The Goliards

An Ancient Music Ensemble

The Goliards present music of the era of Jean Ribault

On Wednesday, May 23 at 7 p.m. the Goliards will present a concert at The Shed (8th and Paris Avenue) in Port Royal, just outside Beaufort, South Carolina. The concert, presented by the Beaufort County Historical Society, is free and open to the public.

Performed on instruments of the period, the concert presents music that would have been familiar to the ears of French Huguenot Jean Ribaut who arrived in 1562 -- 450 years ago this month -- sailing two ships and 150 men into Port Royal, SC. Thus, Beaufort County can lay claim to having the oldest known European settlement in what is now the United States of America.

The concert is part of a week-long celebration of lectures, performances and other activities commemorating this anniversary.

The Goliards, an early music ensemble, features John Hillenbrand and Donna Ruiz on vielle, Anne Durant on harp, Anne Acker on hurdy-gurdy and harpsichord, and vocalists Ashley Adams and Cuffy Sullivan.

The concert provides a snapshot of the age through its music. It includes a variety of German and Swiss pieces, as the Huguenots were French converts to the austere teachings of Calvin, and its music would have come directly from the Genevan Psalter. The concert also includes several English pieces, as Henry VIII had invited the Huguenots to England, and also from the Elizabethan era, as Ribault tried (unsuccessfully) to get Elizabeth I to sponsor his second voyage.

For more information, visit the 450th anniversary site, www.ribaut450.com.

The Goliards are members of the Savannah Traditional & Early Music Network.

For more information, click here to email us or check our calendar for upcoming performance dates.