Tapestry brings medieval, contemporary vocal music to Cornell

MOUNT VERNON — Tapestry, a Boston-based ensemble specializing in medieval and contemporary vocal music, will perform at 8 p.m. Monday, April 3, in King Chapel at Cornell College. Admission is $8 at the door. The concert closes the 1999-2000 season of Cornell’s Music Mondays.

The group will perform a concert version of its 1998 Telarc label recording, “Song of Songs: Come Into My Garden,” featuring traditional Hebrew and Latin chant and contemporary interpretations of the biblical text.

“Tapestry are fast carving a formidable reputation as one of North America’s most polished ensembles,” stated a review for Classic CD following the release of “Song of Songs.”

Founded in 1994 by mezzo-soprano Laurie Monahan, high soprano Cristi Catt and alto Daniela Tosic, Tapestry debuted in 1995 with a performance of Steve Reich’s “Tehillim” at Jordan Hall in Boston. Director Monahan has performed and taught early music for over 20 years and is well-known for co-founding Ensemble Project Ars Nova (P.A.N.) in 1980. Her concert appearances include Jerusalem Festival, the Boston and Berkeley music festivals and the Berlin Festival. Catt has performed in concerts and theatrical productions throughout the United States and Europe, including the Bergen Festival in Norway, the Boston Early Music Festival and the Tanglewood Festival. Tosic, a native of Belgrade, Yugoslavia, has toured with the Belgrade-based early music ensemble Renaissance and P.A.N.

Two guest artists will join Tapestry for the King Chapel performance: Shira Kammen, on harp and vielle (an early type of fiddle), and percussionist Takaaki Masuko.

Besides “Song of Songs,” Tapestry’s recordings for Telarc are “Hildegard von Bingen: Celestial Light,” “Angeli: Music of Angels” and the 1999 release “The Fourth River: The Millennium Revealed.”

For more information on Tapestry, go to www.activetalk.com/tapestry/ on the Web.