MUSIC

Houston Early Music will celebrate the holiday season with a performance by the Dufay Collective on Sunday, December 11. The concert, which will feature Christmas music from Renaissance England, begins at 5 p.m. at Christ Church Cathedral, 1117 Texas Avenue, Houston, Texas 77002.

Based in the United Kingdom, the Dufay Collective was founded in 1987 and specializes in Medieval and Renaissance music. The ensemble, named after Renaissance composer Guillaume Dufay, has toured the world performing informative and entertaining concerts. The collective can also be heard on the soundtracks of several feature films including Hamlet, Harry Potter 3 and Shrek 3.

For their Houston program, To Drive the Cold Winter Away – Christmas Revelry in Renaissance England, the Dufay Collective will present music from the time of the Tudors and Stuarts. Collective members will offer a pre-concert talk at 4:15 p.m.

William Lyons, Dufay Collective director, explained that the program title comes from a popular 17th century ballad. “It suggests that festive feasts and revels are the ideal antidote to the cold winter weather,” he said. “And you know all about our English preoccupation with the weather!”

Lyons said during the 16th and 17th centuries Europe experienced what has since been referred to as a mini ice age. The summers were cool and the winters bitter – so much so that the river Thames froze over for many days, and a fair, market and games all took place on the thick ice.

“Songs about the severe cold were common, and whether you were enduring the cold biting winds that whipped around London’s narrow streets, or trudging, head bowed along a country lane, you would have enjoyed the delights of singing a festive song whilst thawing your fingers and toes around a log fire,” Lyons said. “Dancing was a great way to loosen stiff limbs and you’ll here plenty of good toe-tapping tunes in the program.”

Lyons said the concert will provide a snapshot of music one might have heard in 16th and 17th century London, whether it was in the court, a patrician household, a tavern or the street. The collective will use instruments typical of the time the music was first performed. “The emphasis is very much on the ‘folk’ side of things: heartfelt lyrics, great dance tunes and a real feeling of spontaneity,” he said.

The concert will mark the Dufay’s first performance in Texas. “We’re all looking forward to it immensely, especially the fact that the weather will be warm and from what I hear, so will the welcome,” Lyons said.

Exploring history through music is a Houston Early Music hallmark. The group follows music from the Middle Ages through the 18th century, providing unique programming and world-class concerts performed with historical instruments and styles true to the period. 

Photo courtesy Dufay Collective.