January 7, 2012, 20:15
Brest, Belarussia
VOCAL ENSEMBLE CANTATRIX
conductor: Geert-Jan van Beijeren Bergen
As the choir gets up and strides to the podium in procession, sounds, as a sonourous opening of the concert, a introïtus by Tomas Tallis: ‘Love one another, as I have loved you’. A command to live a life of love and tolerance, but also a life in which all too often the ideal way is not found. Because besides joy, we experience grief. Joy and sorrow, two emotions that has inspired composers – including those of religious music – for centuries.
Joy we find, for example, in Gabriel's Message, a carol about the Annunciation, which ends with Mary's grateful Magnificat: My soul exalts the Lord. Joy, again, in Nunc Dimittis by Pawel Lukaszewski, in which the old Simeon sings of peace and light that he expects after death, and in the satisfaction of the valiant deeds of Joshua, which caused the walls of Jericho collapse.
But there is also pain, much sorrow. Mendelssohn begs for forgiveness of sins and support against the enemy and then there is Eric Whitacre’s song about Leonardo and his dreams. In the words of the Mass we find prayers abound. In the the Mass for Double Choir by Frank Martin, we hear the Kyrie and the Agnus Dei: Lord have mercy on us Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us and give us peace.
In short, a program in which the highs of life alternate with the low, with music by composers from five centuries that illustrate how difficult it often is to lead the ideal life of that "new commandment".
Program:
Thomas Tallis Psalm Tunes (3e)
A Gabrieli Sieben Busspsalmen (nr.6)
Felix Mendelssohn Mitten wir in Leben sind
Richte mich, Gott
Frank Martin Kyrie
Agnus Dei
David Wilcocks Gabriel’s Message
Pawel Lukasewski Nunc Dimittis
Nysted Immortal Bach
Eric Whitacre Leonardo Dreams
Jack Halloran Witness
Moses Hogan The battle of Jericho
works: Nunc dimittis, 2007