Anonymous 4

Friday, December 12, 2014 - 8:00 PM
Church of the Holy Trinity

Church of the Holy Trinity

1904 Walnut Street Learn More

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About This Performance

Always among our most eagerly anticipated special events, Anonymous 4’s annual holiday concert returns by popular demand to the festive Church of the Holy Trinity.

On Yoolis Night

Anonymous 4 revisits one of their first–and most beloved–holiday programs. Songs, motets, and carols from British sources illuminate all of the aspects of the Christmas story and its many kindred legends:  biblical precursors, Balaam’s prophecy, Gabriel’s greeting, Mary’s virginity, the birth of Jesus, the rising of the star, the angels and the shepherds, the manger and its animals, and the three Magi and their gifts. 

These works express a range of responses to these marvels:  mirth and joy, wonder and praise, even theological interpretation. But the thread that ties this music together is a striving toward something out of the ordinary, a special sound or gesture, reserved for this most wonderful time. Featured will be the antiphon Hodie Christus natus est, the carols Ave Maria, Ecce quod natura, and There is no rose of swych vertu, the songs Gabriel fram heven-king, Peperit virgo, and the carol ballad, Lullay, als I lay on yoolis night.