Critical Mass: Swarthmore Early Music Ensemble

Critical Mass is a student-led vocal ensemble at Swarthmore College that performs the music of the European Middle Ages and Renaissance. Driven by an interest in the diversity of music spanning 800 years, its past repertoire has included early polyphony, Italian madrigals, Byzantine chant, and the music of the German mystic, Hildegard of Bingen. Critical Mass brings a scholarly and imaginative lens to all its performances, researching historical practice and discovering how old music can still speak to listeners today.