Other Ensembles

The Little Dickens Band (Old-Fashioned Christmas Carols)

The Little Dickens Band (Music From Davy Jones' Locker)

Old Oaks Renaissance Consort (Renaissance and Medieval Music)

Canzonet (Renaissance and Medieval Vocal Music)

Canzonet. OR Little Short Ladies of Three Voyces

(Renaissance and Medieval Vocal Music)

Catharine on viola da gamba, Jenni and Anne on recorders

Canzonet is a Medieval and Renaissance trio of women's voices. In addition to singing, the members of Canzonet play Renaissance instruments including recorders, viola da gamba, flute, guitar and percussion. Canzonet takes its name from a 1593 publication by Thomas Morley: Canzonets, or Little Short Songs to Three Voyces.

Jennifer Burke, Anne Burns and Catharine Langmuir have shared this music at the Michigan Renaissance Festival, Whole Foods Markets and Barnes and Noble Bookstore as well as at senior residences in the area.

Audio excerpts from programs:

Oh fly not, love
Though Philomela lost her love
Whereto should I express?/Alack, alas what shall I do?
Follow me
Je suis d'Allemagne
Greensleeves

Video excerpts from programs:

The Silver Swan
A Round of Three Country Dances in One

General Program:

Canzonet presents general concerts of Medieval and Renaissance music from circa 1450-1610 by English composers such as Thomas Morley, Thomas Weelkes, Thomas Ravenscroft, Anthony Holborne, William Cornish and Henry VIII. Music of other European composers from the same period is also a foundation of their repertoire: Tielman Susato, Filippo Azzaiollo and Heinrich Isaac, among others.

Themed Programs are also available:

• To celebrate the month of May, the trio Canzonet sings and plays Spring-themed songs and dances of the Renaissance in the program "The Month of May: Madrigals of Nature and Love." "Now is the month of Maying," "Ce Moys de May" and "Greensleeves" are featured in the program to evoke springtime thoughts turning to love. Other pieces to be performed depict woodland animals, plants, flowers and . . . more love!

• Canzonet goes international! The trio presents a concert called "Songs from Cathedrals, Castles and Cottages" which is a tie-in to the 2017 Summer Reading Program, "Build a Better World." Three-voice Renaissance songs and dances from England, Scotland, Germany, France, Italy, Poland and even the New World are performed, sometimes in translation. The poignant "Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen" (Innsbruck, I must leave you) and "Questi tuoi occhi ardenti" (These ardent eyes that burn me) are juxtaposed with the lighthearted "O lusty May" and "Dans notre village" (In our village). Canzonet alternates the songs with spirited dance tunes such as "Haiduk" and "Bransle" to round out this Renaissance Grand Tour.

• "Ballads for the Bard" is a program in honor of the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death in 1616. Madrigals, canzonets (short songs) and ballads by Morley, Weelkes, Ravenscroft and other composers of Shakespeare's time are performed by the trio. Lively and sad, quick and mad, this music can be every bit as dramatic as the plays of the time. Canzonet will find the missing link between period songs and Shakespeare's works.

• Canzonet offers "Gaude! Freut euch! Rejoice!" a selection of early Christmas carols in Latin, German and English. The program features music from the 15th-century English Selden Manuscript and from the early 17th-century collections by the German composer/arranger, Michael Praetorius. Also represented are tunes from the Renaissance that were later adapted as Christmas songs: "Greensleeves"="What Child is This?" "Bransle Official" = "Ding, Dong, Merrily on High! Audio samples from program here.

(above image adapted from the image below)