The Numina Center for Spirituality and the Arts and St. Paul's Episcopal Church, San Rafael present  two performances of  Music from the Time of Saint Francis on November 1 (All Souls' Day) and November 2 (All Saints' Day).

St. Francis of Assisi was a troubadour and perpetual pilgrim. This event will celebrate the music that surrounded him --- songs and dances of 12th century France, Italy, and Spain. St. Francis directed a spiritual community in Tuscany that gathered an extraordinary body of liturgical and celebratory music, the Lauda Cortona, which will be the focus of this musical offering.

Featured artists include the early music vocal ensembles Vox Flores and Vox Terrae, singers Devi Mathieu and Pablo Rodriguez, and virtuoso musicians Shira Kammen and Tim Rayborn singing and playing a variety of period instruments, including vielle, harp, lute, psaltery, and drums.

Cultural historian Kayleen Asbo will present a preconcert lecture and slide show on the music of St. Francis and his time. A candlelit labyrinth walk will follow the concert.

General Admission $20

Preferred Seating  $25

To purchase tickets for this event click HERE

Saturday Nov 1, 2008

7:30pm lecture

8:15pm concert

Labyrinth walk to follow

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, San Rafael CA

Directions: www.stpaulssanrafael.org

Shira Kammen has spent well over half her life exploring the worlds of early and traditional music. A member for many years of Ensembles Alcatraz, Project Ars Nova, and Medieval Strings, she has also worked with Sequentia, Hesperion XX, the Boston Camerata, Teatro Bacchino, Kitka, and is the founder of Class V Music, an ensemble dedicated to performance on river rafting trips. She has performed and taught in the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Israel, Morocco, and Japan, and on the Colorado and Rogue Rivers. Shira happily collaborated with singer/storyteller John Fleagle for fifteen years, and performs now with several groups: a medieval ensemble, Fortune's Wheel: a contemporary music group, Ephemeros; an eclectic ethnic band, Panacea; as well as collaborations with performers such as Anne Azema, Patrick Ball, and Margriet Tindemans. Some of her original music can be heard in an upcoming film about the fans of JRR Tolkien. Visit her at www.shirakammen.com.

Devi Mathieu enjoys singing early and contemporary music, and has performed in the San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, Vermont, New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Spain.  She sings and teaches the music of Hildegard von Bingen, and played the roles of Castitas and Misericordia in Hildegard’s opera, Ordo Virtutem. Devi often joins Shira Kammen and composer and pianist W. A. (Allaudin ) Mathieu to form the trio Ephemeros, a contemporary music ensemble that presents early music alongside new compositions. Ephemeros has performed and recorded song settings of poetry by Hildegard, Jelaludin Rumi, and Mary Oliver. For information about recordings, visit www.coldmountainmusic.com. Contact Devi about Hildegard workshops or future performances at dmathieu@sonic.net.

Pablo Rodriguez is a singer, improviser, and teacher who has performed extensively in the Bay Area. He performs as a soloist and in ensembles in a variety of styles, including medieval pilgrim music, traditional Balkan songs, jazz, and original works. Pablo studied improvisation with Bobby McFerrin and Rhiannon and vocal technique with Seth Riggs, Los Angeles-based vocal coach to many well known singers.

Tim Rayborn, an internationally acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, plays dozens of musical instruments from medieval Europe, the Middle East, and the Balkans including: lutes, plucked strings, flutes, and percussion, as well as being a singer. He has recorded to date on 27 CDs for a number of labels. Tim lived in the UK for seven years, studying for his Ph.D. in medieval history at the University of Leeds, and working as a musician. He has toured the U.S. and Europe extensively (from Ireland to Turkey), performing with the medieval group Tintagel and his own group, Ensemble Florata (including concerts at the York and Beverley Early Music Festivals, and the Spitalfields Festival in London). He has given a number of performances for BBC, toured in Canada and Australia, and worked with folk musicians in Marrakech and Istanbul. He has collaborated and performed with many early music groups and performers, including Ensemble Alcatraz; Anne Azema; Susan Rode Morris; Sinfonye; Kitka; Wyrewood; members of the Harp Consort and Theater of Voices. In addition to his solo work, he currently performs with Celtic harpist Patrick Ball, Swedish folk musicians Dråm, and collaborates regularly with Shira Kammen.

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