Performed by Nebula Ensemble, February 2020

One upon a time, an anonymous 13th century composer took a chunk of a Gregorian chant and used it as the basis of a motet with a Latin text on a sacred subject. Then another composer of the same century took the tenor part from this new work, re-worked the form, and added a new secular Latin text. Then that new piece was re-worked by another poet of the same century who gave it a French text to create the motet Fole acostumance/Dominus, a bitter commentary on the corrupt politics of the time. Finally, a 21st century composer heard the beautiful melody of Fole acostumance/Dominus, re-cut it to create a strophic form, juxtaposed melodic fragments that were separate in the original, added some new harmonies, and wrote a new English text that takes inspiration from the “cult of the Magdalene” popular at the time of the original motet’s composition. …A remix of a remix of a remix of a remix!

– Sarah Perske