Music for Holy Week Written for "The New World" in the 16/17th centuries
Jenine Baines
March 17, 2009
SANTA MONICA, Calif. The great Baroque composer J. S. Bach once wrote: "The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul." Musica Angelica, one of the top baroque ensembles nationwide, will showcase the music of composers who shared Bach´s philosophy – but, unlike Bach, lived and worked in the New World rather than the Old World of Europe – when it presents "The Palm Tree - The Crossbar: Music for Holy Week in the New World." The program of sacred Lenten music will take place on Saturday, March 21, at 8 p.m. at Pasadena Presbyterian Church and Sunday, March 22, at 7 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church of Santa Monica.
The performances will feature members of the award winning vocal ensemble, the Concord Ensemble. These include countertenors Paul Flight (Saturday, March 22) and Daniel Roihl (Sunday, March 23); tenors Pablo Corá, N. Lincoln Hanks and Shawn Kirchner; baritone Aaron Cain; and Scott Graff, bass-baritone. Although, today, the Concord Ensemble often performs works for both male and female voices – such as when it joined Musica Angelica for a highly successful, nearly sold out performance of Purcell´s Fairy Queen earlier this season – the group´s original configuration was for six male voices, just as it will be for "The Palm Tree-The Crossbar."
"We´re thrilled to welcome the Concord Ensemble back for another performance," says Laura Spino, General Manager of Musica Angelica. "If you missed hearing them before, now you´ll have a second chance to experience an extraordinary evening of music."
On the program are Vexilla Regis by Gaspar Fernandes, after Rodrigo de Ceballos; Memento Mei Deus and Peccantem me quotidie by Hernando Franco; Lamentatio Hieremiae Prophetae and Ego enim accepi by Francisco Lopéz y Capillas; Vadam et circuibo and Vexilla Regis by Tomás Luis de Victoria; and Requiem by Juan de Lienas as well as excerpts from an anonymous Mass written in Brazil in the 16th century and an anonymous work, Pasion segun San Mateo, written in 17th century Mexico.
"After Cortez overthrew the Aztec empire in 1521, missionaries from Catholic religious orders like the Jesuits and Franciscans got to work," explains Spino. "As Christianity spread throughout the New World so, of course, did liturgical music from the church. This is a rare opportunity to hear Renaissance music from the New World –music that was performed and written in the Americas rather than Europe."
"The other very unusual facet of this concert is that you´ll hear a very evocative, complete Mexican St. Matthew Passion," adds tenor Pablo Corá. "Think of monks singing plainchant interrupted by colorful choral outbursts from the congregation! The ´Lamentations of Jeremiah´ by Francisco Lopez y Capillas is an amazing work as well. It rivals both in complexity and subtlety the most famous and popular version written by Thomas Tallis."
Tickets for "The Palm Tree-The Crossbar" are available online – at www.MusicaAngelica.org -- or by calling 310.458.4504 for $39/person for general seating. Pasadena Presbyterian Church is located at 585 East Colorado Blvd in Pasadena; First United Methodist Church is located at 1008 11th Street in Santa Monica.
ABOUT THE SOLOISTS:
Aaron Cain (baritone) holds music degrees from The University of Iowa, where he studied vocal performance and conducting under Albert Gammon, James Dixon and William Hatcher. He has performed regularly with groups such as the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Musica Angelica, Jouyssance Early Music Ensemble, LA Chamber Singers and Cappella. His recording credits include the label RCM as well as other independent labels. He enjoys performing a diverse array of music styles, ranging from medieval to 21st century genres. He is currently enrolled in the PhD program in musicology and historical performance at the University of Oregon in Eugene.
Pablo Corá (tenor/hautecontre) began singing and playing recorder as a child in his native Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he completed a trilingual baccalaureate from Barker College. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance from Ithaca College and a Masters in Vocal Performance from Indiana University were he is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Early Music. He performs regularly with The Concord Ensemble, Musica Angelica, The Los Angeles Master Chorale, the LA Chamber Singers and Cappella, and has toured with Paul Hillier´s Theatre of Voices, Piffaro and the Folger Consort.
Corá has performed as a soloist in the US, Europe and South America in a vast variety of repertoire ranging from early music and oratorio to 20th century opera. Notable roles include the title role in Charpentier´s La Descente d´Orphée aux Enfers, Orphée Descendant aux Enfers, Les Arts Florrisants and Purcell´s Dido and Aeneas. His recorded credits include Harmonia Mundi USA, HM France, Dorian Recordings, Gothic, and RCM; Corá is also featured in the Grammy winning recording "Padilla:Sun of Justice" with the Los Angeles Chamber Singers´ Cappella. He can also be heard in the 2005 world premiere recording of Steve Reich´s "You Are" Variations on the Nonesuch label. Corá was recently named to the Executive Board of Early Music America.
Paul Flight (countertenor) regularly performs opera and oratorio. He made his Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra debut in John Adam´s oratorio El Niño and he has sung the work for the Norwegian State Opera, the Atlanta Symphony and at the Ravinia Festival. Flight received glowing reviews for his portrayal of the title role in the Oakland Opera Theatre production of Philip Glass´ Akhnaten as well as the title role in Handel´s Solomon for the Sacramento Early Music Society. He has also appeared as a soloist for the San Francisco Bach Choir and American Bach Soloists.
Flight continues to sing with Theatre of Voices, New York Collegium, Piffaro, Folger Consort, Waverly Consort and Pomerium. Also a very active conductor, Flight is in his sixth season as guest conductor for the Madison Early Music Festival in Wisconsin and is a regular conductor for the San Francisco Early Music Society as well as conductor of the California Bach Society, the Haydn Singers and Chora Nova. He has recorded for the Dorian, Harmonia Mundi, and Glissando labels.
Scott Graff (bass-baritone) is in his third season with The Concord Ensemble. Graff appears regularly as a soloist with numerous ensembles including Musica Angelica, Catacoustic Consort, Carmel Bach Festival, Los Angeles Baroque Orchestra, Los Angeles Master Chorale and Los Angeles Chamber Singers. He has performed with Long Beach Opera in a number of productions and participated in the inaugural productions of the opera company´s Downtown Opera series. Most recently, Graff premiered the roles of Lewis and Father Tree in Michael Webster and Eileen Myles´ new opera, Hell, performed in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Mexico. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the California Institute of the Arts.
N. Lincoln Hanks (tenor) began his musical training in piano at the age of five. He attended college at Lipscomb University, where he studied piano with Jerome Reed. His masters and doctoral work in composition were completed at Indiana University where he helped found the award-winning early music vocal group, The Concord Ensemble. As a composer, Hanks has won the Contemporary Choral Composition Competition from The Roger Wagner Center for Choral Studies and an ASCAP Foundation/Morton Gould Young Composer Award. He has received commissions from many distinguished performing artists and ensembles including the Cyprus String Quartet, the Dale Warland Singers, Jerome Reed, The Decesare-Francis Duo, Volti and the Denver Young Artists Orchestra. He has also served as administrator and assistant to John Harbison for Songfest´s Program for New Art Song. Hanks teaches music theory and composition at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.
Shawn Kirchner (tenor) is a composer and songwriter active in Los Angeles. Best known for his arrangement of the Kenyan song Wana Baraka, his choral compositions are performed throughout the United States and abroad. His work as a songwriter includes a collection of original bluegrass/country songs recorded by top LA instrumentalists and singers entitled "Meet Me on the Mountain" as well as numerous jazz, gospel and folk songs.
Kirchner also maintains an active performing career as a singer and pianist. A member of the Los Angeles Master Chorale since 2001, he has sung in several collaborations with Steve Reich, including two recordings for Nonesuch Records and a performance at Lincoln Center in honor of the composer´s 70th birthday. As a pianist, Kirchner has appeared with the LA Master Chorale on numerous occasions as well as in jazz performances throughout Los Angeles with the Shawn Kirchner Quartet. Prior to his arrival in Los Angeles, Kirchner sang with Chicago Choral Artists, the Rockefeller Chapel Choir, the Oriana Singers and the Berkshire Bach Society.
ABOUT MUSICA ANGELICA:
Since its founding in 1993, Musica Angelica has presented an annual season of orchestral and chamber concerts in venues throughout Los Angeles County. The ensemble presents not only well-known masterworks but rarely heard compositions that showcase leading Baroque musicians from around the world.
Today, under conductor and Music Director Martin Haselböck, Musica Angelica is Southern California´s leading Baroque ensemble, garnering acclaim both nationwide and abroad.
"Musica Angelica soars in a Baroque gem…a triumph…Haselböck´s leadership was nuanced and inspiring," wrote the Los Angeles Times in a recent review. In addition, KUSC FM Classical Radio hailed Musica Angelica as a "world class Baroque orchestra" while Angeleno Magazine christened the group "LA´s premiere Baroque music ensemble." Added esteemed music critic Alan Rich, " [Musica Angelica is] a serious and important early-music ensemble, the best of its kind in these parts."
After embarking upon its first international tour in 2007 – performing Bach´s St. Matthew Passion with the Weiner Akademie of Vienna – Musica Angelica was applauded by El Universal of Mexico City for presenting "a Passion as God and Bach commanded." Italy´s Dolomiten concurred: "Haselböck conducted with intense spirit and soul…Martin Haselböck is a superb conductor. The festival concert…was a triumph."
In late March 2009, Musica Angelica will collaborate with the Long Beach Opera in the U.S. premiere of Vivaldi´s Motezuma. The work had been lost for 269 years until it was rediscovered in 2002. The baroque orchestra also collaborated with celebrated actor and Academy Award nominee John Malkovich in 2008 to present "Seduction and Despair." The multi-media world premiere, directed by and starring Malkovich, played to two nearly sold out houses and attracted media attention throughout the United States and Europe. "Seduction and Despair" originated after Malkovich met Haselböck at a dinner at the Austrian Consulate in Los Angeles. Ultimately, the two agreed to work together on a project that would bridge and reflect both Southern California´s and Austria´s cultures. Austrian writer and director Michael Sturminger wrote the libretto.
ABOUT THE CONCORD ENSEMBLE
The award winning Concord Ensemble came together in 1997 and was quickly catapulted into the international music scene by winning the Grand Prize in the First Early Music America Recording Competition. Subsequently their debut recording, The Victory of Santiago: Voices of Renaissance Spain, earned them the prized "5-Star" distinction in Goldberg Magazine.
The Concord Ensemble has toured extensively throughout the United Status and in Europe, and has headlined some of the most prestigious festivals, including the early music festivals of Berkeley, Washington, D.C., Madison, Milwaukee, Bloomington (IN), San Francisco, San Diego, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, New York´s Cloisters, Indianapolis, Tage Alter Musik Regensburg (Germany) and Feldkirchen (Austria). Their work has been broadcast on National Public Radio´s Harmonia, Millenium of Music and Performance Today.
The most recent performances of Concord include newly commissioned programs of Spanish and Latin American Christmas and paschal music. Equally at home in the contemporary medium, Concord has performed music by Karlheinz Stockhausen, Stephen Hartke, Steve Reich, Arvo Pärt, and Libby Larsen. The ensemble regularly commissions new works from award-winning composers N. Lincoln Hanks and Forrest Pierce.
The group has an outstanding tradition of collaborating with several instrumental ensembles of renown, including Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra, the Folger Consort, Piffaro, the Renaissance Wind Band, and the contemporary dance troupe the Pennington Dance Group. The ensemble´s versatility recently reached the rock world, when the men of the ensemble were asked to perform with Sting and Bosnian lutenist Edin Karamazov to sold-out audiences at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The program featured Sting´s latest foray in the music of 17th-century English composer John Dowland in a program titled "Songs of the Labyrinth."
Highlights for the 2008-09 season include performances in Washington, D.C. with the Folger Consort, a guest performance in Portland for the Cappella Romana series, as well as a second collaboration with Musica Angelica Baroque orchestra, in Purcell´s The Fairy Queen.
The performances will feature members of the award winning vocal ensemble, the Concord Ensemble. These include countertenors Paul Flight (Saturday, March 22) and Daniel Roihl (Sunday, March 23); tenors Pablo Corá, N. Lincoln Hanks and Shawn Kirchner; baritone Aaron Cain; and Scott Graff, bass-baritone. Although, today, the Concord Ensemble often performs works for both male and female voices – such as when it joined Musica Angelica for a highly successful, nearly sold out performance of Purcell´s Fairy Queen earlier this season – the group´s original configuration was for six male voices, just as it will be for "The Palm Tree-The Crossbar."
"We´re thrilled to welcome the Concord Ensemble back for another performance," says Laura Spino, General Manager of Musica Angelica. "If you missed hearing them before, now you´ll have a second chance to experience an extraordinary evening of music."
On the program are Vexilla Regis by Gaspar Fernandes, after Rodrigo de Ceballos; Memento Mei Deus and Peccantem me quotidie by Hernando Franco; Lamentatio Hieremiae Prophetae and Ego enim accepi by Francisco Lopéz y Capillas; Vadam et circuibo and Vexilla Regis by Tomás Luis de Victoria; and Requiem by Juan de Lienas as well as excerpts from an anonymous Mass written in Brazil in the 16th century and an anonymous work, Pasion segun San Mateo, written in 17th century Mexico.
"After Cortez overthrew the Aztec empire in 1521, missionaries from Catholic religious orders like the Jesuits and Franciscans got to work," explains Spino. "As Christianity spread throughout the New World so, of course, did liturgical music from the church. This is a rare opportunity to hear Renaissance music from the New World –music that was performed and written in the Americas rather than Europe."
"The other very unusual facet of this concert is that you´ll hear a very evocative, complete Mexican St. Matthew Passion," adds tenor Pablo Corá. "Think of monks singing plainchant interrupted by colorful choral outbursts from the congregation! The ´Lamentations of Jeremiah´ by Francisco Lopez y Capillas is an amazing work as well. It rivals both in complexity and subtlety the most famous and popular version written by Thomas Tallis."
Tickets for "The Palm Tree-The Crossbar" are available online – at www.MusicaAngelica.org -- or by calling 310.458.4504 for $39/person for general seating. Pasadena Presbyterian Church is located at 585 East Colorado Blvd in Pasadena; First United Methodist Church is located at 1008 11th Street in Santa Monica.
ABOUT THE SOLOISTS:
Aaron Cain (baritone) holds music degrees from The University of Iowa, where he studied vocal performance and conducting under Albert Gammon, James Dixon and William Hatcher. He has performed regularly with groups such as the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Musica Angelica, Jouyssance Early Music Ensemble, LA Chamber Singers and Cappella. His recording credits include the label RCM as well as other independent labels. He enjoys performing a diverse array of music styles, ranging from medieval to 21st century genres. He is currently enrolled in the PhD program in musicology and historical performance at the University of Oregon in Eugene.
Pablo Corá (tenor/hautecontre) began singing and playing recorder as a child in his native Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he completed a trilingual baccalaureate from Barker College. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance from Ithaca College and a Masters in Vocal Performance from Indiana University were he is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Early Music. He performs regularly with The Concord Ensemble, Musica Angelica, The Los Angeles Master Chorale, the LA Chamber Singers and Cappella, and has toured with Paul Hillier´s Theatre of Voices, Piffaro and the Folger Consort.
Corá has performed as a soloist in the US, Europe and South America in a vast variety of repertoire ranging from early music and oratorio to 20th century opera. Notable roles include the title role in Charpentier´s La Descente d´Orphée aux Enfers, Orphée Descendant aux Enfers, Les Arts Florrisants and Purcell´s Dido and Aeneas. His recorded credits include Harmonia Mundi USA, HM France, Dorian Recordings, Gothic, and RCM; Corá is also featured in the Grammy winning recording "Padilla:Sun of Justice" with the Los Angeles Chamber Singers´ Cappella. He can also be heard in the 2005 world premiere recording of Steve Reich´s "You Are" Variations on the Nonesuch label. Corá was recently named to the Executive Board of Early Music America.
Paul Flight (countertenor) regularly performs opera and oratorio. He made his Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra debut in John Adam´s oratorio El Niño and he has sung the work for the Norwegian State Opera, the Atlanta Symphony and at the Ravinia Festival. Flight received glowing reviews for his portrayal of the title role in the Oakland Opera Theatre production of Philip Glass´ Akhnaten as well as the title role in Handel´s Solomon for the Sacramento Early Music Society. He has also appeared as a soloist for the San Francisco Bach Choir and American Bach Soloists.
Flight continues to sing with Theatre of Voices, New York Collegium, Piffaro, Folger Consort, Waverly Consort and Pomerium. Also a very active conductor, Flight is in his sixth season as guest conductor for the Madison Early Music Festival in Wisconsin and is a regular conductor for the San Francisco Early Music Society as well as conductor of the California Bach Society, the Haydn Singers and Chora Nova. He has recorded for the Dorian, Harmonia Mundi, and Glissando labels.
Scott Graff (bass-baritone) is in his third season with The Concord Ensemble. Graff appears regularly as a soloist with numerous ensembles including Musica Angelica, Catacoustic Consort, Carmel Bach Festival, Los Angeles Baroque Orchestra, Los Angeles Master Chorale and Los Angeles Chamber Singers. He has performed with Long Beach Opera in a number of productions and participated in the inaugural productions of the opera company´s Downtown Opera series. Most recently, Graff premiered the roles of Lewis and Father Tree in Michael Webster and Eileen Myles´ new opera, Hell, performed in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Mexico. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the California Institute of the Arts.
N. Lincoln Hanks (tenor) began his musical training in piano at the age of five. He attended college at Lipscomb University, where he studied piano with Jerome Reed. His masters and doctoral work in composition were completed at Indiana University where he helped found the award-winning early music vocal group, The Concord Ensemble. As a composer, Hanks has won the Contemporary Choral Composition Competition from The Roger Wagner Center for Choral Studies and an ASCAP Foundation/Morton Gould Young Composer Award. He has received commissions from many distinguished performing artists and ensembles including the Cyprus String Quartet, the Dale Warland Singers, Jerome Reed, The Decesare-Francis Duo, Volti and the Denver Young Artists Orchestra. He has also served as administrator and assistant to John Harbison for Songfest´s Program for New Art Song. Hanks teaches music theory and composition at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.
Shawn Kirchner (tenor) is a composer and songwriter active in Los Angeles. Best known for his arrangement of the Kenyan song Wana Baraka, his choral compositions are performed throughout the United States and abroad. His work as a songwriter includes a collection of original bluegrass/country songs recorded by top LA instrumentalists and singers entitled "Meet Me on the Mountain" as well as numerous jazz, gospel and folk songs.
Kirchner also maintains an active performing career as a singer and pianist. A member of the Los Angeles Master Chorale since 2001, he has sung in several collaborations with Steve Reich, including two recordings for Nonesuch Records and a performance at Lincoln Center in honor of the composer´s 70th birthday. As a pianist, Kirchner has appeared with the LA Master Chorale on numerous occasions as well as in jazz performances throughout Los Angeles with the Shawn Kirchner Quartet. Prior to his arrival in Los Angeles, Kirchner sang with Chicago Choral Artists, the Rockefeller Chapel Choir, the Oriana Singers and the Berkshire Bach Society.
ABOUT MUSICA ANGELICA:
Since its founding in 1993, Musica Angelica has presented an annual season of orchestral and chamber concerts in venues throughout Los Angeles County. The ensemble presents not only well-known masterworks but rarely heard compositions that showcase leading Baroque musicians from around the world.
Today, under conductor and Music Director Martin Haselböck, Musica Angelica is Southern California´s leading Baroque ensemble, garnering acclaim both nationwide and abroad.
"Musica Angelica soars in a Baroque gem…a triumph…Haselböck´s leadership was nuanced and inspiring," wrote the Los Angeles Times in a recent review. In addition, KUSC FM Classical Radio hailed Musica Angelica as a "world class Baroque orchestra" while Angeleno Magazine christened the group "LA´s premiere Baroque music ensemble." Added esteemed music critic Alan Rich, " [Musica Angelica is] a serious and important early-music ensemble, the best of its kind in these parts."
After embarking upon its first international tour in 2007 – performing Bach´s St. Matthew Passion with the Weiner Akademie of Vienna – Musica Angelica was applauded by El Universal of Mexico City for presenting "a Passion as God and Bach commanded." Italy´s Dolomiten concurred: "Haselböck conducted with intense spirit and soul…Martin Haselböck is a superb conductor. The festival concert…was a triumph."
In late March 2009, Musica Angelica will collaborate with the Long Beach Opera in the U.S. premiere of Vivaldi´s Motezuma. The work had been lost for 269 years until it was rediscovered in 2002. The baroque orchestra also collaborated with celebrated actor and Academy Award nominee John Malkovich in 2008 to present "Seduction and Despair." The multi-media world premiere, directed by and starring Malkovich, played to two nearly sold out houses and attracted media attention throughout the United States and Europe. "Seduction and Despair" originated after Malkovich met Haselböck at a dinner at the Austrian Consulate in Los Angeles. Ultimately, the two agreed to work together on a project that would bridge and reflect both Southern California´s and Austria´s cultures. Austrian writer and director Michael Sturminger wrote the libretto.
ABOUT THE CONCORD ENSEMBLE
The award winning Concord Ensemble came together in 1997 and was quickly catapulted into the international music scene by winning the Grand Prize in the First Early Music America Recording Competition. Subsequently their debut recording, The Victory of Santiago: Voices of Renaissance Spain, earned them the prized "5-Star" distinction in Goldberg Magazine.
The Concord Ensemble has toured extensively throughout the United Status and in Europe, and has headlined some of the most prestigious festivals, including the early music festivals of Berkeley, Washington, D.C., Madison, Milwaukee, Bloomington (IN), San Francisco, San Diego, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, New York´s Cloisters, Indianapolis, Tage Alter Musik Regensburg (Germany) and Feldkirchen (Austria). Their work has been broadcast on National Public Radio´s Harmonia, Millenium of Music and Performance Today.
The most recent performances of Concord include newly commissioned programs of Spanish and Latin American Christmas and paschal music. Equally at home in the contemporary medium, Concord has performed music by Karlheinz Stockhausen, Stephen Hartke, Steve Reich, Arvo Pärt, and Libby Larsen. The ensemble regularly commissions new works from award-winning composers N. Lincoln Hanks and Forrest Pierce.
The group has an outstanding tradition of collaborating with several instrumental ensembles of renown, including Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra, the Folger Consort, Piffaro, the Renaissance Wind Band, and the contemporary dance troupe the Pennington Dance Group. The ensemble´s versatility recently reached the rock world, when the men of the ensemble were asked to perform with Sting and Bosnian lutenist Edin Karamazov to sold-out audiences at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The program featured Sting´s latest foray in the music of 17th-century English composer John Dowland in a program titled "Songs of the Labyrinth."
Highlights for the 2008-09 season include performances in Washington, D.C. with the Folger Consort, a guest performance in Portland for the Cappella Romana series, as well as a second collaboration with Musica Angelica Baroque orchestra, in Purcell´s The Fairy Queen.
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