“Russian music for most of us tends to be romantic, often orchestral, always rich; or else, as sung by Cappella Romana, chant sung in distinctive style, often monophonic, serious church music. Last Friday night’s concert at St. Mark’s Cathedral was a complete change from what we have come to expect from this group. … Baroque in style, cheerful, upbeat music in beautiful polyphony filled the cathedral. Thirteen singers plus conductor/tenor Alexander Lingas brought their trademark purity of sound, no vibrato, to the performance. … These pieces were rhythmically steady, usually in a beat of four, and only rarely a run, a group of eighth notes, a dotted rhythm or a word emphasized in a melismatic phrase, yet they were anything but dull. … It was originally performed at the Utrecht Early Music Festival in the Netherlands last year, one of two the group was asked to perform with the theme of “La Serenissima: Venice.” Cappella Romana will perform the second one here at the end of next year’s concert series and if it is anything like this first one, something not to miss for the sheer beauty of it.” —Philippa Kiraly, The SunBreak
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