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The Folger Spotlight

ENCORES: 'Es ist ein Ros entsprungen (Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming)' performed by Folger Consort (2020)

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Folger ENCORES, red theater seats fading into darkness
Folger ENCORES, red theater seats fading into darkness

Folger Public Programs is pleased to present ENCORES, an online series highlighting past performances and recalling the rich history of programming on the historic Folger stage. These ENCORES provide a way to connect and revisit the breadth of Folger offerings with a wider audience.

ENCORES presents

Folger Consort
“Es ist ein Ros entsprungen (Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming)”
Performed as part of Christmas with the Folger Consort
Recorded at St. Mark’s on Capitol Hill, December 2020

Performed by:

  • Crossley Hawn, Soprano
  • P. Lucy McVeigh, Alto
  • Paula Maust, Organ
  • Risa Browder, Violin
  • Nina Falk, Viola
  • John Moran, Cello

Also pictured is bassoonist Alice Marsh. Promotional photos by Brittany Diliberto (Bee Two Sweet); filmed by Mark Fastoso (ECHO films)

Read the introduction by soprano Crossley Hawn:

Hello and welcome to Folger Encores. I’m Crossley Hawn, and I’m happy to be able to speak with you today. The Folger has been sharing selections from their plays, music, and readings in this Encores series. Today, we’re sharing some holiday music from the Folger Consort performance recorded in 2020.

Last year, the artists of the Folger Consort came together to celebrate the holiday season in a way befitting the unusual times. Instead of performing live in front of an audience, we gathered a small group of artists at St Mark’s Church on Capitol Hill to rehearse, perform, and record seasonal music in a masked and socially distanced way. The concert came at the end of a long hiatus during the first year of the pandemic. For many of us, it was the first time back performing together in nearly nine months. Pandemic restrictions aside, it was a truly joyful time.

From that concert, we’re sharing one of the better known carols from the early music repertoire “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen.” The melody was first published in 1599 and we performed German composer Michael Praetorius’ harmonization of the melody, dating from 1609. Our instrumental ensemble and alto Lucy McVeigh joined me for two of the verses and I sang one verse solo with Paula Maust playing organ. The beauty of this music speaks for itself, and it is truly timeless.

The melody has been arranged, translated, and recorded countless times, and it’s often performed in English as “Lo How a Rose E’re Blooming”. This has always been one of my very, very favorite Christmas melodies, and I think I can speak for all of us when I say what a special time we had recording this carol and everything else on the holiday program last year. It was a balm for our souls during a truly difficult time for everyone.

I hope you enjoy this rendition of a classic Christmas Carol from the Folger Consort. Please join us again for these biweekly episodes of Encores, highlighting all that the Folger has to offer. Thank you and happy holidays!

Folger ENCORES, red theater seats fading into darknessCheck back each Friday for a new “from the archives” performance, introduced by some of our favorite artists, showcasing the best of Folger Theatre, Folger Consort, O.B. Hardison Poetry, and lectures.

Folger Theatre

Folger Theatre is the vibrant center piece of the Folger’s public programs. With a focus on Shakespeare, Folger Theatre produces plays reflecting the breadth of the library’s peerless collection. In this unique setting, with collaborations between artists and experts, Folger Theatre produces innovative stagings that have been commended as “breathtakingly original...strikingly contemporary” (The Washington Post). Led since 1991 by Artistic Producer Janet Alexander Griffin, Folger Theatre has received 135 nominations and 23 Helen Hayes Awards for excellence in acting, direction, design, and production. During the recent seasons Folger Theatre has received the Outstanding Resident Play Award for its productions of Measure for Measure in 2007, Hamlet in 2011 and The Taming of the Shrew in 2013. Other highlights from Folger Theatre’s producing history include these Helen Hayes Award recipients or nominees for outstanding production: Romeo and Juliet (2013), Orestes: A Tragic Romp (2010), Henry VIII (2010), Arcadia (2009), Macbeth (2008), The Two Gentlemen of Verona (2006), Melissa Arctic (2006), She Stoops to Conquer (2002), Shakespeare’s R & J (2001), Much Ado About Nothing (1998), and Romeo and Juliet (1997). — View all posts by Folger Theatre