Sally Mitchell and Bill McJohn,
directors
Contrafacta was formed by Bill McJohn and
Sally Mitchell, who have been
performing medieval music together since 1989. In the spirit of the medieval
practice of contrafactum (writing new words for existing melodies),
they combine medieval sources, models, and methods with improvisation and a
collaborative process to create a musical style unique to the ensemble
Contrafacta has appeared in concert in Seattle under the auspices of the
Early Music Guild, at the Berkeley Early Music Festival, and at the
Bumbershoot Festival.
Recent projects have included "Rosa do Mundo: songs of praise from
medieval Spain," "Music for an Old Millennium: songs from the year 1000,"
"Canterbury Tales: songs and stories from the Middle Ages," and "Ay, Espana,
music from Renaissance Spain."
They draw on a range of personnel to suit the project at hand. The core
group of Bill McJohn, voice and harp;
Sally Mitchell, voice and recorders; is frequently joined by such guest
performers as sopranos Linda Strandberg,
Katherine Hanson Mack, and Amanda
Jane Kelley; tenors William Hudson and Kenneth Peterson;
Elizabeth Brown,
lute; Harper Tasche, harp; Margriet Gries, vielle, and Ronnee Fullerton,
voice and vielle.
For more information contact Sally Mitchell
salmitch@eskimo.com
This page provided as a service by the Early Music Guild of Seattle to
its members.
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