Some music goes out of fashion in a year or two. So, it’s rather extraordinary that the epic medieval narrative Gregorius will be performed at the Vancouver Playhouse nearly a millennium after it was first heard.
Early Music Vancouver will present singer and harpist Benjamin Bagby’s rendition of this famous work by German knight Hartmann von Aue on Friday (January 17). Bagby will be joined on-stage by two colleagues from his medieval-music ensemble Sequentia: harpist and mezzosoprano Jasmina Črnčič and vocalist Lukas Papenfusscline, a.k.a. leiken.
Gregorius tells the legend of St. Gregory the Great, who was the 64th Bishop of Rome. His Papacy began in 590 and ended with his death in 604. German writer Thomas Mann wrote his 1951 novel, The Holy Sinner, based on von Aue’s Gregorius.
Babgy and the late Barbara Thornton co-founded Sequentia in Cologne, Germany in 1977. He’s perhaps most famous for his performances of Beowulf.
“Mr. Bagby created more than 70 innovative concert programs of medieval music and music drama, giving performances in Western and Eastern Europe, North & South America, North and West Africa, the Middle East, Japan, Korea, and Australia,” the Sequentia website states. “In 1981, the ensemble began to release the first of many LP’s and CD’s which encompass the entire spectrum of medieval musical practice.”
In 2017, REMA, the European Early Music Network, awarded Bagby with its Artist of the Year Award.
Črnčič hails from Slovenia and has performed as a soloist at many festivals and concert venues. The Brooklyn-based leiken’s musical practice often explores queer spirituality, identity, and ephemera, according to their biography.
Early Music Vancouver will present Sequentia’s rendition of Gregorius at 7:30 p.m. on Friday (January 17) at the Vancouver Playhouse. Tickets are available through the Early Music Vancouver website. Follow Pancouver on X @PancouverMedia and on Instagram @PancouverMedia. Follow Charlie Smith on Bluesky @charliesmithvcr.bsky.social.
