Collegium Musicum Sings Music of Renaissance Rome Dec. 8 And 9 By Charity Johnson ('99)
			The Oberlin College Collegium Musicum, directed by Steven Plank, professor of musicology, will perform The Keys to Heaven: Palestrina and the Music of Cinquecento Rome in concert Friday, Dec. 8, and Saturday, Dec. 9 at 8:00 PM in Fairchild Chapel. The program will include Palestrina's Missa Ut Re Mi Fa Sol La, motet settings of Tu es, Patrus, and Ave Maria; Gregorian chant; and organ pieces by Cima and Mayone, performed by Daniel Sullivan '02 on Fairchild's Flentrop organ. Plank describes the program's arrangement as an intriguing element of the concert. "The Palestrina Mass has a number of movements; in concert one expects them to follow one after the other, but in the liturgy there were continuous and varied interruptions between the movements. To run the mass straight through is, in some ways, to make of it something it is not. With the interpolations of organ pieces, one hears it in something closer to a liturgical context." The addition of chant to the program yields another unique aspect to the concert, says Plank. "This programming puts the sounds of the setting in counterpoint with each other. Interleaving the chant with the full polyphonic setting creates a soundscape; the polyphony is rich, and the chant can cleanse the palate." Because of the popularity of the 40-member ensemble, this program will receive a second performance in Fairchild Chapel. "We've had large audiences, which is wonderful, but in recent concerts people have had to stand in the back, at times spilling out into the hall." says Plank. "In offering two concerts on campus, we hope to increase our audience and to allow everyone the chance to hear the concert in seated comfort." About the Ensemble The Oberlin Collegium Musicum specializes in the performance of Medieval, Renaissance and early Baroque music. Initiated in the early 1960s, the group is in its 11th year under of Steven Plank's direction. The group's repertoire includes mass and motet settings by William Byrd, Thomas Tallis, Robert Fayrfax, Claudio Monteverdi, Tomas Victoria, Orlando di Lasso, Heinrich Schütz and Giovanni Palestrina. Last spring, the ensemble was invited to perform at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Washington, DC. They have also performed in Cleveland at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and at the Cleveland Museum of Art, in conjunction with its Dutch still life painting exhibition. About the Director Steven Plank, a member of the musicology department at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music since 1980, teaches courses in Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music and conducts the vocal ensemble Collegium Musicum. His scholarly interests range from liturgics and Restoration theater music to 17th-century sacred music drama; he has authored numerous articles in American and English journals, and is the author of the book The Way to Heavens Doore: An Introduction to Liturgical Process and Musical Style (Scarecrow Press, 1994). His performance interests are also wide-ranging. A trumpeter in the Louisville Orchestra for seven years prior to beginning doctoral studies at Washington University in St. Louis, Plank came to Early Music largely through a growing interest in historical winds. His teachers in historical performance include Trevor Pinnock, James Tyler, Edward Tarr and Bruce Dickey. In addition to Plank's work as a choral conductor, he remains active as a performer on organ, cornetto, and baroque trumpet.
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