Stephen F. Austin State University

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - The Madrigal Singers, a 16-member vocal ensemble at Stephen F. Austin State University, will present a fall concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

"Even though the Madrigal Singers sing a wide range of musical styles from several time periods, the term 'madrigal' refers most specifically to Italian and English music of the Renaissance period," said Tim King, the group's director. "And this concert will be a tribute to Queen Elizabeth I, one of the most enthusiastic supporters of English madrigals."

Composers often used the queen as the subject of the madrigals, referring to her as "Orianna," the Latin word for "rising" or "rising sun," King explained.

Included on the program are three songs from "The Triumph of Orianna," a collection of madrigals which all contain the line, "Long live, Orianna."

The ensemble will also present the masque scene from Benjamin Britten's opera, "Glorianna," featuring Ric Berry, SFA interim provost and professor of music, as the tenor soloist, and harpist Mollie Marcuson.

"We're including this work in the tribute because 'Glorianna' is the name the 16th century poet Edmund Spenser gave to Queen Elizabeth in his poem, 'The Fairie Queen,'" King explained.

The concert will close with John Rutter's jazzy arrangement of "It Was a Lover and His Lass," a poem by William Shakespeare that was written during the reign of Elizabeth I.

The concert is a joint presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music. Tickets are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $2 for students. For tickets or more information, please visit www.sfasu.edu/finearts or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.