Alla Francesca
Wednesday, April 25th, 2001
First Congregational Church
Berkeley, CA
  
All Photos © 2001 Randy Vogel
 
 

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 Off to a Shaky Start
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 Gerard, Brigitte, Emmanuel and Pierre
 the Principals
 A Fine Salvage Effort, Eh?
 Seeing Visions?
 Hold Still, Dangnabbit!
 

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Today started off with an unusual sighting - as we were turning off the Highway 84 Extension onto Marsh Road, we spotted the Smirnoff MiG on its tractor-trailer. Apparently the driver didn't think he had enough room to make the left turn safely, so he decided to pull off to the right, then cut over the straight-ahead lane *and* the two left turn lanes in order to reach the 101 onramp...We didn't stick around long enough to see if the maneuver was successful, zooming off instead to Tumbleweed at Redwood Seaport as soon as the left-turn light changed to green.

Ting had to meet Diane (her HKD partner) for Hankido practice at the RSF, so I walked over to First Congregational Church for an evening concert by the early music group Alla Francesca. According to the promo blurb on their website:
Alla Francesca ranges the whole secular repertoire of the Middle Ages in Europe (France, Spain, Italy). From the lyric verse of the late eleventh century troubadours to the songs of the fifteenth century by Guillaume Dufay, etc…The size of the group varies from trio to octet, depending on the programmes. Sometimes, a comedian or a children-choir joins the ensemble…
In the case of this performance, the three multi-talented principals of the group: Brigitte Lesne - mezzo-soprano, harp, percussion and hurdy-gurdy; Emmanuel Bonnardot - baritone, fiddle, rebec and cittern; and Pierre Hamon - recorders, flutes, bagpipes, pipes and tabor; were joined by vocalist Gerard Lesne in a concert entitled D'amour loial servant: French and Italian Love Songs of the 14th and 15th Centuries. The program consisted of  French and Italian chansons of the 14th and 15th centuries, including works by Johannes Ciconia, Pierre des Molins, Baude Cordier, Anthonello de Caserta, Guillaume de Machaut, Francesco Landini, and Jacob Senleches.

Although I was unfamiliar with his work, Gerard Lesne is described by some critics as *the* countertenor of our time. Other writers describe his angelic voice as being a contralto, since his range is really quite high and lilting for a male. In any case, I was mightily impressed, and I look forward to the return of these musicians to the Bay Area!