Sons of Thunder Turn Doom of Apocalypse Into Pure Poetry

In the latest installment of the Chamber Music in Historic Sites series, the elements fell beautifully into place. The musicians: Sons of Thunder, a compelling vocal group connected to the Cologne, Germany-based early music specialists Sequentia. The site: St. Basil’s Church on Wilshire Boulevard, an artful, grandiose house of worship that’s all reinforced concrete and Cubistic stained glass, historic despite its being a mere 3 decades old. The subject: the Apocalypse.

That theme translated into a much broader and more poetic palette than our standard visions of doom might suggest. Transcendence and longing were critical sub-themes, as was the pure, nonsectarian delight of music beautifully sung. Sons of Thunder is a highly detailed unit, boasting a common, collective sonority. It clearly benefits from the cavernous resonance of a large church such as St. Basil’s.

The ensemble takes its name from a popular medieval term for the sibling apostles James and John, and it closed the program with the “Codex Calixtinus,” an important 12th century work tied to the feast of St. James, which includes a seminal three-part example of polyphony, “Congaudeant catholici.”

Also on the program Sunday were lustrous pieces by 12th century mystic Hildegard von Bingen; a 13th century Bavarian treatment of the biblical “Song of Songs,” “Osculetur me osculo oris sui.” Earthier passages were woven into the program as well, with “Ward wola in then thingon,” written in the 9th century by the monk Otfrid von Weissenburg. Here, Sequentia co-founder Benjamin Bagby also played harp.

Among the most refined exemplars of early music currently active, Sons of Thunder produce a sound that both transports listeners and invites them to get lost within a glorious, ancient musical edifice.