The Nashville Early Music Ensemble is designed to perform the vocal and instrumental music of the Medieval and Renaissance periods as well as folk music from several world cultures. The twenty-seven member ensemble features musicians with diverse musical backgrounds but all with experience in early music. Instruments used by the ensemble include viols, lutes, guitars, ud, psaltery, harp, violin, recorders, sackbut, and a wide variety of percussion. The singers perform in original languages. The ensemble director is Dr. Gerald Moore, a retired music professor from Lipscomb University, who taught music theory and directed the university Early Music Consort for over twenty-five years.

The Nashville Early Music Ensemble is sponsored by the Department of Music at Lipscomb University.

CHRISTMAS CONCERTS

The Nashville Early Music Ensemble begins its second season with three performances of A Universal Christmas, which will feature Renaissance and Medieval music as well as traditional folk music from more than ten different world cultures.

On Tuesday, November 25, at 11:06 a.m., the ensemble will be featured on "Live from Studio C" on WPLN radio, 90.3 FM and 1430 AM. The performance will be rebroadcast at 8:06 p.m. that evening. The web address for the the station is http://wpln.org. For one week following the performance, the audio from this performance will be on the "Live from Studio C" webpage.

At 8:00 p.m. on the same day, November 25, the ensemble will present its full concert at Christ Church Cathedral, 900 Broadway, downtown Nashville. The web address for the cathedral is http://www.christcathedral.org/.



Click Here for Directions and a map provided by the Cathedral's website.

At 3:00 on Sunday afternoon, December 7, the NEME will present the same concert at the First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, TN, 801 South High Street. The web address for the church is http://1stprescolumbia.org/.



Click here for directions and parking information provided by the Church's website.

FUTURE EVENTS

The NEME is scheduled to perform at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 8, 2009. This concert will feature traditional Medieval and Renaissance music and will be a part part of the activities connected with the "Medieval Treasures from the Cleveland Museum of Art" hosted by the Frist Center. More details will be announced later.

Also upcoming in the Spring of 2009, is "The Old Song and Dance." This will be the Nashville Early Music Ensemble along with the Nashville International Folk Dancers. More information will be posted when it becomes available.

Update from Nov. 25, 2008

The Nashville Early Music Ensemble performed on "Live in Studio C" on WPLN 90.3 FM Public Radio in Nashville. The audio from this performance will be online for one week on the "Live in Studio C" website. Check it out here. The Ensemble was the second set of performers on today's show, and their performance starts halfway into the audio clip. The web audio clip has the full performance of "Ashir Shirim" which had to be truncated due to time constraints over the air. Photos from this performance will be posted soon.

The Ensemble also performed at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Nashville. Photos, video and a copy of the program will be posted soon. This concert was highlighted on WSMV Channel 4's 10pm news broadcast.

Double Reeds and Early Music

The singers of the Nashville Early Music Ensemble assisted the Nashville Double Reed Ensemble in concert on Thursday, November 13, at 8:00 p.m. in Ward Hall on the campus of Lipscomb University in Nashville. Dewayne Pigg is the music director of the NDRE, an ensemble of oboes, English horns, bassoons, and contra bassoon.

The finale for the concert featured the double reeds and the singers from the NEME in a performance of a twelve-voice motet "Duo Seraphim" written by the Spanish composer Francisco Guerro (1528-1599).

Photos and Videos from the April 18, 2008 Concert

Concert Pictures
Click on pictures to enlarge

Concert Videos
Click on the song title to view the video

Music and Dance of Spain

I

1. El Ole - Andalusian Folk Song
2. Cucú, cucú, cucucú - Juan del Ensina (1468-1529)
3. Tan buen ganadico - Juan del Ensina

II

4. Nabbeh Alnadmahn - Andalusian Arabs
5. Cuando el rey Nimrod - Sephardic Jews & Medieval Christians
6. Si verias - Sephardic Jews

III

7. Como poden per sas culpas - Spanish Cantiga, 14th Century
8. O magnum mysterium - Ludovico Tommasco da Vittoria (1540-1608)
9. Cádiz no se llama Cádiz - Andalusian Folk Song

IV

10. Oy comamos y bebamos - Juan del Enicna
11. Cansados tengo los ojos - Cancionero de la Palacio, C. 1500, Madrid
12. Con el vito - Andalusian Folk Song

The Nashville Early Music Ensemble will be performing at the Nashville Parthenon on Friday, April 18, at 6:00 p.m. This will be a joint performance of the NEME and La Colmena Flamenco Dance Troupe. The concert will be one of a series of Echo Concerts sponsored by the Metro Parks Department and will feature dance and music of Spain.

The program will include music of the court, folk songs, liturgical music, cantigas and flamenco music and dancing. The musicians are directed by Gerald Moore, and the leader of the dance troupe is Reischa Feuerbacher. The concert is free and open to the public.

For directions to the Parthenon, Click Here.

Pictures and Video from the Feb. 10, 2008 Concert

Concert Pictures
Click on pictures to enlarge

Concert Videos
Click on the song title to view the video

She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not

Concert Introduction

I

01 It was a lover and his lass - Thomas Morley (1557-1603)
02 If my complaints - John Dowland (1562-1626)
03 Heigh ho! For a husband - John Gamble (16??-1687)
04 The Dumb Wife - William Chappell (1809-1888)

II

05 Yammil abaya - Iraqi Love Song
06 Ida da go sakas - Macedonian Folk Song
07 Iste Hendek - Turkish Dance Song

III

08 Unter alln auf dieser Erden - Hans Leo Hassler (1564-1612)
09 Tanzen und Springen - Hans Leo Hassler
10 My, my, mon dous amy - 15th C., France

IV

11 Si verias - Sephardic Folk Song
12 Du meydele du fayns - Yiddish Folk Song
13 Moja diridika - Croatian Dance Song

V

14 So ben mi ch'a bon tempo - Orazio Vecchi (1550-1605)
15 Cansados tengo los ojos - Cancionero de la Palacio, c.1500, Madrid
16 El Ole Traditional - Spanish Folk Song

VI

17 Since first I saw your face - Thomas Ford (1575-1648)
18 Fanatsia - Alonso Mudarra (c.1510-1580)
19 Mick McGuire - Irish Drinking Song
20 Fair Phyllis - John Farmer (c.1565-c.1605)

Nashville Early Music Ensemble at First Presbyterian Church

The Nashville Early Music Ensemble will be performing at the First Presbyterian Church, 801 South High Street, in Columbia at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 10.

The ensemble performs the vocal and instrumental music of the Medieval and Renaissance periods as well as traditional folk music from several world cultures. The twenty-five-member ensemble features musicians with diverse music backgrounds but all with experience in early music. The instruments featured in the concert will be viols, violins, lute, ud, rebec, guitars, psaltery, harps, recorders, and a variety of percussion. The director of the ensemble is Dr. Gerald Moore, a retired music professor from Lipscomb University, who taught music theory and directed the Lipscomb Early Music Consort for over twenty-five years.

The NEME will be presenting a Valentine Concert She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not, with songs about love and lost love. The concert will feature music from such countries as Croatia, England, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Spain, and Turkey, and will include madrigals, folk songs, dance songs, music from a Shakespeare play, and an Irish drinking song.

The concert is free and open to the public and will be one in a series of concerts hosted by the church. For more information about the First Presbyterian Church, visit the church's web site: http://www.1stprescolumbia.org/

Location(links to Mapquest map - you can get more directions if needed)
The church is located in downtown Columbia at the corner of W. 7th and High Streets. Since there are several churches nearby, look for the church with the dome on top.

Parking
Parking is available on W. 7th St. to the east (the courthouse side) of the church, and also on High Street behind the church. The W. 7th St. lot leads to an elevator entrance with access to all levels of the church.

Pictures and Video from the Dec. 4 Concert at Christ Church Cathedral

Click on any of the thumbnails to enlarge the photos.

(concert flyer)

Concert Videos
(Click on the song title to view the video on YouTube)

~ Prophecy and Advent ~

01 Quicumque Christum queritis -- Colonial Mexico
02 Consolaos, pueblo mío -- Mexican American
03 El Dios de paz -- Guatemala
04 Hanacpachap cussicuinin -- Juan Pérez Bocanegra, Peru

~ Mary and Joseph ~

05 Hacia Belén se encamina -- Lutheran, Mexico
06 Asi asdando -- Tomás Pascual, Guatemala
07 Teponazcuicatl -- Aztec Processional

~ Shepherds and Magi ~

08 Los magos que llegaron a Belén -- Puerto Rico (video missing)
09 En la noche los pastores -- Guatemala
10 Vamos, pastorcitos -- Colombia
11 Los tres santos reyes -- Puerto Rico

~ The Manger ~

12 En el Portal Belén -- Puerto Rico
13 Ha nacido en un portal -- Chile
14 A la media noche -- Puerto Rico

~ The Child ~

15 Llegó la nochebuena -- Argentina
16 Niño lindo -- Venezuela
17 A la nanita nana -- Cuba

~ Celebration and Finale ~

18 Pastores, dicite, quidnam vidistis? -- Cristóbal de Morales, Spain

19 El cielo canta -- Argentina