I was recently on short notice to attend a concert at the Banyan Tree Hotel -- Ecco La Primavera: Love Songs Of The Renaissance by Siam Sinfonietta. The programme looked strange -- I didn't recognise any of the pieces.
Composers like Landini, Weelkes and Gesualdo were all new to me -- the only name I recognised was the infamous Mr "Anonymous". I decided to go anyway, thinking I might hear something fresh and new.
Upon arrival, I met the Sinfonietta's ubermeister National Artist Somtow Sucharitkul. His first words were that the songs selected were 500-700 years old, dating back to the Renaissance. This is the era of "rebirth" we studied in Civilisation classes -- a general education course my generation took as freshmen.
