Nota Bene: Pay attention… mark well… take note…
The four members of Nota Bene viol consort have been drawn together by their love of polyphony, and for its demands and rewards, both musical and social. Polyphony asks us to pay attention, to take note of what each voice is saying, to remark on it, enhance it, and give it back to the ensemble as part of an ongoing dialog. We feel fortunate to play a family of instruments that allow us to sing and converse on so many levels.
Nota Bene is devoted to the rich repertoire of vocal and instrumental polyphony that arose on the European Continent and England along with so many other new social constructs aided in large part by the printing press. At a time when people were questioning their place in society, in the expansion of the known world, in the decisions of government, in their personal faith, and in the cosmos itself, polyphony reflected the human struggle to be both individual and interconnected.
We invite you to take note of the universal joys and questions embodied in the music we love.
- Nota Bene.