New Classical Tracks: Love poems

A new disc of Renaissance choral music has struck a chord with listeners who have been blogging and tweeting enthusiastically about Stile Antico's "Song of Songs."

Stile Antico literally means "old style." The term was coined during the 17th century to describe an earlier style of Renaissance church music, where several voices would sing different melodies to create deep, gorgeous textures.

The members of the young British vocal ensemble Stile Antico were raised on this music while singing in their college choirs at Oxford and Cambridge.

Their third recording, "Song of Songs," explores the rich body of music inspired by the beautiful love poems in the Song of Songs in the Bible. The poems are attributed to King Solomon, who reigned over Israel between 971 and 931 BC.

Oliver Hunt sings bass in Stile Antico. He explains why so many composers have gravitated to this text.

"The words themselves are so sensual. It's a gift to any composer to be able to set this wonderful imagery," said Hunt.

Some composers were drawn to the sacred symbolism that has been found in the poems, while others like Sebastian De Vivanco, were attracted to the erotic images.

"If you're looking at the sensual side of it," says Oliver Hunt, "the Vanco 'Veni dilecte mi' for me is as exciting as they come. The words 'Come my beloved,' I think, are fairly obviously interpreted in a less religious vein than some of the others, one might say. So you can really imagine the man and his lover going off into the field to do all sorts of unmentionable things. So that particular piece is wonderfully exciting to perform."

Carris Jones is an alto in Stile Antico. The motet she likes best takes a much different view of the "Song of Songs" text.

"My favorite is something quite different. The Clemens non Papa 'Ego flos campi,' which unlike the Vivanco, is more about creating a mood rather than painting the words -- painting the mood of warmth and romance, describing the beauty of the beloved," said Jones.

The motets represented on this recording span from the Renaissance era of the 16th century to the advent of the early Baroque in the 17th century. Polychoral music became popular during this period.

This is a style that works well with the ensemble Stile Antico because each singer is featured, one to a part. It allows for more individual expression in works like Francisco Guerrero's "Surge, propera amica mea."

"One of the great things for a composer about setting things in two choirs, particularly with this repertoire which is all about dialogue between a lover and the beloved, is you can really play up the element of dialogue between two people," said soprano Kate Ashby. "Each choir can represent a different person and then you get this glorious ending with the choirs coming together."

This music on "Songs of Songs" with Stile Antico speaks to the heart. It offers a place of peace and solitude.

Oliver Hunt says the reactions they're receiving to their recordings are beyond their wildest dreams.

"We've been bowled over by our reception, particularly in the States," said Hunt. "We see people's blogs and posts on Twitter, for example, that talk about how much they enjoy the music and how much it means in their lives. And it's that, that really makes being a musician worthwhile."

It will be worth your while to take time out for these gorgeous motets on "Song of Songs," performed so eloquently by Stile Antico.

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