In the recipe of love, the first ingredient must be music. For British trio Voice and their U.S. tour titled “If Music Be the Food of Love,” this is certainly true. On Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015, Voice left their audience satiated with infatuation after performing at Keene State College’s Redfern Arts Center.
KSC English professor, Anne-Marie Mallon, who won tickets to the event, was impressed by the performance.
“Terrific. I didn’t know that voices could be used so beautifully as instruments. And their voices were clearly instruments, like any other musical instrument, and they used them in such incredible, collaborative, harmonious spirit that it was just gorgeous to listen to them,” Mallon said.
Sophomore and exchange student from Derby, England, Bronwyn Caplan, also enjoyed the performance.
“I liked how in-sync the women are,” Caplan said, “They’re really connected with each other and I liked their harmonizing.”
Contributed Photo by Alexander Clark
According to their website, voicetrio.co.uk, “Voice is a London-based, female a cappella trio performing repertoire spanning both ages and continents. Formed in 2006, Voice performs secular and non-secular music from the medieval music of Hildegard of Bingen, to twenty-first-century commissions, and songs from around the world. Their distinctive sound is driven by individual voices that blend to create beautiful harmonies.”
Voice is comprised of Emily Burn, Victoria Couper and Clemmie Franks who met in Oxford, England while first collaborating through the Oxford Girls’ Choir.
The trio is currently doing a U.S. tour with plans to return to the U.S. for their third tour in Feb. 2016, according to the performance pamphlet.
Emily Burn described the trio’s musical history and repertoire, “We also sing a lot of early music. We were brought up singing music from all different eras, but an awful lot of early music, and so you heard some French medieval stuff and of course, Hildegard of Bingen.”
“Hildegard’s a very important figure in our work as we’ve been singing her music from a very young age. She was a mystic, and a herbalist, a spiritual leader, and a musician and, you know, a pretty incredible forward-thinking woman for her time,” Franks stated.
Redfern Arts Center Director, Shannon Mayers, gave her thoughts on Hildegard von Bingen.
“I did some research because I wasn’t aware of her [Hildegard von Bingen] music and was just absolutely fascinated by this woman and her work and how she was a real pioneer for women in music,” Mayers recounted.
For their performance at KSC, Voice collaborated with both the KSC Concert Choir and choreographer Candice Salyers.
“I liked the choir [KSC Concert]. They were really cool,” Caplan said.
Mallon reiterated Caplan’s sentiment, “I thought it was fabulous that Voice worked with our choir to create those collaborative pieces.”
Salyers accompanied Voice’s performance of Hildegard von Bingen’s piece, “O Clarissima Mater,” with her own choreographed dance.
“It felt particularly fitting to have this piece of music danced to,” Franks said.
“I was so excited to hear that they also loved Hildegard and loved her music,” Salyers continued, “I think that her music evokes movement in a way that is really unique, in my experience.”
Hildegard von Bingen’s piece was also a favorite among audience members.
“I’m an English professor so the Shakespearean poems that were put to music were lovely, but I’ve also taught in the Women’s and Gender Studies program and I’ve always loved Hildegard von Bingen as one of the earliest of feminists,” Mallon articulated.
Mallon concluded, “Between Shakespeare and Hildegard, I was in heaven.”
Voice finished the night by reintroducing the KSC Concert Choir to the stage for an a cappella rendition of the classic Beatles’ song, “All You Need is Love.”
Caroline Alm can be contacted at calm@keene-equinox.com
