Singing has defined Merrick native Ashley Mulcahy’s life. She traces her love for it back to her days at Calhoun High School. “I’ve always loved singing — I was super into theater,” said Mulcahy, who is now pursuing a Master of Music degree at Yale University.
Her current musical passion is centuries old: Lyracle, the two-person ensemble created by Mulcahy, 26, and her boyfriend, James Perretta, 27, aims to revive 16th- and 17th-century music, much of which has been lost to time, the two said. The music is often complex, but the duo’s makeup is simple: Mulcahy provides the voice, while Perretta plays a viola da gamba — a six-string instrument used in the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
“It’s a high art form,” said Shannon Gillespie, who was Mulcahy’s first voice teacher and trained her for seven years in East Meadow. “It requires knowledge of language, poetry, musical theater — it’s classy,” she added.
Last week, Mulcahy and Perretta spoke with the Herald about their niche and why they enjoy it. “It’s a simple reason, but it’s great music. And great music should be heard,” Perretta said. “To a certain extent, we’re spreading joy, but we’re also keeping the music from being forgotten.”
Several of the duo’s pieces date to the Renaissance, from which many compositions have “fallen out of fashion” for modern players, Mulcahy said. “If you go to an early-music concert series, it’s Vivaldi, Bach” and other popular classical composers “over and over — but that’s not all there is,” she said.