Zephyrus Presents: Our Lady of Sorrows

Zephyrus is a non-profit vocal ensemble based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Zephyrus performs music from the medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque eras, and sometimes beyond.

This year's winter program, "Our Lady of Sorrows," focuses on one of the most popular chansons of the fifteenth century, Gilles Binchois's Comme femme desconfortée. Setting a text in the voice of a woman whose lover has been taken by death, the chanson was repurposed in sacred polyphony, transforming its original meaning to refer to Mary's grief over the death of Jesus. A small ensemble sings music by Agricola, Josquin, Isaac, Senfl and others.