Symphonic III: Getty & Berlioz Program Notes & Translations
Symphonic III: Getty & Berlioz Thurs, Feb 1, 2018 at 8p - Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley Fri, Feb 2, 2018 at 8p - Hume Hall, San Francisco Conservatory of Music http://www.berkeleysymphony.org/concerts/getty-berlioz/ Program Fauré: Cantique de Jean Racine Gordon Getty: Joan and the Bells Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique Conductor & Artists Keitaro Harada, guest conductor Lisa Delan, soprano Lester Lynch, baritone Eric Choate, concertmaster Berkeley Symphony and Chorus Program Notes & Translations Gabriel Fauré Born May 12, 1845, in Pamieres, France; died November 4, 1924, in Paris Cantique de Jean Racine, Op. 11 Composed: 1864-65 First performance: August 4, 1866, in Montivilliers, France Duration: approximately 7 minutes Scored for mixed choir and pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and horns, plus harp and strings In sum: ● Gabriel Fauré’s best-loved work is his setting of the Requiem, but he was already hiding his sensitive, balanced choral style in Cantique de Jean Racine, an early student work. ● Written for a composition competition when he was 19, Cantique is a brief, beautifully proportioned setting of three stanzas based on a liturgical prayer. Born in the south of France, Gabriel Fauré was a bit of an anomaly in his family — the only one among his five siblings with musical leanings. But these were already evident by an early age, so that Fauré was sent off to Paris at the age of nine to concentrate on his musical studies at the École Niedermeyer, a college that specialized in preparing for careers in religious music. Camille Saint-Saëns became an important mentor, and young Fauré was educated as a choirmaster and organist.
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