By Ysabelle Kempe, Opinion Editor

Although the concert will be sprinkled with Christmas carols, the majority of the music performed at Northeastern’s Madrigal Singers’ Winter Concert Dec. 9 will be complex choral pieces that the group has been rehearsing all semester.

Traditional madrigals are a form of vocal chamber music that was created in Italy and became popular in the 16th and 17th centuries. Cameron Bates, the president of the group and a fourth-year computer engineering major, said the group is very close-knit. They explained that the style of music the group performs sets them apart from the many other a cappella groups on campus.

“We all get together twice a week to sing, and we all really love music. It’s given me a group of great friends and an outlet for my love for music,” Bates said. “There aren’t any other madrigal choirs on campus. Most of the time, the groups are all accompanied. We are a lot smaller; we are a really intimate group and really friendly with each other.”

Elijah Botkin, a 2015 Northeastern alumnus, founded the NU Madrigal Singers when he was a student studying mathematics. He is now the conducting intern for the Northeastern University Choral Society and director of the Madrigal Singers.

“I started studying with the director of choral societies [at NU] and learned that there used to be a madrigal group. It just kind of went away,” Botkin said. “I did madrigals all through high school, and it’s what got me into music. I got 10 of my friends together over the summer, and in the fall we decided to become an official student group.”

Botkin said the relationships between the group members improves their performances.

“The group itself turned into more of a friend group my senior year, and now we have a cohesive family unit which makes the music that much better,” he said.

With input from other students in the group, Botkin selected the pieces for the winter concert. He said there isn’t a specific theme for the concert, which will feature a medley of different genres. The group will be singing traditional madrigals, a salsa piece, a tango piece and a piece adapted from a song called “The Light We Cast” from the video game “Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture.” Botkin said he tried to curate a medley of both fast and slow songs.

“Two of the songs I picked have no words, just sounds,” Botkin said. “The tango was originally written for classical guitar, but has been adapted for vocals.”

Botkin mentioned that understanding the translations behind the more traditional pieces is an interesting part of understanding madrigals.

“The translations aren’t necessarily politically correct today. The songs are a little raunchy in translation sometimes,” Botkin said. “Some were created as rebellion against the church.”

Bates explained that singing madrigals requires a lot of historical knowledge and context to best perform the pieces. He said his favorite song this semester is “Vecchie Letrose,” which is an upbeat piece from the 16th century composed by Adrian Willaert.

“We looked up the translation for the piece, and it turns out that it’s about old women with their canes beating other people,” he said, laughing. “We totally didn’t realize that that was the meaning of the song.”

With only one more rehearsal left until the show, NU Madrigal Singers are putting the final touches on their performance pieces. Olivia Bogan, an external affairs coordinator for the group and a second-year psychology major, said preparing for the concert has been both rewarding and taxing.

“Rehearsals have been going very well this semester, but they have been tough. We are all constantly striving to become better musicians, and as a result we have chosen music that is not only challenging, but also meaningful,” Bogan said. “I am very excited for our concert, as we have put a lot of effort into our set this semester, and I am confident that we are going to have a great performance.”

The concert will end with an arrangement of “Silent Night,” which Botkin expanded for a fuller choral sound.

“I’ve tended to end all of our concerts lately with not a prayer necessarily, but a prayer for humanity. I think in today’s world there’s a lot of hate, so it tries to pull people together,” Botkin said. “The only way we can make good music is to come together … to be in conspiracy, to breathe together and to sing together.”

The will take place at 7 p.m. in 318 Curry Student Center and is expected to last around an hour.