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Schedule of Music Events Upcoming Music Events: Messiah While Handel's oratorios usually had characters and a clear narrative, Messiah does not. Soloists are still used, but for their vocal qualities rather than to represent specific individuals or the relationships, conflicts, and confrontations among them. This change in approach was commented upon by Handel's contemporaries, one of whom noted that Messiah "although called an Oratorio, yet it is not dramatic but properly a Collection of Hymns or Anthems drawn from the sacred Scriptures." The first performance of Messiah took place not in London, but rather in Dublin, on April 13, 1742. Handel gave the London premiere less than a year later at Covent Garden. It was not well received, in part because of objections to presenting a sacred work in that most profane of buildings—a theater! (Handel had advertised the oratorio as a "musical entertainment.") It was only in 1750, when Messiah began to be presented in annual performances for a London charity at the local Foundling Hospital, that the public embraced the work. Handel performed it some three dozen times—every time, it should be noted, around Easter, not Christmas, as later became the custom. Over the years he revised Messiah to accommodate new surroundings, performing forces, and audiences. Such adaptations have continued ever since: Mozart re-orchestrated the work in 1789 to bring it up to the dimensions of a Classical period orchestra, and more "heavy metal" versions would come in the 19th and 20th centuries. Many of these later arrangements helped to make the work viable for large choral festivals with many hundreds of singers, sometimes even more than a thousand. Messiah is divided into three sections. The first is concerned with the prophesy of the coming of a Messiah and then with Christ's Nativity. Part II deals with Christ's suffering and death. The concluding section offers an affirmation of Christian faith and glimpses of Revelation. In the selection being performed on today's program, Part I forms the first half of the program, Part II begins after intermission and continues until "Hallelujah," and Part III begins with the aria "I know that my Redeemer liveth." —Christopher H. Gibbs
Poulenc: Gloria The First Church Orchestra and the Choir & Soloists of the The Seven Last Words of Christ Festival Music Services Vesper Service of Music: Premiered in Moscow on March 10, 1915, this a cappella choralsymphonic work received great acclaim by critics and audiences and was repeated four more times that same month. One critic wrote, “Rachmaninoff’s new composition, “All Night Vigil,” is undoubtedly a contribution of great importance to our church’s music literature. . . . Of unusual value is the artist’s loving and conscientious attitude toward our church's chant, for in this lies the promise of a splendid future for our liturgical music.” In the Russian Orthodox Church, the service of the All Night Vigil consists of basically three different offices or services: Vespers, Matins, and First Hour. These offices, which have prescribed orders of worship and texts, are celebrated during the night before great feast days. Rachmaninoff’s setting for the All Night Vigil is comprised of 15 anthems, and it is unclear if Rachmaninoff intended for this work to be sung all at once, as in a concert setting, or to be sung separately, at the appropriate office. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Russian sacred music, while largely based on chant, was influenced by Italian and German composers. However, with the rise of Russian Nationalism in the late 19th century, Russian composers, such as Tchaikovsky, were encouraged to develop a Russian school of composition, which included not only secular works, but sacred works for the church. Rachmaninoff and several other composers created settings of the All Night Vigil. This school of Russian composition ended with the Revolution of 1917, when sacred music and religion were banned. Rachmaninoff went into self-exile and composed no more sacred music. In the “All Night Vigil,” Rachmaninoff creates a uniquely Russian sound, which is different from the compositional techniques normally associated with Western music. In addition, the choir, while unaccompanied, performs with the full dynamic range and color of a large symphonic orchestra, and the basses are required to sing in a two and one-half octave range, from high F to a B-flat below low C. While most choral music is written for four voices (soprano, alto, tenor, bass), Rachmaninoff achieves unique sonorities with the choir singing in twelve parts. This Music Vesper Service will include hymns and prayers and will be about one hour in length. Please mark your calendars, and bring a friend to experience this beautiful music at First Presbyterian Church." William Entriken
For specific questions, please call our church office at (212) 675-6150. |
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