Yale Camerata

Every December, the Yale Camerata presents an Advent Concert in Battell Chapel. It may fall right in the midst of the busiest time of the year for us, and yet I never regret taking the time out for this delicious indulgence. Not only am I assured that the music will be impeccably performed, but I know I'll be knocked over by a work or two totally new to me.

On the face of it, this year's performance seemed rather uneventful: Orlando di Lasso's motet Videntes stellam magi, selections from Felix Mendelssohn's incomplete oratorio Die Geburt Christi, Joseph Haydn's Missa in tempore belli, Bach's "Dona nobis pacem" from his Mass in B minor, and the Camerata's standard sing along (and the only sing along I really enjoy), "See, amid the winter's snow." All were fine works of music impeccably performed.

Quietly poised in the midst of these was Bohuslav Martinu's Nonet from 1959. Both composer and composed were unknown to me. It was love with the first note, and I look forward to listening to more of his work. I'm intrigued by his ability to bring together what I consider the best sensibilities of twentieth-century composition.

Highly recommended.