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Sergei Rachmaninoff All-Night Vigil
Cantata Singers David Hoose, Music Director 2014-2015 Season Sergei Rachmaninoff All-Night Vigil Saturday • January 24, 2015 • 8 p.m. St. Paul Church, Cambridge Saturday • January 31, 2015 • 8 p.m. Houghton Chapel at Wellesley College Presented in collaboration with The Concert Series at Wellesley College Thank you to our generous concert underwriters: Music Director David Hoose Sponsor Charles and Nan Husbands Archival Recordings Sponsor James C. Liu and Alexandra Bowers Post-Concert Receptions Sponsor Robert Henry Pre-Concert Talks Sponsor Mary Beth and Robert Stevens CANTATA SINGERS Artistic Staff Leadership Circle David Hoose, Music Director Allison Voth, Music Director, Chamber Program Amy Lieberman, Assistant Conductor Eliko Akahori, Rehearsal Pianist Luellen Best, Chorus Personnel Manager Joan Ellersick, Orchestra Contractor Robert Amory John and Diana Appleton David Berman Blair and Carol Brown Julian and Marion Bullitt Richard M. Burnes, Jr. Katie and Paul Buttenwieser Dr. Loring and Rev. Louise Conant Nancy and Laury Coolidge Carey Erdman and Carl Kraenzel Jim and Annie Feil Elizabeth D. Hodder Margaret Hornady-David and Donald David Charles and Nan Husbands Kathryn and Edward Kravitz Peter Libby and Beryl Benacerraf Ann Marie Lindquist and Robert Weisskoff Donald J. Lindsay Peter MacDougall David S. MacNeill Peter Owens Sheila Perry Robert Powers Harold I. Pratt Robert O. Preyer Frank Reitter David and Susan Rockefeller, Jr. John R. Scullin Joseph L. Solomon Elizabeth H. Wilson Administrative Staff Jennifer Ritvo Hughes, Executive Director Colette Novak, General Manager Emily Kirk Weddle, Development and Communications Associate Michelle Rush, Education Coordinator Michael Nizzari, Web Development Intern Board of Trustees John C. Ball David J. Cooper Robert Henry James Liu, Chorus President Mary MacDonald, Vice Chair Emily Walsh Martin, Treasurer Marcia Nizzari, Chair Dwight E. Porter Epp K.J. Sonin Mary Beth Stevens Christine Swistro Dana Whiteside Andrea Wivchar, Chorus Vice President Majie Zeller, Secretary Cantata Singers 729 Boylston Street, Suite 405 Boston, MA 02116 617.868.5885 www.cantatasingers.org Cantata Singers & Ensemble David Hoose, Music Director and Conductor Saturday, January 24, 2015, 8 p.m. St. Paul Church, Cambridge Saturday, January 31, 2015, 8 p.m. Houghton Chapel at Wellesley College Presented with The Concert Series at Wellesley College Anna Winestein, pre-concert speaker Program Всенощное бдение All-Night Vigil, op. 37 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) Пріидите, поклонимся – Come, Let Us Worship Благослови, душе моя, Господа – Bless the Lord, O My Soul Блаженъ мужъ – Blessed Be the Man Свѣте тихій – Gladsome Light Нынѣ отпущаеши – Lord, Now Lettest Thou Богородице Дѣво – Rejoice, O Virgin Слава въ вышнихъ – The Six Psalms Хвалите имя Господне – Praise the Name of the Lord Благословенъ еси, Господи – Blessed Art Thou, O Lord Воскресеніе Христово видѣвше – Hymn of the Resurrection Величитъ душа моя Господа – My Soul Magnifies the Lord Великое славословіе – The Great Doxology Тропарь. Днесь спасеніе – The Troparion “Today Salvation” Тропарь. Воскресъ изъ гроба – The Troparion “Thou Didst Rise” Взбранной воеводѣ – To Thee, the Victorious Leader Kim Leeds, alto Stephen Williams, tenor Shelby Condray, bass There will be no intermission. Please join us for a reception following the performances, at St. Paul Church, in DiGiovanni Hall, in the adjoining building, and at Houghton Chapel, in the Multifaith Center, downstairs. Sergei Rachmaninoff, All-Night Vigil An Overview by David Hoose 1. Пріидите, поклонимся (Come, Let Us Worship) The deacon and priest offer an invocation, the chorus answers with a calm “Amin,” and all launch into an energetic call to worship. All of the movement’s four phrases begin identically, but each takes a different path, and the middle two blossom impressively. The music is freely composed, not based on an existing chant. 2. Благослови, душе моя, Господа (Bless the Lord, O My Soul) Following the first movement’s C major half close, the second movement slips down to its closest neighbor, A minor. The music turns intimate, and an alto soloist intones a traditional Greek chant: & œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ™ Bla - go - slo - vi, du - she mo - ya, j œ œ œ œ™ Gho - - - j œ œ œ ˙ - spo - da. [The chant incipits are shown here in the key of C, but Rachmaninoff uses them in widely varying keys.] &˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ œ œ The fluidly accompanying the soloist and offering its own Sve chorus hiy svia -between ti - ya sla vi - te ti moves response. Divisions of the chorus into many independent layers, quasi-orchestral tune-and-accompaniment relationships, and forays into the lowest extremities of the j j j & œjvoices, bass œ some œ œ of œ Rachmaninoff’s œ œ œ œ ˙ creative œ œ œ all˙ reveal œ œ ˙and original treatment of the vocalNiensemble that throughout. hushed close, the ra explore ko -ne ot - pu - shcha - yehe - shiwill - ba Tvo - ge - go, Vla - di By - the- movement’s music has glided back to C major, the Vigil’s overarching tonal center. 3. мужъ (Blessed Be & Блаженъ œ œMan) œ the œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ Though inspired by a Znamenny chant, this music is Rachmaninoff’s own, an imitation Sla va v vish - nih Bo gu of chant that he called his “counterfeit.” The text focuses on portions of Psalms 1 and 2, depicting salvation through repentance. The swinging refrain, “Alliluiya,” is hypnotic enough focus. Three “Alliluiya” phrases, each in a & œ œ toœ take œ hold œ œ as˙the movement’s ˙ œ œ œ œ ˙ lower key than the last, dance gently to the end, the movement settling back into its Hva - li - te i - mia Gho - spo dne. veiled D minor center. 4. & Свѣте œ œ ˙ Light)œ ˙ œ ˙ (Gladsome œ œ тихій Lifting to- avenradiant major, Bla - goup ye -E-flat si, Ghos - slo - po the - di tenors suspend in air like a shaft of light. The women’s entrance adds luminescence, and all float free of any connection to the earth. When the basses enter, near the bottom of their range, the upper voices continue the voices ascend magically to the even & œ œ onœtheir œ œ own œ œ path. ˙ Then, œ œ together, œ brighter key of E major. Again the voices sail on high, but the basses settle everyone Sla va v vish - nih Bo - gu back into E-flat. The movement seems to have come home, but the last phrase unexpectedly turns to C minor, a harmony that relates closely to the movement’s E-flat j j œ large tonal center, C major. center and ˙reaches back & œ toœ the œ œ œ œ Dnes œ œ spa - se - ni - ye mi - ru ˙ bist œ œ œ Bla - go - slo - vi, du - she œ œ œ mo - ya, Gho - - - œ œ œ ˙ - spo - da. The movement is based on a Kievan chant, given by the tenors at the beginning. j & & ˙œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ˙ œ ˙œ œ œœ œ˙ œ ™ ˙ œ œ ˙ œ œ˙™ œjœ œ œ œ ˙ Bla - go - slo ti- vi, Sve - te du- - shehiy mo svia - ya,- ti Gho - ya - sla - - - vi - spo - da. 5. Нынѣ отпущаеши (Lord, Now Lettest Thou) j j of j jthe servant Simeon, from the Book of Luke (set by many composers in The & ˙ story & œ œœ œ ˙œ ˙ ˙ œ ˙ œ œœ ˙œ œ ˙ œ œ˙ œ ˙˙ œœ œœ ˙ Latin:NiNunc dimittis), is at the heart of this very personal movement. Gentle breathing, -ne ot - pu - shcha - ye - shi ra - ba Tvo - ge - go, Vla - di - ko Sve - te swaying ti hiy svia - titenors sla vi - ya surround - a single soothingly altos and tenor who, singing music based a Kievan chant, asks to be released from the bonds of earthly life. & œ œ & œj œj j œj ˙ œSla œ œ- va œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ Boœ - œ guœ œ œ ˙ v vish - nih Ni - ne ot - pu- shcha - ye - shi ra - ba Tvo - ge - go, Vla - di - œ œ ˙ - ko The previous movement’s late, unprepared move to C minor and the distant, cloudy & œ œ this œ œprayer ˙ œ ˙ minor?) make the music seem œ begins ˙ (G-flat œ major? œ œ E-flat keyœin which & œ Hva -œli -separate Gho spo ˙ œte œi - mia œ from remote, that- comes before. However, the key of B-flat minor œ œ- all œ -œ dne. œ eventually assumes the gravitational center, and the basses’ astounding descent to Sla va v vish - nih Bo gu the lowest B-flat in their range calmly folds the movement into the grave. This gentle & œ was œ œ favorite ˙ œof the œ œthe ˙composer’s ˙ Vigil, and it was his wish—not to be music Bla - go - slo - ven ye - si, Ghos - po - di fulfilled—that it be sung at his funeral. j & & œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œ œ ˙œ œ œ˙ œ ™ œœ œœ œœ œœ™ œ˙j œ œ ˙ li -- slo te - vi,i - du mia- she Gho (Rejoice, spo - ya, - O -mo - - dne. 6. Hva Богородице Дѣво Bla -- go GhoVirgin) - spo - da. & tone The brightens considerably with this lullaby setting of the Ave Maria. Complex œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ harmony, and Bo texture vanish; the music is pared to just four voice parts, Sla va v vish - nih -counterpoint - gu & with occasional divisions into wafting thirds. With this music, as gleaming as & œ˙ œœ ˙œ ˙˙ ˙ œ œœ ˙ ˙ ˙ œparallel ˙ ˙˙ œ œ theBlaprevious mysterious, ven ye was - go - slo -movement - si, Ghos - po j- dithe Vespers portion of the All-Night Vigil te ti hiy sla - ti - ya j &Sveœ - œto œ -œ œvi ™ movement j œ œ œ ™ the œ œ svia œ preceding jœAlthough œ œ & œ comes a simple close. œ œ œ ˙ feels like an isolated œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ the- slo Bla - go mo - ya, Ghointo - vi,sixdumovements - she - a serene - spo - da. island, first merge whole. & j j œ j œjœ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œœ œ ˙ œ œ ˙ 7. Слава œ œ (The ˙ Six Psalms) œ œ œ œ œ œвъ вышнихъ Ni ye- -nih shi ra bais Tvo Vla a- diZnamanny -ne -ot - puva - shcha -the -˙ - ge - go,on & The beginning of Matins based a melody that will ˙ Sla v vish Bo gu œ ˙˙ ˙ œ ˙œ œ œ œ œ˙ œ ˙˙ ˙ œ œ œœ œœ œ- koœchant, & œ œ ˙ œ œ in the twelfth and largest movement. ˙ œSve œ teœand reappear develop grandly ti hiy svia ti ya sla vi Dnes Vos spa - se - ni - ye mi - ru - - kres iz gro - ba i bist u - zi ras - ter - zal ye - si a - da & œ œ œ œ œ œ œ j˙ j œ œ œ & œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ & œSla œj œ-j œj vaœj v ˙vish - œnih œBo œ - œ guœœ ˙ œ œ œœ œœ œ˙ œ™œ j & œ œ œ˙ œ ˙ œ œ ˙ œ spaœ- seœ- niœ- yeœmi - ru bistœ œDnes Ni -ne- noy ot - pu - shcha ra -- be ba - Tvo - ko Vzbran vo - ye- -ye vo --shi de po di - ge -- go, Vla tel - -dina -- ya 8. Хвалите имя Господне (Praise the Name of the Lord) The and Seraphim—continue their bell ringing from & œ sopranos œ œ œandœ tenors—Cherubim œ ˙ ˙ œ œ˙ œ œ ˙ & œ œ œ œ œpraises. œ œ œAllœ evaporates, on high, and the altos and basses give and the ˙ ˙ &Hva œ ˙œ œ- œœ -œ their œdne. spirited œ œ Gho œœ -œœli œ- œte˙ œi -œmia œ œ œ- spo men, divided into four parts, paint an older world, “Blessed the Lord from Zion, he Vos gro - -banih i Bou - -zi ras ye si a - da Sla - - kres va viz vish gu - ter - zal who dwells in Jerusalem.” The vigor returns, and even the angels cannot resist joining the The movement is based on a Znamenny chant. & altos’ and basses’ ˙ œexcitement. œ œ ˙ œ œ œ ˙ j & œ œ ye - si,˙ Ghos œ - œpo œ- di - ven &Blaœ œ- goœ - slo œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œœ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ™˙ œ œ œ ˙ œ Vzbran Hva te - li - -noy ye - Gho vo - de ivo- -mia - spopo - be -- di - - dne.tel - na - ya Overview & œ Господи œ œ œArt Thou, O Lord) œ œ œ œ œеси, œ ˙ (Blessed 9. Благословенъ Slaa disquieting va v vish nih Bo gu With shift- from the warmth of A-flat major to the clouds of D minor, the subject of the music turns to the crucifixion. In a call-and-response style typical of Russian psalm singing, the lower voices call repeatedly, “Blessed art Thou, O Lord, & œ me teach œ Thy œ statutes,” œ œ œand˙ the upper ˙ voices œ œ with ˙ more and more complex œ œ answer utterances. An energetic musical idea, one that jdne. will reappearj in Rachmaninoff’s last mia Gho - spo &Hva - li - teœ theœi -Symphonic ™ œ œ œ œ ™ pitch. composition, Dances, drives toœ a feverish like œ œ œ œ movement, œ œ œ œ œ œ œ This ˙ the Bla previous, is based on a Znamenny chant. mo - ya, Gho - go - slo - vi, du - she - spo - da. &œ œ &˙ ˙ œ œ ˙ Bla - go - slo - ven œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ ye - si, Ghos ˙ œ ˙ ˙ - po - di ˙ œ œ ˙ 10.Sve Воскресеніе Христово видѣвше hiy svia sla of the vi - te ti - ti - ya (Hymn - Resurrection) In muscular octaves, men announce the story of the resurrection, and the women & œ œ thoughtfully. œ œ œ This œ œ continues throughout the remainder of answer œ œ orchestral ˙ œdialogue j the piece with the exception of two powerful moments, when all unite in wonder and Bo - gu & Sla j j- j vaœ v ˙vish - nih œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ praise. Ni -ne ot - pu - shcha - ye - shi ra - ba Tvo - ge - go, Vla - di - ko - 11. душа моя Господа (My Soul Magnifies the Lord) j j & Величитъ œ brighter œ œpatiently, œ œ œ with ˙ œ œ ˙ unfolds Theœ Magnificat refrains (“More honorable than the & œ œ œ œ œ Dnes spa - œse -œniin mi - ru œ bist beguiling settings. The rich, slow music - ye˙increasingly Cherubim….”) interspersed œ œ could Russian, music suggests something of the French Slabe nothing va but v vish Bo the gu - nih but - lighter Renaissance. & ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ & Великое 12. Doxology) œ œ- ˙si œ славословіе œiz gro œ - baœ i (The ˙ u -Great œ -œ kres Vos zi ˙ ras - terœ- zal œ ye a ˙ - da TheHvasetting of the Great Doxology- is the- largest of the All-Night Vigil’s fifteen i - mia Gho - spo dne. - li - te movements. Tempos, musical textures, and text settings vary throughout, and the j text—make this resulting structure—createdœ largely by the expansive & œ œ complex ˙ work’s œ œdramatic œ œ high œ œpoint.œ œ œ œ œ œ œ™ œ œ œ ˙ œ movement the & ˙ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ Vzbran - noy vo - ye - vo - de po - be - di Bla - go - slo - ven ye - si, Ghos - po ˙ - di tel - na - ya The opening words and music recall the chant that had initiated the Matins, but now sung more briskly. &œ œ œ Sla œ œ œ œ va v vish - nih - œ œ œ ˙ Bo - gu The music soon abandons the straightforward texture of the seventh movement for more elaborate layers. After a sweeping gesture closes the first section, an abrupt j j beginning & to a rhythmic shift œ œ the œ œ œ ˙ of the second. The character hints at the œ marks œ œ œ ˙ ritual world of Stravinsky’s Les noces, composed eight years later, though the younger Dnes spa - se - ni - ye mi - ru bist composer delighted in the primal, and Rachmaninoff’s heart drew out the ecstatic. This second section, too, ends with a shift in energy, at first solemn and then expanding dramatically. & œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ ˙ Vos - kres œ œ œ œ œ œ iz gro - ba i u - zi œ ras - ter - zal ye - œ œ ˙ si a ˙ - da & œ j œj j œœj ˙œ œœ œ œ˙ œ œ˙ œOverview & œ œ œ œ˙ œ œ œ œ ˙˙ & œ œœ œœ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ Hva i - -mia dne. - li ot- - te -raspo Ni waves pu-ofshcha ye -Gho shi (“più Tvo--ad ge - ogni go,- Vlarepressa”), ko by the altos, drive the -ne - baforte - di -sung Three pleading Sla va v vish - nih Bo gu third large section. After a passing reflection by the whole chorus (“Lord, Thou has been our refuge from generation to generation”), the altos renew their anxious cries. & œ œ comment, œ ˙œ accompany, ˙œ œ œœ and˙ eventually join the altos. The excited & The œ œœœ voices & œœœother œyeœ -˙ si,˙ Ghos œœ - ven œ œœ and œ ˙quickly subsiding. œ œbefore Bla - go po œ - slo returns, - diclimax rhythmic ritual builds to ˙a -thrilling Sla - va v vish - nih Hva - li - te Bo - i - mia Gho - spo gu - - dne. 13. Тропарь. Днесь спасеніе (The Troparion “Today Salvation”) This & movement œ and œ œtheœnextœ˙ are˙ aœ pair, œ œ œboth short hymns or tropes that explain œœœ œœthe & œ & ˙ œ œ œ ˙ œ differently relationship between Jesus’ and our salvation. œ œ ˙ œ˙ œ ˙ œ œ sacrifice-resurrection Sla - go -- slova- ven v vish - nih Bo - gu - po - di Bla ye si, Ghos This of thei two floats dreamily, but- leddne. by an image of victory over death, expands Hvafirst - li - te - mia Gho - spo into a breathtaking climax. The hymn is based on a Znamenny chant. j j & & & œœ œœœ œœœ ˙œ˙ œ œœœ œœœ œ˙˙ œ œ œœ œ œ˙ ˙œ Sla va v vish - nih Bo - gu Dnes Bla - go - slo - ven spa - se - ni - ye mi - ru bist ye - si, Ghos - po - di 14. Воскресъ изъj гроба “Thou Didst Rise”) j œ (TheœTroparion & Тропарь. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œœ very œ œœsounding œ ˙a˙ different œ œ but œœ œœsimilar ˙ ˙ Znamenny œ œ ˙ is œ œ Based upon chant, this movement œ &œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œru bist œ œ Dnes spa se ni ye mi carried by an impressively high-flying tenor line that gives the piece heightened Vos kres iz gro - ba i u - zi ras - ter - zal ye si a - da Sla vaweight. v vish - nih Bo - gu intensity and œ œ œ œj œ œ œ ˙ œ œœœ œ ˙˙ œœ œœ œœ œjœ œœ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ™ œ œ œœ œ˙ ˙ & Vzbran Vos - noy kres a vo œ - -voœbaj - œdei œpou-œ-bezi-˙ diras - ter-- zal tel ye- na - -ya si œiz - yegro œ œ œ- ˙ & & Dnes ˙ - da spa - se - ni - ye mi - ru bist j 15. воеводѣ (To Thee, theœ Victorious Leader) & Взбранной œ œ œ œ œ œ œ™ œ œ œ ˙ ˙ of œtheœprevious œ œ pair œ œof movements œ œ œ each Although began in different keys, they both Vzbran - noy vo - ye - vo - de po - be - di tel - na - ya quickly affirmed C major as their tonal center. Now, with secure, the final & ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œC œmajor ˙ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ ˙ on which œ œ movement, a hymn of thanksgiving, soars with unencumbered joy. The chant gro - ba i“Greek” u - zi ras ye si to the Mother a - daof God is in - kres - ter - zal it isVosbased is a izRussian chant (the reference Greek). &œ œ œ ˙ Vzbran - noy j œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ™ œ œ œ ˙ vo - ye - vo - de po - be - di - tel - na - ya Beginning in quiet exhilaration, the music climbs to a magnificent peak. Then, with a glorious melisma on the final word of “Rejoice, O unwedded Bride,” the All-Night Vigil unfurls, spinning into a satisfyingly quiet close. Sergei Rachmaninoff, All-Night Vigil Program Note by Harlow Robinson Sergei Rachmaninoff composed Vsenoshchnoe bdenie (All-Night Vigil) in two weeks during early 1915, when he was forty-one. The work was given its premiere on March 10th of that year, sung by the Moscow Synodical Choir and conducted by Nikolai Danilin. The Vigil is for unaccompanied chorus, with each of the soprano, alto, tenor, and bass parts dividing as many as three ways, and with solos for alto and tenor. The work lasts about an hour. “We didn’t know whether we were in heaven or on earth.” According to medieval Russian chronicles, this is how a Russian delegation visiting Byzantium in the tenth century described the mystical splendor of the music and pageantry of the Eastern Orthodox liturgy. After hearing the delegation’s report, Kievan Grand Prince Vladimir (ruler from 980-1015) decreed that the young Russian state would adopt Eastern Orthodoxy as its official religion. Almost immediately, church personnel from Greece and Byzantium arrived in Kiev to provide instruction in the writing and performance of music. The singing in the Orthodox liturgy was a form of monodic unison chant, performed without accompaniment and usually by male choirs. Occasionally, for purposes of dramatic contrast, a drone was used, or the choir was divided into two antiphonal groups. Orthodox law forbade the use of any musical instruments during the liturgy, a fact that carried obvious implications for the subsequent development of Russian music. Over time, chant imported from Byzantium and Greece evolved independently. Several external political factors led to this divergence: the conquest of Russia by the Mongols in the thirteenth century, and the fall of Byzantium to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. Both events served to isolate Russia almost completely from the outside world until the late seventeenth century. During this period, Russian Orthodox liturgical music flourished in the country’s many monasteries, reaching a high level of artistry and stylistic individuality. The form of chant that developed in Russia is known as znamenny raspev—znamenny chant, from the Russian word znamya, or “sign,” referring to the primitive symbols used in notation. Initially written down in neumes, able to be deciphered only with great difficulty, Russian unison chant began to adopt to western-style notation in the late eighteenth century. An anthology produced by the Moscow Synodal Typography in 1772 served as a crucial basis for development of western-style harmonizations and adaptations Program Note produced by generations of composers, including Dmitri Bortnyansky, Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky, Alexander Arkhangelsky, Pavel Chesnokov, and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Rachmaninoff’s two large liturgical compositions, the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (1910) and the All-Night Vigil (1915), are the most important twentieth-century contributions to this repertoire. Sergei Rachmaninoff was not a church-going man. When he married Natalia Satina in 1902, Russian Orthodox church officials had to be bribed by his relatives to provide the necessary certification that he regularly worshipped and took confession. Like all Russians, however, he absorbed the atmosphere of Orthodox spirituality and aesthetics from his surroundings, having been taken by his grandmother to visit churches and monasteries in the area near Novgorod. The wild ringing of the church bells that were essential to the Russian Orthodox musical ritual also deeply impressed the young Rachmaninoff. Later, he incorporated bell-like sound effects into his own music, including his The Bells (a setting of the Edgar Allan Poe poem) and the All-Night Vigil. In the twenty sections of his earlier Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Rachmaninoff used only his own musical material, creating melodies that strongly resembled traditional Orthodox chants. In the Vigil, however, he took a more self-consciously historical approach, using ten authentic chant melodies, as well as five of his own invention (calling them “conscious counterfeits”) as the basis for the fifteen numbers. Of the ten authentic melodies, six are old-style znamenny chants (Nos. 7, 8, 9, 12, 13 and 14), and four are of more recent Greek (2, 15) and Kievan (4, 5) origin. The work’s Russian title—Vsenoshchnoe bdenie—means literally “The all-night staying awake,” but the work is known popularly as the All-Night Vigil. Celebrated on Saturday evenings and church holidays, the Vigil service combines two services (the evening Vespers and morning Matins) usually held in monasteries between Saturday evening and Sunday mornings. According to Orthodox music expert Father Philip Steer, “The chants used at Vespers tend to be softer and more lyrical in their tone than those of Matins, reflecting also the gentle candlelight of the evening, in contrast to the growing brightness of the new day’s sunshine.” In Rachmaninoff’s setting, the first six movements form the Vespers and the last nine, the Matins. When performed as part of a service, the movements would be interrupted by prayers, litanies, readings and refrains. Russian Orthodox versions of several Latin hymns can be found in the text: “Nunc dimittis” (No. 5), “Ave Maria” (6), “Magnificat” (11), and “Gloria in excelsis” (12). By the time he composed the Vigil, Rachmaninoff was a popular and highly-paid pianist, a seasoned conductor, and the composer of two symphonies, three piano concertos, scores of piano pieces, more than sixty songs, and three operas. Rachmaninoff’s operatic experience is evident in the Vigil, particularly in the Program Note movements that include soloists. Although Rachmaninoff restrained his lush lateromantic style, in response to the texts and out of respect for religious decorum, the Vigil features plenty of the ripe harmonies and evocative tonal painting familiar from his other works. Traditional Russian orthodox chant possesses a very free rhythmic structure, without conventional bar lines and meter, unfolding in a flowing unbroken line. Eight of the fifteen numbers in the Vigil follow this convention and have no time signatures. Another characteristic feature is the extremely low writing for the basses. At the end of No. 5 (“Lord, Now Lettest Thou”), the basses descend slowly to a B-flat below the staff. Rachmaninoff later recalled that the conductor Danilin asked him, “‘Where on earth are we going to find such basses? They’re as rare as asparagus at Christmas!’ Of course, he did find them. I knew the voices of my countrymen, and I well knew what demands I could make of Russian basses!” With its soaring, heavenly tenor solo line and rocking, lullaby-like accompaniment, this was also Rachmaninoff’s favorite number in the Vigil, and he said he wished that it be sung at his own funeral. However, he died in Los Angeles, and his request proved impossible. The narrative traced by the texts and music of the Vigil builds to a climax in the story of Christ’s Resurrection in Nos. 13 and 14 (“Today Salvation Has Come,” “Thou Didst Rise from the Tomb”). But the most lengthy and substantial pieces are the preceding ones, Nos. 11 and 12, “My Soul Magnifies the Lord” and “The Great Doxology.” Here, Rachmaninoff contrasts episodes of dramatic rejoicing with quiet mystical passages, using the oft-repeated familiar refrain “pomiluy nas” (Have mercy on us) to cathartic emotional effect in No. 12. Throughout the Vigil, Rachmaninoff uses theme-andvariations techniques familiar from Russian folk song, without recourse to any western musical devices such as fugue or canon. The solemn character of the Vigil suited the wartime mood in Russia, as the futile slaughter at the front continued unabated, and the premiere, in March 1915, was given as a benefit for war victims. “The impression produced by this work,” Rachmaninoff’s sister-in-law recalled, “was so great that by public demand it was done four times in the course of the same spring.” Little more than two years later, the Bolshevik Revolution brought to power a Communist regime that would ban Orthodox music and force Rachmaninoff into permanent exile. For years, the Vigil remained little-known and infrequently performed, a situation that changed only with the collapse of Communism in Russia in 1991. Harlow Robinson is an author, lecturer and Matthews Distinguished University Professor of History at Northeastern University. His books include Sergei Prokofiev: A Biography and Russians in Hollywood, Hollywood’s Russians. His essays, articles and reviews have appeared in The New York Times, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, and other publications. Texts & Translations Sergei Rachmaninoff : Всенощное бдение (All-Night Vigil) Vosstanite. Ghospodi, blagoslovi. Deacon: Arise! Master, bless! Slava sviatey, yedinosushchney, zhivotvoriashchey, i nerazdelney Troytse, fsegda, nine I prison, e vo veki vekov. Priest: Glory to the holy, consubstantial, life-creating, and undivided Trinity, now and ever, unto ages of ages. 1. Пріидите, поклонимся – Come, Let Us Worship Amin’. Priiditye, poklonimsya Tsarevi nashemu Bogu. Priiditye, poklonimsya i pripadyem Khristu Tsarevi nashemu Bogu. Priiditye, poklonimsya i pripadyem samomu Khristu Tsarevi i Bogu nashemu. Priiditye, poklonimsya i pripadyem Yemu. Amen. Come, let us worship God, our King. Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King and our God. Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ Himself, our King and our God. Come, let us worship and fall down before Him. 2. Благослови, душе моя, Господа (Bless the Lord, O My Soul) Blagoslovi, dushe moya, Gospoda. Blagosloven yesi, Gospodi. Gospodi Bozhe moy, vozvelichilsya yesi zelo. Blagosloven yesi, Gospodi. Vo ispovedaniye i v velelepotu obleklsya yesi. Blagosloven yesi, Gospodi. Na gorakh stanut vody. Divna dela Tvoya, Gospodi. Posrede gor proydut vodi. Divna dela Tvoya, Gospodi. Vsya premudrostiyu sotvoril yesi. Slava ti, Gospodi, sotvorivshemu vsya. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Blessed art Thou, O Lord. My Lord, Thou art very great. Blessed art Thou, O Lord. Thou art clothed with honor and majesty. Blessed art Thou, O Lord. The waters stand upon the mountains. Marvelous are Thy works, O Lord. The waters flow between the hills. Marvelous are Thy works, O Lord. In wisdom hast Thou made all things. Glory to Thee, O Lord, who hast created all! Texts & Translations 3. Блаженъ мужъ (Blessed Be the Man) Blazhen muzh, izhe ne ide na sovet nechestivykh. Alliluyia, alliluyia, alliluyia. Yako vest’ Gospod’ put’ pravednykh, i put’ nechestivykh pogibnet. Alliluyia... Rabotayte Gospodevi so strakhom, i raduytesya Yemu strepetom. Alliluyia... Blazheni vsi nadeyushchiisya nan’. Alliluyia... Voskresni Gospodi, spasi mya, Bozhe moy. Alliluyia... Gospodne yest spaseniye, i na lyudekh Tvoikh blagosloveniye Tvoye. Alliluyia... Slava Otsu, i Synu, i Svyatomu Dukhu, i nyne i prisno i vo veki vekov, amin’. Alliluyia, alliluyia, alliluyia, slava Tebe, Bozhe. Blessed be the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Alleluia... Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice in Him with trembling. Alleluia... Blessed are all who take refuge in him. Alleluia... Arise, O Lord. Save me, O my God. Alleluia... Salvation is of the Lord; and Thy blessing is upon Thy people. Alleluia... Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God! (repeated 2 more times) 4. Свѣте тихій (Gladsome Light) Svete tikhi svyatyya slavy bessmertnago, Otsa nebesnago, svyatago blazhennago, Iisuse Khriste! Prishedshe na zapad sontsa, videvshe svet vecherni, Poyem otsa, Syna, i svyatago Dukha, Boga, Dostoin yesi vo vsya vremena pet byti glasy prepodobnymi, Syne Bozhi, zhivot dayay: Temzhe mir Tya slavit. Gladsome light of the holy glory of the Immortal One, the Heavenly Father, holy and blessed, O Jesus Christ! Now that we have come to the setting of the sun, and behold the light of evening, we praise the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God. Thou art worthy at every moment to be praised in hymns by reverent voices. O Son of God, Thou art the Giver of Life; therefore all the world glorifies Thee. Texts & Translations 5. Нынѣ отпущаеши (Lord, Now Lettest Thou) Nyne otpushchayeshi raba Tvoyego Vladyko, po glagolu Tvoyemu s mirom; Yako videsta ochi moi spaseniye Tvoye, yezhe yesi ugotoval pred litsem vsekh lyudey, Svet vo otkroveniye yazykov, I slavu lyudey Tvoikh Izrailya. Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people; To be a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel. 6. Богородице Дѣво (Rejoice, O Virgin) Bogoroditse Devo, raduysya, blagodatnaya Mariye, Gospod’s toboyu. Blagoslovenna Ty v zhenakh, i blagosloven plod chreva Tvoyego, Yako Spasa rodila yesi dush nashikh. Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos, Mary full of grace, the Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, For Thou hast born the Savior of our souls. 7. Слава въ вышнихъ (The Six Psalms) Slava v vyshnikh Bogu, i na zemli mir, v chelovetsekh blagovoleniye. Gospodi, ustne moi otverzeshi, i usta moya vozvestyat khvalu Tvoyu. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men. (repeated 3 times) O Lord, open Thou my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim Thy praise. 8. Хвалите имя Господне (Praise the Name of the Lord) Khvalite imya, Gospodne. Alliluyia. Khvalite, rabi, Gospoda. Alliluyia, alliluyia. Blagosloven Gospod’ ot Siona, zhivy vo Ierusalime. Alliluyia. Ispovedaytesya Gospodevi yako blag; Alliluia. yako v vek milost’ Yego, Alliluyia. Ispovedaytesya Bogu nebesnomu, Alliluyia, alliluyia. yako v vek milost’ Yego. Alliluyia. Praise the name of the Lord. Alleluia! Praise the Lord, O you His servants. Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed be the Lord from Zion, He who dwells in Jerusalem. Alleluia! O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good. Alleluia. For His mercy endures forever. Alleluia! O give thanks unto the God of heaven, Alleluia, alleluia. For his mercy endures forever. Alleluia! Texts & Translations 9. Благословенъ еси, Господи (Blessed Art Thou, O Lord) Blagosloven yesi, Gospodi, nauchi mya opravdaniyem Tvoim. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, teach me Thy statutes. Angel’ ski sobor udivisya, zrya Tebe v mertvykh vmenivshasya; smertnuyu zhe, Spase, krepost’ razorivsha, i s Soboyu Adama vozdvigsha, i ot ada vsya svobozhdsha. The angelic host was filled with awe, when it saw Thee among the dead. By destroying the power of death, O Savoir, Thou didst raise Adam, and save all men from hell! Blagosloven yesi, Gospodi, nauchi mya opravdaniyem Tvoim Blessed art Thou, O Lord, teach me Thy statutes. “Pochto mira s milostivnymi slezami, “o uchenitsy, rastvoryayete?” blistayasya vo grobe Angel mironositsam veshchashe: “Vidite vy grob, i urazumeyte, “Spas bo voskrese ot groba.” “Why do you mingle myrrh with your tears of compassion, O ye women disciples?” cried the radiant angel in the tomb to the myrrhbearers. “Behold the tomb and understand: the Savior is risen from the dead!” Blagosloven yesi, Gospodi, nauchi mya opravdaniyem Tvoim. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, teach me Thy statutes. Zelo rano mironositsy techakhu ko grobu Tvoyemu rydayushchyya, Very early in the morning the myrrhbearers ran with sorrow to Thy tomb, but an Angel came to them and said: “The time for sorrow has come to an end! Do not weep, but announce the resurrection to the apostles!” no predsta k nim Angel i reche: “Rydaniya vremya presta, “ne plachite, voskreseniye zhe Apostolom rtsyte.” Blagosloven yesi, Gospodi, nauchi mya opravdaniyem Tvoim. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, teach me Thy statutes. Mironositsy zheny , s miry prishedshiya ko grobu Tvoyemu, Spase, rydakhu, Angel zhe k nim reche, glagolya: “Shto s mertvymi zhivago pomyshlyayete? “Yako Bog bo voskrese ot groba.” The myrrhbearers were sorrowful as they neared Thy tomb, but the Angel said to them: “Why do you number the living among the dead? Since He is God, He is risen from the tomb!” Texts & Translations Slava Otsu, i Synu, i Svyatomu Dukhu. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Poklonimsya Otsu, i Yego Synove, i Svyatomy Dukhu, Svyatey Troitse vo yedinom sushchestve, s serafimi zovushche: Svyat, syvat, syvat, yesi Gospodi. We worship the Father, and His Son, and the Holy Spirit: the Holy Trinity, one in essence! We cry with the Seraphim: “Holy, Holy, Holy, art Thou, O Lord!” I nyne, i priso, i vo veki vekov, Amin’. Both now and ever, and unto ages of men. Amen. Zhiznodavtsa rozhdshi, greka, Devo, Since Thou didst give birth to the GIver of Life, O Virgin, Thou didst deliver Adam from his sin! Thou gavest joy to Eve instead of sadness! The God-man who was born of Thee has restored to life those who had fallen from it! Adama, izbavila yesi, Radost’ zhe Yeve v pechali mesto podala yesi: Padshiya zhe ot zhizni, k sei napravi, iz Tebe voplotivyisya Bog i chelovek. Alliluyia! Slava Tebe, Bozhe. Allelulia, alleluia, alleluia! Glory to Thee, O God! (repeated 3 times) 10. Воскресеніе Христово видѣвше (Hymn of the Resurrection) Voskreseniye Khristovo videvshe, Poklonimsya Svyatomu Gospodu Iisusu, Yedinomu bezgreshnomu. Krestu Tvoyemu poklanyayemsya Khriste, i svyatoye voskreseniye Tvoye poyem i slavim. Ty bo yesi Bog nash, razve Tebe inogo ne znayem, Imya Tvoye imenuyem. Priidite, vsi vernii, poklonimsya Svyatomu Khristovu voskreseniyu: Se bo priide Krestom radost’ vsemu miru. Vsegda blagoslovyashche Gospoda, Poyem voskreseniye Yego: raspyatie bo preterpev, smertiyu smert’ razrushi. Having seen the resurrection of Christ, let us worship the holy Lord Jesus, the only Sinless One. We venerate Thy Cross, O Christ, and we hymn and glorify Thy holy resurrection, for Thou art our God, and we know no other than Thee; we call on Thy name. O come hither, all ye faithful, let us magnify Christ’s holy resurrection: For behold, through the Tree joy hath come to all the world; wherefore we bless the Lord evermore and we sing his resurrection with joy who suffered the shame of the cross, conquering death by his death. Texts & Translations 11. Величитъ душа моя Господа (My Soul Magnifies the Lord) Velichit dusha moya Gospoda, My soul doth magnify the Lord i vozradovasya dukh moy o Boze Spase and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my moyem. Saviour. Chestneyshuyu kheruvim i slavneyshuyu bez sravneniya serafim, bez istleniya Boga Slova rozhdshuyu, sushchuyu Bogoroditsu Tya velichayem. Yako prizre na smireniye raby Svoyeya, se bo ot nyne ublazhat mya vsi rodi. Yako sotvori mne velichiye Sil’ny, i svyato imya Yego; I milost’ Yego v rody rodov boyashchymsya Yego... Nizlozhi sil’nyya so prestol, i vosnese smirennyya; Alchushchiya ispolni blag, i bogatyashchiyasya otpusti tshchi. Vospriyat Izrailya otroka svoyego, pomyanuti milosti, Yakozhe glagola ko otsem nashim, Avraamu i semeni yego, dazhe do veka. (Refrain): More honorable than the Cherubim, and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim; without defilement Thou gavest birth to God the Word, true Theotokos, we magnify thee. For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. (Refrain) For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name, and His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation... (Refrain) He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and has exalted those of low degree; He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent empty away. (Refrain) He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to posterity forever. (Refrain) 12. Великое славословіе (The Great Doxology) Slava v vyshnikh Bogu, i na zemli mir, v chelovetsekh blagovoleniye. Khvalim Tya, blagoslovim Tya, klanyayemtisya, slavoslovim Tya, blagodarim Tya velikiya radi slavy Tvoyeya. Gospodi Tsaryu nebesny, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, Good will toward men. We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we worship Thee, we glorify Thee, we give thanks to Thee for Thy great glory. O Lord, Heavenly King, God the Father Texts & Translations Bozhe Otche, Vsederzhitelyu, Gospodi Syne Yedinorodny, Iisuse Khriste, i Svyaty Dushe. Gospodi Bozhe, Agnche Bozhi, Syne Otech’, vzemlyai grekh mira, pomiluy nas; vzemlyai grekhi mira, priimi molitvu nashu. Sedyai odesnuyu Otsa, pomiluy nas. Yako Ty yesi, yedin svyat, Ty yesi yedin Gospod’, Iisus Khristos v slavu Boga Otsa. Amin’. Na vsyak den’ blagoslovlyu Tya, i voskhvalyu imya Tya, vo veki i v vek veka. Spodobi, Gospodi, v den’ sey bez grekha sokhranitisya nam. Blagosloven yesi, Gospodi, Bozhe, Otets nashikh, i khval’no i proslavleno imya Tvoye vo veki, amin’. Budi, Gospodi, milost’ Tvoya na nas, Yakozhe upovakhom na Tya. Blagosloven yesi, Gospodi, nauchi mya opravdaniyem Tvoim. Gospodi, pribezhishche byl yesi nam v rod i v rod. Az rekh: Gospodi, pomiluy mya, istseli dushu moyu, yako sogreshikh Tebe. Nauchi mya tvoriti volyu Tvoyu, yako Ty yesi Bog moy, yako u Tebe istochnik zhivota, vo svete Tvoyem uzrim svet: Probavi milost’ Tvoyu vedushchim Tya. Svyaty Bozhe, svyaty krepki, svyaty bessmertny, pomiluy nas. Slava Otsu i Synu i Svyatomu Dukhu, almighty. O Lord, the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, who takest away the sin of the world, have mercy on us. Thou who takest away the sin of the world, receive our prayer, Thou who sittest at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For Thou alone art holy, Thou alone art the Lord, Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father. Amen. Every day I will bless Thee and praise Thy name forever and ever. Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, God of our fathers, and praised and glorified is Thy name forever. Amen. Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, as we have set our hope on Thee. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, teach me Thy statutes. (repeated 2 times) Lord, Thou has been our refuge from generation to generation. I said: Lord, have mercy on me, heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee. Teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art my God; for with Thee is the fountain of life, and in Thy light we shall see light. Continue Thy mercy on those who know Thee. Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (repeated 3 times) Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, Texts & Translations i nyne i prisno, i vo veki vekov, amin’. Svyaty bessmertny, pomiluy nas; Svyaty Bozhe, svyaty krepki, svyaty bessmertny pomiluy nas. both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. 13. Тропарь. Днесь спасеніе (The Troparion “Today Salvation”) Dnes’ spaseniye miru byst’, poyem voskresshemu iz groba, i nachal’niku zhizni nasheya; razrushiv bo smertiyu smert’, pobedu dade nam i veliyu milost’. Today salvation has come to the world. Let us sing to Him who rose from the dead, the Author of our life. Having destroyed death by death, He has given us the victory and great mercy. 14. Тропарь. Воскресъ изъ гроба (The Troparion “Thou Didst Rise”) Voskres iz groba, i uzy rasterzal yesi ada: razrushil yesi osuzhdeniye smerti, Gospodi, vsya ot setey vraga izbavivy. Yavivy zhe sebe apostolom Tvoim, poslal yesi na propoved’, i temi mir Tvoy podal yesi vselenney, Yedine mnogo milostive. Thou didst rise from the tomb and burst the bonds of Hades! Thou didst destroy the condemnation of death, O Lord, releasing all mankind from the snares of the enemy! Thou didst show Thyself to Thine apostles, and didst send them forth to proclaim Thee; and through them Thou hast granted Thy peace to the world, O Thou who art plenteous in mercy! 15. Взбранной воеводѣ (To Thee, the Victorious Leader) Vzbrannoy voyevode pobeditel’naya, yako izbavl’shesya ot zlykh, blagodarstvennaya vospisuyem Ti rabi Tvoi, bogoroditse! No yako imushchaya derzhavu nepobedimuyu, ot vsyakikh nas bed svobodi, da zovyom Ti: raduysya nevesto nenevestnaya! To Thee, the victorious Leader of triumphant hosts, we Thy servants, delivered from evil, offer hymns of thanksgiving, O Theotokos! Since Thou dost possess invincible might, set us free from all calamities, so that we may cry out to Thee: “Rejoice, O unwedded Bride!” Translation from The Monuments of Russian Sacred Music, Series IX, Volume 2 Cantata Singers & Ensemble Chorus Soprano Tenor Luellen Best Kathryn Carlson Bonnie Gleason Angelynne Hinson Kathy Howard Nancy Kurtz Lisa Lynch Hannah McMeans Juana Monsalve Susan K. Navien * Kynesha Patterson Karyl Ryczek Felicity Salmon Mary Beth Stevens Christine Swistro Alexandra Whitfield Timothy Bakland * Brian Bennett Thomas Best Ethan DePuy Carey Erdman Edward Hinson Charles Husbands Daniel Mahoney Michael Merullo Peter A. Owens Eric Christopher Perry Daniel Rosensweig Jason Sabol Stephen Williams Alto Bass Elaine Bresnick * Paula Dickerman Sheryl Elkin Carola Emrich-Fisher Elise Krob Kim Leeds Amy Lieberman Claire Shepro Diane Sokal Lynn Torgove Jennifer Webb Andrea Wivchar Sara Wyse-Wenger Majie Zeller Christopher Berns * Brian Church Mark Andrew Cleveland Benjamin Cole Shelby Condray Eugene Gover John Graef Robert Henry James Liu Alan McLellan Will Prapestis Stefán Sigurjónsson Charles Turner Ron Williams * Section Leaders Soloists Kim Leeds, mezzo-soprano, is a recent graduate of the Boston Conservatory with her Master of Music in Vocal Pedagogy and Performance. Ms. Leeds has appeared as a soloist in numerous concert performances, most recently Bach’s Weihnachtsoratorium with Harvard Pro Musica, Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony with the Newton Choral Society, and Bach’s Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied as well as Du sollt Gott, deinen Herren, lieben with Music at Marsh Chapel. Some of her most recent operatic roles include playing the Owl in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen at the Boston Conservatory, the title role in Gabriella Snyder’s The Rough Faced Girl, with Snyder Productions, and The Wife in the world premiere of Ronnie Reshef’s Reqiuem for the Living at Mannes the New School for Music. In 2006 and 2008 Kim Leeds attended the International Vocal Arts Institute in Puerto Rico where she sang in master classes with Joan Dornemann, Paul Nadler, and Diana Soviero. In addition to multiple contemporary performances, Ms. Leeds enjoys early music. In 2010 she performed as Daphne in Musica Nuova’s Sibling Rivalry and attended the Amherst Early Music Festival with the ensemble as artist-in-residence. She was also a core member of Cappella Clausura from 2009-2012 and performed as Misericordia/Amor Celestis on their highly lauded performance of Hildegard von Bingen’s Ordo Virtutum. Ms. Leeds is currently an alto choral scholar at Boston University’s Music at Marsh Chapel. Her upcoming performances include singing and touring with the 2015 Junges Stuttgart Bach Ensemble in Germany and Italy and performing the role of Irene in Handel’s Theodora with Music at Marsh Chapel. Stephen Williams, tenor, is an honors graduate of New England Conservatory where he studied voice and opera with William Cotten and Kayo Iwama. He has appeared as a soloist with the NEC Chorus and Chamber Singers, the Holy Cross Chamber Orchestra in scenes from Mozart’s Clemenza di Tito and Coronation Mass, and the Boston-based vocal octet Vox Consort, presenting performances of Bach’s Mass in B minor and Magnificat. In his seven seasons with Cantata Singers, he has appeared as soloist in the Boston premiere of Zelenka’s Missa votiva, Beethoven’s Mass in C, Schütz’s Musikalische exequien, Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 and Laetatus sum, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and in several chamber series concerts. Mr. Williams is a teacher and chorus director at Austin Preparatory School in Reading, and he serves as the choir director at St. Joseph Parish in Holbrook. Shelby Condray, bass, has performed in recent solo engagments including Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Mozart’s Requiem, an evening of jazz standards, and a Woodstock rock concert. Previous engagements include a jazz recital in Mongolia, Don Alfonso in Barbados, an American Songbook performance in Cuba, African American spiritual performances in Moscow, and Colline in Belle Île en mer, France. Mr. Condray is most proud of his volunteer work with children in South Boston and the gospel performances he gave while rebuilding houses in Biloxi, MS following hurricane Katrina. He spends his days teaching scientists how to communicate complex concepts by creating clear and concise content for litigation presentation and journal publication. Pre-Concert Speaker Anna Winestein is an historian of art and theater, independent curator, and cultural entrepreneur. She is Executive Director of the Ballets Russes Arts Initiative, a non-profit organization in Boston that follows in the tradition of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes by promoting international creative exchange in the fine and performing arts, especially between the US and the postSoviet region. She also consults collectors, dealers and museums and previously served as Creative Director for the Hermitage Museum Foundation. Her scholarly research interests include Russian art 1850 to today, European modernism, twentieth century dance and theater history, cultural exchange between Russia and Europe in late imperial times, and the Russian emigration. Co-editor and co-author of The Ballets Russes and the Art of Design (2009), as well as Loyalties and Solidarities in Russian Society, History and Culture (2013), Ms. Winestein has had articles published in peer-reviewed journals and publication series and is the translator of Alexander Tcherepnin: Saga of an Emigre Composer (2007). She has curated several exhibitions, including Danser Vers La Gloire: L’Age d’Or des Ballets Russes for Sotheby’s Galerie Charpentier in Paris, and The Magical Reality of Alexandre Benois at the Boston Public Library, for both of which she wrote the catalogues. She has also authored or contributed essays to numerous exhibition catalogues (most recent essays in: Dance and Fashion, Yale University Press & MFIT 2014; Revolutions in Russian Painting, Bonnefanten Museum Maastricht 2013). As a cultural entrepreneur she works with the visual arts, dance, music and film. She has been a Cultural Envoy for the US State Department and is a former Fulbright Scholar. Ms. Winestein is in the final stages of a doctorate in Modern History at Oxford University; her dissertation examines social and professional networks among Russian artists in Paris 1870-1917. She holds a masters degree in Economics and separate undergraduate degrees in painting and art history. ABOUT US Through vital performances of works old and new, familiar and unfamiliar, Cantata Singers engages and shares with the community the power of music to enrich the human spirit. A singular desire to bring to Boston’s listeners music that isn’t being heard anywhere else has inspired Cantata Singers’ programming for fifty-one years. In 1964, that music included the cantatas of J.S. Bach. Today, it may be hard for us to believe, but when Cantata Singers was founded in 1964, live performances of Bach cantatas were quite a rarity. In fact, Cantata Singers’ early concerts featured first Boston performances of many of the cantatas. Bach’s music, from the cantatas to the B-minor Mass to the Passions, remains an essential part of Cantata Singers’ repertoire. However, the ensemble’s repertoire has expanded to include music from the 17th century to today. Cantata Singers has commissioned fourteen works for choir and orchestra—including one that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music—and has presented more than fifty Boston premieres of music both old and new. Many of Boston’s most talented musicians perform regularly with Cantata Singers. The chorus is made up of singers who have careers as musicians, educators, doctors, and architects. Many of these members appear as soloists with Cantata Singers, as well as with other highly respected organizations; some conduct other choruses and orchestras in the area. Although many of our musicians perform actively as solo singers, they choose to sing with Cantata Singers because of the reward they find in performing music of the choral canon at the highest possible level. Cantata Singers has always focused on the music—be it Bach, Verdi, Harbison, or Pärt—and its audiences do, too. Our audiences return year after year to hear fresh visions of iconic music, or an intriguing unfamiliar work that is—in fact—quite approachable. Each Cantata Singers concert is often surprising, sometimes challenging, always beautiful, and ultimately inspiring. Commissioned Works Elena Ruehr, Eve, 2014 John Harbison, The Supper at Emmaus, (co-commissioned with Emmanuel Music), 2014 Yehudi Wyner, Give Thanks for All Things, 2010 Andy Vores, Natural Selection, 2009 Lior Navok, Slavery Documents 3: And The Trains Kept Coming..., 2008 Stephen Hartke, Precepts, (co-commissioned with Winsor Music), 2007 John Harbison, But Mary Stood: Sacred Symphonies for Chorus and Instruments, 2006 James Primosch, Matins, (co-commissioned with Winsor Music), 2003 T.J. Anderson, Slavery Documents 2, 2002 Andy Vores, World Wheel, 2000 Andrew Imbrie, Adam, 1994 Donald Sur, Slavery Documents, 1990 Peter Child, Estrella, 1988 John Harbison, The Flight Into Egypt, (winner of 1987 Pulitzer Prize in Music), 1986 HISTORY In 1964, a group of friends, colleagues and classmates came together with a common goal—to explore and perform music they were not hearing anywhere else, the cantatas of J.S. Bach. Only a few of the cantatas had been recorded, and even those few seldom appeared in live performances. That early commitment to the exploration of unfamiliar music has guided Cantata Singers for the past 51 years, and the same desire to explore and share unique and powerful musical experiences remains the core of Cantata Singers’ mission today. By the early 1970s, Cantata Singers, under the baton of John Harbison, took its place as an innovative leader, and the repertoire broadened to include both earlier and much later music. Never straying from the goal of giving Boston’s audiences fresh musical experiences, the chorus and ensemble soon took to exploring the complex ways old and new music can interact onstage. Cantata Singers also began to record commercial albums, preserving and sharing expertly performed music of all times, from Bach cantatas to new works by Mr. Harbison himself. In 1982, Cantata Singers began an era of growth and exploration. With music director David Hoose, Cantata Singers began to redefine the choral-orchestral canon, presenting treasured icons alongside both new music and historic gems that might otherwise be lost to obscurity. He has led the organization in the commissioning and premiering fourteen significant choral-orchestral works, the first of which, The Flight Into Egypt, won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize in Music, and the most recent of which will receive its world premiere on the first concert of our 2014-15 season. In 1990, Cantata Singers commissioned Donald Sur to compose his Slavery Documents, the first of three large choral-orchestral works based on texts that focus on the scourge of slavery. Donald Sur’s, T.J. Anderson’s and Lior Navok’s subject matter and music continue to resonate with the group, just as the words and music of Bach have since 1964. With Hoose, the group has recorded works of Bach, Schütz, Schein, Schoenberg and Stravinsky, as well as music of the American composers Irving Fine, Seymour Shifrin, Peter Child, Charles Fussell, and John Harbison. Twenty years ago, Cantata Singers launched Classroom Cantatas, an education initiative in Boston’s underserved schools that marries music-making and the academic core curriculum to help children find their creative voice. Teaching Artists— performers from Cantata Singers’ acclaimed ensemble—work directly with elementary-school students, guiding them to compose and perform original songs about subjects they are studying in class. Since its inception, Classroom Cantatas has helped develop the creative potential of thousands of young people in Boston. The organization’s commitment and dedication to challenging programming, including the commissioning of new works, was acknowledged in 1995, when the group was awarded the ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music. Cantata Singers audiences have come to believe in the organization for its values: the strength of its original artistic offerings and for its highest standards of performance. DAVID HOOSE, MUSIC DIRECTOR This season marks David Hoose’s thirty-second year as Music Director. At the time he became the ensemble’s sixth Music Director, he had already appeared as its guest conductor three times and, before that, had performed as horn player with the ensemble and its three previous music directors. Under his musical leadership, Cantata Singers has renewed its commitment to the music of J.S. Bach and, at the same time, has broadened its repertoire to embrace music from the 17th to the 21st century. He has led the ensemble in many Boston and world premieres, both of older, unknown music and of new music. These include fourteen choral-orchestral works that Cantata Singers has commissioned. With Cantata Singers, Mr. Hoose was a recipient of the ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming and, because of his work with this and other ensembles, was given both the Choral Arts New England’s 2008 Alfred Nash Patterson Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2005 Alice M. Ditson Conductors Award for the Advancement of American Music. He was a recipient of the Dmitri Mitropoulos Award at the Berkshire (Tanglewood) Music Center and, as a founding member of the Emmanuel Wind Quintet, was co-recipient of the Walter W. Naumburg Chamber Music Award. His recording with Collage New Music of John Harbison’s Motetti di Montale, was a Grammy Nominee for Best Recording with Small Ensemble. His recordings appear on the New World, Koch, Nonesuch, Delos, Composers’ Recordings (CRI), GunMar, and Neuma labels. Mr. Hoose is Music Director of Collage New Music, a position he has held since 1991, and he served as Music Director of the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra for eleven seasons. Mr. Hoose is also Professor of Music and Director of Orchestral Activities at the Boston University School of Music. He has conducted the orchestras of the Manhattan School, Shepherd School at Rice University, University of Southern California, and the Eastman School, and has been guest conductor several times at New England Conservatory. From 2006 to 2010, he served on the faculty of the Rose City International Conducting Workshop, in Portland, Oregon. Mr. Hoose has appeared as guest conductor of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Philharmonic, Saint Louis Symphony, Utah Symphony, Korean Broadcasting Symphony (KBS), Orchestra Regionale Toscana (Italy), Quad Cities Symphony Orchestra, Ann Arbor Symphony, Opera Festival of New Jersey, and at the Monadnock, Warebrook [Vermont], New Hampshire, and Tanglewood music festivals. In Boston he has appeared as guest conductor with the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, Handel & Haydn Society, Back Bay Chorale, Chorus pro Musica, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, and Emmanuel Music. He has also conducted the new music ensembles Dinosaur Annex, Alea III, Auros, and Fromm Chamber Players. Mr. Hoose studied composition at the Oberlin Conservatory with Walter Aschaffenburg and Richard Hoffmann, and at Brandeis University with Arthur Berger and Harold Shapero. He studied horn with Barry Tuckwell, Robert Fries (Philadelphia Orchestra), Joseph Singer (New York Philharmonic), and Richard Mackey (Boston Symphony Orchestra), and he studied conducting with Gustav Meier at the Berkshire (Tanglewood) Music Center. CLASSROOM CANTATAS In 1992, Cantata Singers had commissioned and was preparing to perform Donald Sur’s Slavery Documents. The oratorio’s focus was American slavery, what Mr. Sur called the “unadressed Achilles heel of United States culture.” Presenting this performance required unusual effort, since Mr. Sur asked that the work include a chorus more than twice Cantata Singers’ normal size, as well as one that was racially diverse. In the midst of the organization’s planning, talking with community leaders, and recruiting guest choristers, Executive Director Ann Marie Lindquist and others began to see that, in order for this work to resonate lastingly, the organization must find ways to reach beyond that Symphony Hall performance. Sur’s impassioned musical look at racial inequality and discrimination only reminded the organization’s leaders of the crying need for meaningful arts education in the schools, particularly disadvantaged ones. Out of this time, Classroom Cantatas emerged. Ms. Lindquist asked composer Paul Brust, and chorus member and educator Judy Hill Bose to design and develop a residency program far more challenging to produce than the typical “come, talk, sing, leave.” It was one that had the potential to guide Boston’s schoolchildren in finding and harnessing their creative voices. Classroom Cantatas now flourishes in the Boston public schools and, over its twenty-two years, has touched the lives of thousands of children. Classroom Cantatas guides young students in creating their own musical compositions, “cantatas,” even though most of their schools offer no other music programs and most of the students have no formal musical training. In residencies that range from four-week, after-school workshops to 18-session, semester-long classes, students from participating schools work with the Teaching Artists—musicians from Cantata Singers—to compose and perform original songs about subjects they are studying in class or about larger cultural and historical issues. Past cantata topics have included the American Revolution, Factors of Weather, Mexican Culture, immigration, the Civil Rights Movements, Mathematics, poetic devices, and the antebellum religious treatment of African Americans. With the Teaching Artists, the students of participating schools explore ways that music can powerfully communicate words, images and ideas. Together, they choose or even create texts for their compositions. In small groups, they compose their songs, the resident artists translating the students’ ideas into standard music notation. The songs are then assembled into larger cantatas, and each group begins to prepare for performances of their compositions. The program culminates in a performance with all the participating schools presenting their work to an enthusiastic audience of teachers, families and friends. Students graduate from Classroom Cantatas with bound copies and audio recordings of their compositions. More importantly, they graduate with newly developed tools for creative and artistic expression. Over the past twenty-two years of Classroom Cantatas, students have composed and performed over 300 songs. This music is proof that every child—regardless of background or circumstance—possesses artistic potential, he or she simply needs the tools to express their creative voice. Cantata Singers Contributors Cantata Singers is delighted to recognize the following donors for their generosity between July 1, 2014 and January 14, 2015. Foundation, Corporate, Government Support Cambridge Trust Company Choral Arts New England Clipper Ship Foundation IBM Matching Gift Program Melick & Porter, LLP State Street Matching Gift Program Uno Restaurant Holdings LLC Maestro’s Circle • $10,000+ Charles and Nancy Husbands David and Susan Rockefeller, Jr. Composer Circle • $5,000+ Dr. Loring and Rev. Louise Conant Dr. Robert Henry Margaret Hornady-David and Donald David Kathryn and Edward Kravitz Marcia Nizzari Epp K.J. Sonin Conductor Circle • $2,500+ David Hoose and Amy Lieberman Robert and Janie Powers John Scullin Mary Beth and Robert Stevens Virtuoso • $1,000+ Fay Chandler David Cooper and Adelaide MacMurray-Cooper Jim and Annie Feil Carey Erdman and Carl Kraenzel Laurence and Gloria Lieberman Dr. James Liu and Ms. Alexandra Bowers Emily Walsh Martin and Gregory Martin Marjorie Merryman Chris Swistro Elizabeth H. Wilson Associate • $500+ Tom and Luellen Best John and Rose Mary Harbison Robert G. Kunzendorf and Elizabeth A. Ritvo Dr. Adrian Patterson Harold I. Pratt Geoffrey Steadman and Danielle Maddon Joseph Taylor Norma Wyse and Mark Ramseyer Majie Zeller and David Kravitz Patron • $250+ David Berman and Margaret Bell Nick and Margaret Brill Barbara Chvany and Kenneth Silbert Mark Andrew and Lisa Ann Cleveland Chris and Janice Cundey Paula Dickerman and David Broido Charles and Sheila Donahue Eugene Gover and Lidia Eidous John and Gretchen Graef Philip and Mary Hamilton Dr. Cyrus Hopkins Diana and Lee Humphrey Barbara Imbrie Henry and Martha Jacoby Robert and Gwyneth Loud Alan McLellan and Janelle Mills Barbara and George Miller Michele Millon Sheila Perry Dianne Pettipaw Dwight Porter John and Suzanne Pratt Warren Pyle and Lisl Urban Diane Sokal and Randolph Meiklejohn Scott and Mary Street Rosamond B. Vaule Jonathan and Stephanie Warburg T. Walley Williams, III Sponsor • $100+ Anonymous T.J. and Lois Anderson Nancy Armstrong and Steve Finch Alan Benenfeld Blair and Carol Brown Jane Bryden and Christopher Kruger Richard and Mary Cheever Mrs. Catherine Chvany Dana Brooks and Sandra Cramer Bruce and Susan Creditor Frank Cunningham and Anne Black Fay Dabney Alice Daniel Winifred P. Gray Alice Wick Hall Marshall and Carol Henrichs Ellen and Philip Krevsky Nancy C. Kurtz Jerry D. Levine Elizabeth Linzee Priscilla Loring Joseph and Rachel Martin Harriet McGraw Kenneth and Peggy McIntosh David and Dorothy Merrill Stephen and Mary Lou Miller William Miniscalco and Sarah Guilford Mary Morgan and David Wunsch Mark and Susan Murphy Jane D. Myers David Nadworny James Olesen and Lynn Nowels Peter Owens and John Fitzgerald Dr. Joseph L. Pennacchio William and Lia Poorvu Weldon and Rebecca Pries Paul and Lynne Rahmeier Allan and Carolyn Rodgers Elena Ruehr and Seward Rutkove Rick and Jody Simpson Joan Soble and Scott Ketcham Barbara Sparks Robert and Toni Strassler Charles Turner and Nancy Rexford Susan Colton Weisel Friend • Up to $100 Anonymous Andrea K. Agresta Robert and Jane Alcarez Dorothy Anderson Anne Andrea Lois Beattie Richard and Ruth Butler Kim Cate Leo and Joan Collins Judith and Richard Corsetti James and Beverly Davies Erin Doherty Kenneth and Jessica Forton Robert and Susan Goldberg Ron and Elizabeth Goodman Frieda Grayzel Judith and Samuel Greenblatt Suzanne and Easley Hamner Jane Jackson Rudolph Lantelme Georgia Luikens Fred MacArthur Suzanne McAllister and Ralph Engstrom Maureen Prapestis Larry Pratt Tracey Robinson Victor Rosenbaum Philip Sbaratta Paul Schierenbeck Mary Ann Seymour Michael Kerpan and Patricia Suhrcke Bill and Melissa West Lynn Torgove Rosalind Walter Charles Warren Anne Watson Born Elizabeth and Kincade Webb Carolyn West Martin and Phyllis Wilner Betty and Bill Wolfe June Johnson-Wolff and Richard H. Wolff Randall Wong Honorary and Memorial Gifts In memory of Lawrence P. Chvany and in honor of Catherine V. Chvany Barbara Chvany and Kenneth Silbert In memory of Buffy Dunker Jane D. Myers In honor of David Hoose Barbara Imbrie In honor of Jennifer Ritvo Hughes Randall Wong In honor of Nan and Charles Husbands Richard and Ruth Butler Carolyn West Bill and Melissa West Betty and Bill Wolfe In honor of Mary and David Jackson Jane Jackson In honor of Kynesha Patterson Dr. Adrian Patterson In honor of Will Prapestis Maureen Prapestis In honor of Gail Reitter Elizabeth Linzee In honor of Karyl J. Ryczek Andrea K. Agresta Michael Kerpan and Patricia Suhrcke In honor of Karl Dan Sorenson Mark Andrew and Lisa Ann Cleveland In memory of John W. Sparks Barbara Sparks In honor of Mary Beth and Robert Stevens Dorothy Anderson Kim Cate Judith and Richard Corsetti Robert and Susan Goldberg In memory of Donald Sur Michele Millon In honor of Lynn Torgove Judith and Samuel Greenblatt In honor of Jennifer Webb Elizabeth and Kincade Webb In memory of Mary Ellen and Martin Wohl Dr. Loring and Rev. Louise Conant In honor of Sara Wyse-Wenger Norma Wyse and Mark Ramseyer Weldon and Rebecca Pries Special Acknowledgements Cantata Singers is grateful to those who have provided their time, energy and expertise: Frank Cunningham, Recording Engineer Harlow Robinson, Russian Diction Coach Jim Frens and the Merrimack Concert Association, for their risers and podium Victor Kang, Concert Photographer James Luo, Concert Photographer One Brick, Post-Concert Reception Volunteers Nancy Kurtz, Chorus Notes Editor Gloria and Larry Lieberman, Board Meeting Hosts Kathy Howard, Rehearsal Snack Coordinator Charles Turner, Stage Manager Jennifer Webb, Chorus Librarian Dwight Porter, Technology and Website Development Thank you to the soprano section for helping to fill in for section leader duties. We gratefully acknowledge our funders and partners for the 2014-2015 season: Cantata Singers is a member of the Greater Boston Choral Consortium, a cooperative association of diverse choral groups in Boston and the surrounding areas. • • Classical,jazz,dance Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing, Academy Orcestras,soloists,recitals of St. Martin in the Fields, Jeremy Denk, Canadian Brass, Silk Road Ensemble, and more! MusicWorcester.org 508.754.3231 Group, Student, Youth pricing available Cantata11_8_14 ad Music Worcester.indd 1 9/12/2014 4:10:12 PM OldPostRoad.org “performances exuded zest, polish, and abundant care” — The Boston Globe 2014-2015 • 26th Season March 13 & 14 October 24 & 26 Now and Then Mozart on the Fringe An ear-opening exploration of historical instruments and their modern counterparts Music of Mozart and his inventive Bohemian contemporaries December 6 & 7 April 11 & 12 Stille Nacht Beloved and Betrayed A Classical German Christmas Including Mozart’s beloved Exsultate Jubilate Georg Benda’s Ariadne auf Naxos With actors Marya Lowry & Robert Walsh More information, including, venues and special offers, is available at www.OldPostRoad.org, or by calling 781.466.6694. emmanuel music mozart BACH CANTATA SERIES Sundays at 10 AM, Emmanuel Church September 21, 2014 – May 17, 2015 MENDELSSOHN/WOLF CHAMBER SERIES, YEAR I Ryan Turner, Artistic Director Sundays at 4 PM, Emmanuel Church Nov 2 & Nov 16, 2014, April 12, 2015 crossroads EVENING CONCERT SERIES Crossroads October 17, 2014, 8 PM Pickman Hall - Longy School of Music Bach: St. John Passion March 21, 2015, 8 PM bach Emmanuel Church Mozart: Abduction from the Seraglio May 9, 2015, 8 PM Emmanuel Church st john passion 14-15Seasonad5x4.indd 1 20 14 15 FULL SEASON SCHEDULE www.emmanuelmusic.org 617-536-3356 9/15/2014 10:17:57 AM Season 17 Chameleon Up Close Enjoy a complimentary glass of wine at the Goethe-Institut, transformed into an intimate cabaret setting with table seating, and get to know classics and lesser-known works at the hands of Chameleon's master musicians. Rafael Popper-Keizer, cello and Vivian Chang-Freiheit, piano Gloria Chien and Elizabeth Schumann, piano 4-hands Sunday, March 8, 2015, 4 PM Goethe-Institut, Boston Sunday, April 19, 2015, 4 PM Goethe-Institut, Boston Richard Strauss Sonata in F Major, Op. 6, TrV 115 Claude Debussy Six épigraphes antiques, L. 131 Elliott Carter Sonata for cello & piano (1948) Steven Stucky Allegretto quasi Andantino Frank Bridge Elégie, H. 47 (1904) Franz Schubert Grand Rondo in A Major, Op. 107 Ludwig van Beethoven Sonata No. 3 in A Major, Op. 69 Igor Stravinsky Le sacre du printemps www.chameleonarts.org 617-427-8200 “Deft, relentless, and devastatingly good - the sort of performance you experience not so much with your ears as your solar plexus.” – The Washington Post 2014 2015 JORDAN HALL AT NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY Pre-concert talk one hour prior to concert subscriptions available ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: GIL ROSE October 12 Surround Sound SUNDAY 3:00 RONALD BRUCE SMITH, ANTHONY PAUL DE RITIS, DAVID FELDER Patrick De Ritis, bassoon | Laura Aikin, soprano | Ethan Herschenfeld, bass December 7 Fantastic Mr. Fox SUNDAY 3:00 TOBIAS PICKER Co-production with ODYSSEY OPERA Featuring the Boston Children’s Chorus January 24 Magyar Madness SATURDAY 8:00 BÁLINT KAROSI, GYÖRGY LIGETI, BÉLA BARTÓK, KATI AGÓCS Gabriela Diaz, violin | Lorelei Ensemble March 5 Blizzard Voices THURSDAY 8:00 JOHN HARBISON, PAUL MORAVEC Winner of the BMOP-NEC Composition Competition: TBA New England Conservatory Concert Choir www.bmop.org BOSTON MODERN ORCHESTRA PROJECT 781.324.0396 2 0 1 4 – 2 0 1 5 S e a S o n musica sacra “. . . uncommonly fresh and direct — almost like breaking news.” —the boston globe photo copyright © 2013 by holbrook robinson A musica sacra mary beekman artistic director nnouncing our www.musicasacra.org 2014–2015 SeaSon—MuSica Sacra’S 55th! 617 349-3400 All performances at: First Church Congregational 11 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts M uSi CA SAC rA P.O.Box 381336 Cambridge, MA 02238-1336 Satu r day, Oc t. 25, 2014, 8:00 pm FrOM the Ardent Pen: Choral Music of the romantic era — Brahms, Elgar, Stanford, and others. Satu r day, De c. 13, 2014, nb 7:00 pm An AMeriCAn ChriStMAS — Spirituals, folk songs, and hymns from the American tradition, with carols for all to sing. Satu r day, m arch 14, 2015, 8:00 pm BACh B minor mass — Join Musica Sacra for a work widely regarded as one of the supreme achievements of classical music. Satu r day, m ay 9, 2015, 8:00 pm the SOnG OF SOnGS: Sensual texts from the Bible’s raciest Book — Settings by Boston’s own Daniel Pinkham and by renaissance composers. Announcing The Spectrum Singers’ 35th Annual Subscription Season! MARCH 7, 2015 Mozart Requiem John W. Ehrlich, Music Director NOVEMBER 22, 2014 H.C. Robbins-Landon edition, with orchestra and favorite soloists MAY 16, 2015 A Christmas Prelude Music from diverse cultures celebrating December holidays What Is This Thing Called Love? Torch songs, happy songs, sad songs of love found and love lost from the Renaissance through The Great American Song Book All concerts 8:00pm at First Church Congregational, 11 Garden St., Cambridge Visit www.spectrumsingers.org for updates and further information. Programs subject to change. Scott Metcalfe Music Director 2014-15 SubScriptiOn SerieS Oct. 18 • 8 pm A M A SS for St. AuguStine of c A n ter bury Dec. 18 & 19 • 8 pm / Dec. 20 • 2:30 pm chr iSt M A S in 15 -Cen t ury fr A nce & burgundy th Feb. 21 • 8 pm Special event: nov. 15 • 3pm & 8pm C apt uring MusiC: W r iting & Singing MuSic in the Middle AgeS All Concerts & Events at: 11 garden St. ockegheM, binchoiS & du fAy first church in cambridge • Mar. 21 • 8 pm (617) 960-7956 www.blueheronchoir.org ockegheM, buSnoyS, r egiS, c A ron & fAugueS SEASON 14 | 15 BACK BAY CHORALE Boston Globe Fall Arts Preview Critics’ Pick MUSIC OF VIENNA Saturday 18 October 2014 Sanders Theatre, Cambridge A CANDLELIGHT CHRISTMAS Saturday 13 December 2014 Emmanuel Church, Boston BEETHOVEN: MISSA SOLEMNIS Saturday 21 March 2015 Sanders Theatre, Cambridge DURUFLÉ: REQUIEM Saturday 9 May 2015 Saint Paul’s Church, Cambridge TICKETS: bbcboston.org or 617.648.3885 Newton Choral Society David Carrier, Director 2014-2015 - Our 39th Season Sunday, November 16 at 3 PM Ralph Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony Kim Leeds, Soprano Philip Lima, Baritone Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy St., Cambridge Sunday, March 15 at 3 PM Sacred Visions Music for Church and Synagogue The Second Church in Newton, 60 Highland St., West Newton Sunday, May 16 at 8 PM Blooming in Boston Local Boston Composers Susan Consoli, Soprano Thomas Jones, Baritone Mark Feldjusen, Pianist Church of the Holy Name, 1689 Centre St., West Roxbury www.newtonchoral.org LEXINGTON MUSIC SCHOOL CORO ALLEGRO David Hodgkins, Artistic Director Boston’s acclaimed classical chorus for members, friends, and allies of the LGBT community 2014/15 Season American Visions Sunday, November 9, 2014 nec’s Jordan Hall Lenten Meditations Sunday, March 15, 2015 Church of the Covenant For more information or to purchase tickets, visit coroallegro.org Infinite Majesty Sunday, May 17, 2015 Church of the Covenant February 19 – 22, 2015 Boston University Theatre Peter Eötvös, composer Mari Mezei, librettist William Lumpkin, conductor Jim Petosa, stage director Box Office: bostontheatrescene.com 617.933.8600
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