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A Note from the Artistic Director
Welcome to “On Wings of Song: The Women of
St. Martin’s.” Our February concert has traditionally been for a smaller
group from St. Martin’s, and this year is no exception. Following the concert
last February for the men of the choir, this year’s is the corollary, for the
women of the choir.
Tonight’s program is even more diverse then the men’s concert was. I am
particularly proud, for instance, of the set of four modern works that begin the
second half. All four are by prominent 20th century composers, and their texts
all deal with death (I refrained from calling it “Four Depressing
Works” for obvious reasons!). They are among the most difficult of the
concert, and have proven very rewarding for the women to learn, and I hope they
prove as artistically rewarding for the audience to listen to, as they are
deeply profound works, full of anguish and pathos.
The partsongs by Amy Beach are charming and winsome, and, though traditionally
consonant in their harmonies, are deceptively difficult to bring off, partly
because the first soprano part has such a consistently high tessitura (that’s
one reason I placed them at the end of the first half, so the singers could have
a rest afterwards!).
It is appropriate that, in a women’s concert, the ensemble is directed by two
able female assistants tonight, Donna Wickham (asst. conductor for this concert)
and Gabrielle Dietrich, our Mark Sheldon Conducting Intern for our 13th Season.
Donna takes on the one piece of “early music” in this concert, by Heinrich
Schütz, as well as a very rhythmic setting of the Sanctus and Benedictus
by Lana Walter; and Gabrielle once again plumbs her expertise with Central
European repertoire by presenting a work by Miklós Kocsár, a composer who is
completely unknown outside of his native Hungary, which is a shame given the
atmospheric beauty of the piece.
Johannes Brahms, before he came to the public’s attention and moved to Vienna,
directed a women’s chorus in his native Hamburg. Tonight’s work is one of
the many early works he wrote for this ensemble, and I will make some verbal
comments about it during the program. And finally, I hope that the set of works
by Gustav Holst proves a revelation to many of you, with its haunting and
mystical qualities. I must admit, with the singing of so much Christian sacred
music by St. Martin’s (which is inevitable, as the vast majority of the
world’s finest choral music is from that tradition), it is refreshing
singing about some other gods for a change!
Thanks very much for joining us this evening!
Timothy J. Krueger
March 2007 ©
2007 Timothy J. Krueger |