Jay Elfenbein vihuela/rebab/voice Margo Grib voice/vielle Rex Benincasa voice/percussion/hurdy-gurdy
Dennis Cinelli saz/mandora/gittern Daphna Mor ney/zurna/recorders Haig Manoukian oud

The Ivory Consort, directed by Jay Elfenbein, is an ensemble that specializes in medieval music performed in an exciting and historically informed manner. For fifteen years, they have brought ancient music to life on stage and over the radio with stunning clarity and brilliant improvisation. Mr Elfenbein is a charismatic and clear-sighted visionary who has been able to attract similarly gifted musicians who match his quest for historical veracity and the highest standards of ensemble playing and improvisational ability. He is not only a musical genius and pioneer, he is also a medieval history and early music autodidact whose programs and approach have engaged the interest of many academics across the country, most notably Maria Rosa Menocal, the Yale history professor who wrote The Ornament of the World, a landmark study of medieval Spain. The two have discussed collaborating on related lectures and concerts.

Programme:

Music in the Time of the Black Death: While Europe was being decimated by the Black Death, a disaster of apocalyptic dimensions, the poetry and musical styles of the age grew inward with a pessimism and intellectualism that affected even the Church. The mystical music of Ars Subtilior, with its refined notation and rhythmic complexities, is a wonderful example of this trend. The Ivory Consort performs the Mannerist repertory   secular songs of love, war, and chivalry   and hymns of the Feast of Fools and other Christian holidays.

Education:

Music in the Land of Three Faiths: This educational program is an introduction to the Golden Age of Spain, when Jews, Muslims, and Christians forged a common musical language. The program teaches/demonstrates songs in Judezmo, Hebrew, Latin, Arabic, and Galician-Portuguese from the 10th through 14th century, and provides a historical context for the intermingling of cultures that took place before the 1492 Expulsion. It is also an introduction/demonstration of the amazing variety of early instruments that we use in our concerts.

Recordings:

CD Music in the Land of Three Faiths (Sefarad Records)

Performances:

20 May 06 Bloomington Early Music Festival, Indiana
14 Jul 06 Madison Early Music Festival, Wisconsin
27 Jun 07 Yale University

Contact:

Jay Elfenbein, 200 Claremont Ave #46,
New York, NY 10027, USA

Tel/Fax: 00 1 212 865 7459

Email: elfpagesmusic@gmail.com
Website: www.elfpagesmusic.com www.ivoryconsort.com