The Rose Ensemble

The mission of The Rose Ensemble is to uncover various forms of ancient and all-but-forgotten music, then bring it spectacularly to life on CDs and in live performance. Founder and artistic director Jordan Sramek (center) does the lion’s share of the research necessary to find the ensemble’s music (which often requires a significant amount of detective work), but the group itself is an eclectic blend of highly skilled instrumentalists, vocalists, and early-music enthusiasts who infuse each project with a rare blend of artistry and authenticity.

The Rose Ensemble’s latest CD, Il Poverello: Medieval & Renaissance Music for St. Francis of Assisi, features early Italian music—dances, spiritual songs, plainchant, and motets—written in honor of the man Sramek calls “the hippie saint.”

“St. Francis is a household name, but most people’s knowledge of him stops at the garden,” says Sramek. (St. Francis is the patron saint of nature and ecology, and garden statues of him are popular throughout the Christian world.) “Very little research has been done on music in the time of his life, or music written for and about him.”

Sramek spent years researching 13th- and 14th-century music, and was able to find pieces dedicated to St. Francis that few people—even the most learned Italian scholars—have ever seen or heard.

“We did a show in Italy and people were astounded,” Sramek recalls. “Italian scholars and musicologists were coming up to us and asking us where we found this music. It was surprising—after all, he’s their saint.”

The CD contains both instrumental numbers and choral pieces, because Sramek wanted to give people a sense for the kind of music commoners were playing at the time, as well as a feel for the music and poetry dedicated to St. Francis.

“We’re doing more instrumental music than ever,” says Sramek. “The St. Francis project is a great example of how we can explore a well-known topic in new, interesting ways.”

The Rose Ensemble will also revive a popular program from 2006, “Christmas in Elizabethan England.” Dec. 17–20. Various locations, 651-225-4340, roseensemble.org