the oldest surviving Early Music
organisation in the United States. They perform music of the Middle Ages
and the Renaissance
, using historically-informed performance techniques and reproductions of period instruments, and have appeared in concert throughout the Gulf South. Indeed, Professor Scheuermann has built many of their instruments.
The award-winning ensemble, with Professor Scheuermann and Thaïs St Julien
as Co-Directors (with Stuart LeBlanc as Associate Director), was the inspiration for the 1998 Mardi Gras
parade of the Krewe of Orpheus
, and is Visiting Artist in Residence at Our Lady of Prompt Succor
National Shrine, home to the miraculous statue.
In 1994, Miss St Julien founded the women's vocal ensemble of Musica da Camera, Vox Feminæ. Since 1976, the Co-Directors have been hosts of "Continuum," the oldest continuing radio program devoted to Early Music in the USA. It is heard over WWNO
, the local NPR
affiliate, as well as the World Wide Web. The MdC's recordings on Centaur were widely hailed, and in 2009, they launched their own label, Belle Alliance.
Early music
Early music is generally understood as comprising all music from the earliest times up to the Renaissance. However, today this term has come to include "any music for which a historically appropriate style of performance must be reconstructed on the basis of surviving scores, treatises,...
organisation in the United States. They perform music of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
and the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, using historically-informed performance techniques and reproductions of period instruments, and have appeared in concert throughout the Gulf South. Indeed, Professor Scheuermann has built many of their instruments.
The award-winning ensemble, with Professor Scheuermann and Thaïs St Julien
Thais St Julien
Thaïs St Julien is a native of New Orleans, and is argurably the South's foremost singer of Early Music. The soprano studied under Charles Paddock, Virginia MacWatters and Norma Newton, and is Co-Director of the New Orleans Musica da Camera, which specialises in music of the Middle Ages and the...
as Co-Directors (with Stuart LeBlanc as Associate Director), was the inspiration for the 1998 Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras
The terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...
parade of the Krewe of Orpheus
Krewe of Orpheus
The Krewe of Orpheus is a relatively recent New Orleans Mardi Gras super krewe, which puts on one of the largest parades in the famous Carnival celebrations of New Orleans, Louisiana...
, and is Visiting Artist in Residence at Our Lady of Prompt Succor
Our Lady of Prompt Succor
Our Lady of Prompt Succor is a religious title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, by the Roman Catholic Church. It refers to a statue of the Madonna kept in a shrine in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. She is also known as Notre-Dame de Bon Secours...
National Shrine, home to the miraculous statue.
In 1994, Miss St Julien founded the women's vocal ensemble of Musica da Camera, Vox Feminæ. Since 1976, the Co-Directors have been hosts of "Continuum," the oldest continuing radio program devoted to Early Music in the USA. It is heard over WWNO
WWNO
WWNO is a public radio outlet in New Orleans, Louisiana that offers Classical, Fine Arts, Jazz, as well as informative programming like "Car Talk", and the highly acclaimed radio program "A Prairie Home Companion" with Garrison Keillor. The station produces a locally oriented variety program,...
, the local NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
affiliate, as well as the World Wide Web. The MdC's recordings on Centaur were widely hailed, and in 2009, they launched their own label, Belle Alliance.
Discography
- "Satires, Desires & Excesses" (1992) Centaur
- "Natus est" (1994) Centaur
- "The Cross of Red" (1996) Centaur
- "Maiden, Mother, Muse" (1998) Centaur
- "Les motés d'Arras" (2000) Centaur
- "Ah, Sweet Lady" (1974-2009) Belle Alliance
External links
- The Musica da Camera's web-site: http://www.nomdc.org