The Lamb

Ars Nova's Easter Concert offers a number of the beautiful Italian Laude de Cortona songs. Among others, Frans of Assisi's Il Cantico del Sole, the Sun song, thought to be among the first literature, if not the first, written in Italian. The Italian songs are intervowen with newer music. Anna Thorvaldsdottir's "Heyr thú os himnum á", a beautiful setting of an old Icelandic prayer. John Tavener's popular "The Lamb", which in its apparent simplicity almost appears hypnotic. "Morning Star" presents one of the finest examples of Arvo Pärt's alluring minimalism. James MacMillan's varied and vibrant "Misere" captures both the drama and the beauty of the story of Easter. Gabriel Jackson's "Stabat Mater", Maria's lament, is a potential modern classic with a rarely heard sensitive and responsive interpretation of the powerful text.