The Edgecumbe Choir is offering audiences something a little different in its upcoming concerts, with a programme that explores the rich and contrasting sounds of the Renaissance.

Madrigals and Motets will be performed across two concerts at St George and St John Church on Domain Road, bringing together music that spans the sacred and the profane.

Choir director Chalium Poppy said the idea came while reflecting on the group’s past performances.

“I realised we’ve covered just about every musical period – Baroque, classical, romantic, even contemporary – but never the music of the Renaissance,” he said. “It felt like it was about time.”

The Renaissance marked a turning point in musical history, moving away from the strict, church-dominated traditions of the Middle Ages.

While earlier compositions were largely sacred and governed by rigid rules, the Renaissance saw an explosion of creativity across Europe.

“It’s the first time we really hear music expressing the full range of human emotion,” Poppy said.

“There is an explosion of musical ideas by composers all over Europe.”

“You get madrigals about love, about heartbreak, even humour and scorn. In a way, it’s the birth of “pop music”.

The programme focuses on the late 16th and early 17th centuries, featuring works by well-known composers including William Byrd, Orlando Gibbons and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.

Audiences can also expect several lively madrigals by English composer Thomas Morley, alongside works by John Bennet. In an interesting contrast, the concert will include one of Morley’s motets – a more introspective, sacred form.

“So, he wasn’t just a secular composer because we have got this beautiful, gorgeous motet. The difference in musical language between his motets and madrigals is striking, said Poppy.

“The madrigal is fun and happy, and the motel is just so much more introverted.”

Unlike many of the choir’s previous performances, this concert will rely entirely on the ensemble itself.

“We often perform large choral works with guest soloists, but this time it’s just the choir,” Poppy said.

“There are no soloists, no guest artists and no accompaniment. Everything is a cappella, which is exactly how this music was intended to be heard.”

Edgecumbe Choir Madrigals and Motets

■ Where: St George and St John Church, Whakatāne

■ When: Saturday, May 9 at 4pm and Sunday, May 10 at 2pm

■ Tickets: Edgecumbechoir.org.nz, at The Good Life, and door sales