Love Enfolds Thee Round TENET Vocal Artists & Jolle Greenleaf

• 1 2 Carols: No. 2, Welcome Yule 01:25
• 2 O Jesulein süß, o Jesulein mild, BWV 493 (Arr. for Vocal Ensemble & Lute) 02:42
• 3 Tu scendi dalle stelle (Arr. for Voice & Lute) 01:54
• 4 Jesus Christ the Apple Tree 03:09
• 5 Wither’s Rocking Hymn 03:11
• 6 A Spotless Rose 02:53
• 7 The Infant King (Sing lullaby) [Arr. D. Willcocks] 02:13
• 8 Lullay My Liking, Op. 34 No. 2, H. 129 04:23
• 9 Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow (Arr. for Vocal Ensemble) 03:06
• 10 Bethlehem Down (Version for Vocal Ensemble) 03:11
• 11 See Amid the Winter’s Snow (Arr. for Vocal Ensemble & Lute) 04:37
• 12 Un flambeau, Jeanette, Isabelle (Arr. for Voice & Lute) 02:03
• 13 Sweet little Jesus Boy 05:19
• 14 Greensleeves (Arr. F. Cutting for Lute) 01:41
• 15 What Child Is This? (Arr. for Voice & Lute) 03:37
• 16 Sussex Carol (Arr. for Vocal Ensemble & Lute) 01:35
• 17 Coventry Carol (Arr. J. Woody for Vocal Ensemble) 03:59
• 18 Veni mater gracie - Dou way Robin (Arr. for Vocal Ensemble) 02:34
• 19 Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen (Arr. for Voice & Lute) 02:18
• 20 The Holly and the Ivy (After W. Davies) [Arr. for Vocal Ensemble & Lute] 02:52
• 21 Christmas Songs, Op. 8: No. 3b, Three Kings from Persian Lands Afar 02:16
• 22 Hush Thee, Princeling (Version for Vocal Ensemble) 01:32
• Total Runtime 01:02:30

Info for Love Enfolds Thee Round

TENET Vocal Artists, NYC’s prëeminent early music ensemble, releases a Christmas disc of music spanning medieval to modern day repertoire. TENET’s pristine, one-on-a-part singing lends itself well to both well-known and rarely heard songs and carols featured in this recording. New compositions and fresh arrangements make Love Enfolds Thee Round a stand-out among holiday recordings. Each member of the ensemble is well featured, creating an intimate sound-world to celebrate the holiday season.

TENET Vocal Artists created this album as a gift to its loyal audience of supporters during a time of increased isolation due to the pandemic. Although much of the repertoire featured falls outside the purview of “early music,” the disc well represents the singers’ collective specialties in the music of the Anglican tradition. In fact, the works on this recording could easily serve as selections from a Lessons and Carols service of today.

Representing British masters from the last century, TENET includes some of the best-known works from the Christmas canon including Peter Warlock’s “Bethlehem Down,” Herbert Howells’ “A Spotless Rose,” and Hubert Parry’s “Welcome Yule.” David Willcocks, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Gustav Holst also make appearances with rarely heard gems and arrangements of medieval tunes.

Early compositions that have become known as traditional Christmas works include Francis Cutting’s “Greensleeves,” Praetorius’ “Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen,” and Bach famous chorale, “O Jesulein süß.” The hauntingly beautiful 14th Century motet, “Veni mater gracie/Dou way Robin” tells of Mary’s immaculate conception in the lead voice all the while shooing away a pesky Robin who might wake the Christ child in the counter melody using an early form of ground bass.

TENET is very fortunate to have among its cast accomplished singer, composer, and arranger Jonathan Woody, who provided beautiful arrangements for two classic tunes: “Rise up, Shepherd, and Follow” and “Coventry Carol.” He imbued these well-known classics with his fresh, contemporary voice. Woody also composed a new version of “What Child is This” (along with the transition from Greensleeves) for bass voice and lute. His rendition mixes his own knowledge of early music style and vocal practices with contemporary harmonies, showing off the versatility of lutenist Hank Heijink.

TENET fans will recognize the voices of our singers as they perform one-on-a-part; the crystalline timbres of artistic director Jolle Greenleaf and Molly Quinn, sopranos, the warm alto of Virginia Warnken Kelsey, versatile and sweet-toned tenor Stephen Sands, and rich and enveloping bass-baritones Charles Wesley Evans and Jonathan Woody. Hank Heijink’s accompanying prowess is on full display, enhancing the carols throughout the recording.

“Love Enfolds Thee Round” closes with a charming contemporary work by composer Norman dello Joio and writer Anna Elizabeth Bennett, “Hush Thee, Princeling” (also known as “Lullaby for the Christ Child”), whose last line of the first poetic verse serves as the disc’s title.

TENET Vocal Artists
Jolle Greenleaf, artistic director

TENET Vocal Artists
Preëminent New York City-based early music ensemble TENET Vocal Artists trusts in the power of music to bring joy and peace to our 21st century world. Under Artistic Director Jolle Greenleaf, TENET Vocal Artists has won acclaim for its innovative programming, virtuosic singing and command of repertoire that spans the Middle Ages to the present day.

Highlights of recent seasons include performances of J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, St. John Passion, Bach's motets, Handel’s Messiah, a three-year cycle of Carlo Gesualdo’s Tenebrae Responsories, regular performances of music by Henry Purcell and his contemporaries in honor of St. Cecilia, music’s patron saint, and explorations into medieval repertoire. TENET Vocal Artists has also dedicated itself to creating original theatrical performances highlighting works composed by, for, and about women in 17th century Italy.

Renowned for their interpretations of Renaissance and Baroque repertoire, TENET Vocal Artists' distinguished soloists have been praised for their pristine one-voice-to-a-part singing “to an uncanny degree of precision” (The Boston Globe). Under TENET's auspices, the highly praised Green Mountain Project gave annual performances (2010-2020) of Claudio Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 and other reconstructed Vespers featuring music by Monteverdi, Chiara Margarita Cozzolani, Giovanni Gabrieli, Antoine Charpentier, Michael Praetorius, and their contemporaries.

A driving force in cultivating New York City’s early music community, TENET Vocal Artists collaborates regularly with other acclaimed ensembles and organizations including ACRONYM, Dark Horse Consort, Ensemble Caprice, Five Boroughs Music Festival, Quicksilver Baroque, the Sebastians, and many others.

TENET Vocal Artists performs regularly at Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Caramoor, Columbia University, Yale University, and numerous other venues in and around New York City. Further afield, TENET Vocal Artists has performed at the Festival Casals de Puerto Rico, Berkshire Bach Festival, Connecticut Early Music Festival, Costa Rica International Music Festival, Montreal Baroque Festival, and many other festivals throughout the United States, Latin America and Europe.

Jolle Greenleaf
Hailed as a “golden soprano” and “a major force in the New York early music-scene” (The New York Times), soprano Jolle Greenleaf is one of today’s foremost figures in the field of early music. Balancing a career as a leading soloist and an innovative impresario, she is in great demand both as a guest artist and as the artistic director of TENET Vocal Artists, a premier New York-based ensemble specializing in early music. She is a celebrated interpreter of the music of Bach Buxtehude, Handel, Purcell, and most notably, Monteverdi. She has performed as a soloist in venues throughout the U.S., Scandinavia, Europe, and Central America for important presenters including Vancouver Early Music Festival, Denmark’s Vendsyssel Festival, Costa Rica International Music Festival, Puerto Rico’s Festival Casals, Utrecht Festival, at Panama’s National Theater, and San Cristobal, the Cathedral in Havana, Cuba.

Booklet for Love Enfolds Thee Round